DJI ban: how the world’s biggest dronemaker is getting shoved out of the US – The VergeThe Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.2026-04-07T12:45:11+00:00https://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/831241https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1Sean Hollister<![CDATA[Sorry kid, drones are for war now]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9063062026-04-07T08:45:11-04:002026-04-07T09:30:00-04:00
The DJI Mavic 4 Pro — one of the many drones the US doesn’t get anymore. | Image: DJI
What happens when DJI, the world's leading maker of drones, is no longer welcome in the United States? You might think other dronemakers would see a huge opportunity with their competitor out of the picture. That didn't happen.
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Dominic Preston<![CDATA[DJI’s Avata 360 is a more functional, flexible 360 drone]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8997352026-03-26T08:10:46-04:002026-03-26T08:00:00-04:00
The Avata 360 looks a lot like the previous Avata 2.
DJI's Avata 360 finds the company at an odd time. For one, it's been beaten to the punch - upstart Antigravity's A1 became the first 360-degree drone when it launched last December, and DJI is playing catchup (and filinglawsuits). But this is also the last DJI drone you may ever be able to legally buy in the US, in the wake of the FCC's de facto ban, and even then it won't actually see an official release in the country.
It means that if you're in the US, the Antigravity A1 remains the best (and only) option for a flying 360-degree camera. But in the rest of the world, the Avata 360 makes a good case for itself: it's faster than the A1, do …
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Emma Roth<![CDATA[DJI sues over the FCC’s decision to block new drone imports]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8837342026-02-24T12:02:52-05:002026-02-24T12:01:44-05:00
DJI wants a federal court to toss out the Federal Communications Commission's decision to ban imports of its China-made drones and components, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a petition filed in an appeals court this week, DJI claims the FCC "exceeded its statutory authority" last December when adding drones made in foreign countries to its Covered List, which blocks communications equipment "deemed to pose an unacceptable risk" to national security.
In addition to preventing DJI and other foreign dronemakers from importing new drones in the US (unless approved by the Department of Defense), the FCC also gave itself the authority to retr …
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Jay Peters<![CDATA[The FCC’s foreign drone ban is here]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8494602025-12-22T20:17:54-05:002025-12-22T20:13:51-05:00
The Federal Communications Commission has banned new drones made in foreign countries from being imported into the US unless the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security recommends them. Monday's action added drones to the FCC's Covered List, qualifying foreign-made drones and drone parts, like those from DJI, as communications equipment representing "unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons."
DJI is "disappointed" by today's action, Adam Welsh, DJI's head of global policy, says in a statement. "While DJI was not singled out, no information has been …
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Sean Hollister<![CDATA[Antigravity’s 360-degree drone is here to help you forget DJI]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8379222025-12-04T18:53:25-05:002025-12-03T19:59:12-05:00
The Antigravity A1.
But today, it's happening: the Antigravity A1 is now on sale at Best Buy here in the US, on shelves and shipping this very week as well as Antigravity's own site. And thankfully, it's not just a DJI alternative: this $1,599 drone and headset combo is like nothing I've tried before.
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Andrew Liszewski<![CDATA[DJI’s Neo 2 selfie drone launches globally, but not in the US]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8191092025-11-12T14:47:38-05:002025-11-13T07:00:00-05:00
The Neo 2 adds obstacle avoidance but still features prop guards as a backup. | Image: DJI
After launching exclusively in China last month, DJI is announcing wider global availability for its Neo 2 selfie drone, including Japan, Canada, the UK, and other countries where the company sells its drones. But as with the Mavic 4 Pro and 8K Osmo 360 camera, the Neo 2 won't be available in the US. "DJI remains committed to the US market and serving our US-based customers. Like many global companies, we've had to adjust our market strategies as the local conditions and industry environment have evolved," DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong told The Verge in an emailed statement.
The Neo 2's upgrades include a lidar-based obstacle avoidance system …
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Sean Hollister<![CDATA[The FCC just gave itself the power to make a DJI drone ban stick]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8081042025-10-28T14:33:17-04:002025-10-28T14:32:01-04:00
This morning, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-0 to let itself retroactively ban gadgets and radio components that it previously approved for entry into the United States, if the company that makes them is deemed a national security risk.
