DJI appears close to unveiling the Mini 4 Pro, the successor to the Mini 3 Pro that launched in May last year.

First, as a reminder, DJI’s smallest and lightest “Pro” drone tips the scales at just 249 grams, a carefully considered move as it’s just 1 gram below the drone weight category that involves having to register it with the authorities. Sure, that’s no great hardship for most folks, but the fewer hoops you have to jump through to get your bird in the sky, the better.

A social media post (below) that appeared on Monday has increased chatter around the apparently imminent launch of the DJI Mini 4 Pro. The post shows what appears to be the box for the incoming foldable drone, including a list of specifications.

DJI Mini 4 PRO现出真身～ pic.twitter.com/GdSZEyMDxq

— 大疆_COM (@DJI_COM) September 4, 2023

According to the list, the new drone will include, for the first time, omnidirectional active obstacle sensing. That’ll certainly be a big boost for DJI’s diminutive quadcopter, offering pilots greater peace of mind when they send their machine skyward. And as noted by DroneDJ, it’s a significant improvement over the Mini 3 Pro, which only comes with tri-directional obstacle avoidance.

Improved video transmission technology is also part of the package, offering Full HD video from a distance of up to 12.4 miles (20 km), a decent improvement over the Mini 3 Pro’s range of 7.5 miles (12 km) using a standard battery.

It also looks as if the Mini 4 Pro will get Waypoint support, which lets you program a specific flight path that includes points of interest where you want the copter to capture footage or take photos. The feature lets you choose things like altitude, speed, zoom, and hovering time for each waypoint, turning it into a much more useful device — one that could catch the eye of drone professional pilots looking for a smaller machine to work with.

There’s no official word yet from DJI about an event to unveil the new drone, but most commentators believe there’s a good chance the Mini 4 Pro will buzz into view before the end of this month.