November 30, 2016 - 14:19 AMT
DJI cuts maximum speed of new Inspire 2 drone

DJI has announced that its Inspire 2 drone — announced earlier this month — will be slightly less speedy than originally planned. The Chinese drone manufacturer stated last night that the Inspire 2 would now have a top speed of 58 mph, reduced from 67 mph, and would take five seconds to reach 50 mph, not four seconds as first indicated, The Verge says.

The company says the change is "necessary to ensure speed does not compromise video quality and stability." The Inspire 2 is aimed at filmmakers, with obstacle tracking, two cameras, and a new image processing system that uses an onboard SSD, so it makes sense that the quality of video it can produce comes before sheer racing potential.

Compared to some of the problems affecting DJI's drone-making peers, a minor reduction in top speed shouldn't be too big a deal, but if you did pre-order the Inspire 2 precisely because it could it could break the 60 mph barrier, then DJI is offering full refunds on the device, The Verge says.