Officially, it's a way to close loopholes and protect US networks from backdoors in Chinese telecom gear. But it could also give the Trump administration a new way to block Chinese consumer electronics that run on the open airwaves, starting with those from dronemaker DJI, even though the US government hasn't publicly released evidence that they pose a threat.
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Sean Hollister<![CDATA[DJI’s excellent Osmo Pocket 3 is over $200 off in its first sale since tariffs]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8064002025-10-24T16:08:56-04:002025-10-24T16:04:07-04:00
The Xtra Muse and the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, both of which are on sale.
I use a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 every single week to help film Today I’m Toying With, and I love it to pieces. The baby steadicam’s one of the most popular gadgets the company’s ever sold, because it’s so good at automatically capturing stabilized video of whatever I want, far better than a phone. What I don’t love is how DJI jacked up the price of this gadget twice this year — but a new sale brings it almost all the way back to pre-Trump tariff levels, and the clone version is now even cheaper.
The Pocket 3 features a 1-inch CMOS sensor, three built-in microphones, and a 2-inch rotatable screen. If you’re unhappy with the video your phone captures, DJI’s compact cam makes it easy to get high-quality, stabilized footage, whether you’re vlogging your adventures or filming a wedding. Read our impressions.
But I’d probably recommend the Creator Combo, which is now $240 off today (see links below). I find myself using some of its extra parts almost every single week. For instance, I use the battery handle when I’m filming timelapse video — and I’m speaking into the DJI Mic 2 wireless lapel mic for my narration in the video below, even though I mostly filmed this one with an iPhone.
♫ It's beginning to look a lot like Xbox… ♫Hallmark's Xbox 360 Christmas ornament. What do you think? I like the Sega Genesis better, but now I have an Xbox to keep it company under the tree!
The DJI Pocket 3Creator Combo is $739 today at B&H, Adorama, Best Buy, Walmart, and Micro Center, and it also comes with: a mini tripod, a tripod handle with USB-C passthrough so it can charge while on the tripod, a wide-angle lens that doesn’t give quite enough width for my needs, a carrying bag that holds everything, and a hardshell carrying sleeve I sometimes throw into my backpack just to protect the camera and lenses. Here’s the whole set:
None of these prices are quite as low as DJI’s pre-tariff prices of $519 for the camera and $669 for the Creator Combo, but they’re the best we’ve seen since April and the first major sale on the camera.
Alternatively, if you want almost exactly the same camera without support for DJI’s wireless microphones, Amazon has the Xtra Musefor $500 today thanks to an on-page coupon. As I discuss in my full report, it appears to be the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 by a different name, not your run-of-the-mill clone. It produces the same high-quality footage with the same steadiness, just with no DJI Mic support.
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Sean Hollister<![CDATA[Xtra: the company that lets DJI sneak its popular cameras into the US]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=7950162025-10-09T10:02:59-04:002025-10-09T10:00:00-04:00
DJI Osmo Pocket 3, meet Xtra Muse. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
What if I told you DJI may have found a way to dodge those tariffs and pesky customs inspectors by offering a disguised version of the camera? What if I told you an entire new "US" company has quietly been erected to sell it on Amazon for far lower, even as low as $499 during Amazon's big new sale?
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Sean Hollister<![CDATA[Pentagon can call DJI a Chinese Military Company, court rules]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=7865402025-09-26T19:17:25-04:002025-09-26T13:29:15-04:00
Last October, dronemaker DJI sued the US Department of Defense, arguing it should no longer face the stigma of being listed as a "Chinese Military Company" and continue to risk business as a result.
It just lost.
While US District Court judge Paul Friedman "cannot conclude" that DJI is "indirectly owned by the Chinese Communist Party," he found that the DoD has broad discretion to decide which companies do and do not belong on the list of Chinese military companies.
Friedman concluded there was enough evidence that DJI is supported and recognized by the Chinese government to call it a "a military-civil fusion contributor," and that stat …
