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24. September 2025
The Real Reason Your New DJI Mini 5 Pro is Overweight
For years, the number 249 has been a sacred figure in the drone world, separating a “toy” from a “real” drone in the eyes of many regulators. When the brand-new DJI Mini 5 Pro hit the scales at 252 or even 253 grams, the community was in an uproar. What was going on?
One intrepid Reddit user took matters into his own hands and decided to disassemble his brand-new drone to find out the truth behind its weight. He shared his findings with the online community, revealing a fascinating blend of engineering expertise and humor.
The answer to the question was a testament to DJI’s dedication to innovation. The company’s engineers performed miracles of engineering, every milligram accounted for, to cram in all the new features—the bigger camera, extra obstacle avoidance sensors, LiDAR system—and still hit that 249g target. However, it appears they prioritized other factors over weight.
A Breakdown of the Weightsaving Techniques
The teardown revealed some impressive weight-saving techniques employed by DJI’s engineers. They used a lightweight heatsink, swapped standard steel screws for custom aluminum ones, replaced traditional ceramic GPS antenna with a thin, flexible strip, and even went so far as to replace metal shielding covers on the main circuit board with simple foil tape. These small changes add up to make a significant difference in the overall weight of the drone.
So, why is the drone still overweight? Despite all that meticulous work on saving weight, DJI made a seemingly bizarre decision: they crammed in a massive speaker weighing just under 2 grams. The purpose of this speaker is to play a cheerful little jingle when the drone is turned on.
The Baffling Contradiction
This decision highlights a level of irony that’s hard to respect. After all the effort and ingenuity put into saving weight, DJI went against their own goals by adding an unnecessary component. The additional weight brought the total up to 252 grams, just shy of the magical 249g threshold.
A Lesson in Irony
The verdict on the scales is clear: the extra weight is within the drone itself, not the batteries. The idea that battery variance is the cause is nonsense. It seems unless a factory worker forgets to install the musical speaker, every single Mini 5 Pro will be north of 250 grams.
A Community’s Reaction
The Reddit community responded with amusement and frustration, as one would expect from a passionate group of drone enthusiasts. The reaction was a testament to the power of online communities, where people come together to share knowledge, solve problems, and have a good laugh.
DroneXL’s Take
This story has me laughing so hard my sides hurt. It’s the most DJI thing that DJI has ever done. Imagine being the engineer who spent six months figuring out how to save 0.1 grams by using foil tape, only to watch another engineer install a giant speaker to play a 3-second jingle. I would lose my mind.
A Community’s Passion
This story showcases what makes our community so incredible – we’re passionate, obsessive, and slightly crazy nerds who will tear apart a brand-new piece of technology just to solve a 3-gram mystery. The user @Mads_tech deserves credit for his bravery in performing the teardown; he’s a hero.
DJI’s Own Goal
For DJI, this is an own goal. They’ve built the “sub-250 gram” category into a global phenomenon and now released their flagship Mini drone that consistently weighs over that limit due to a musical chime. This level of irony is hard to respect.
Will it matter in the long run? Probably not. Most regulators have wiggle room, and a few grams are unlikely to cause an issue. However, it’s the principle of the thing – innovation sometimes leads to unintended consequences.
The Weight of Innovation
In conclusion, the weight of innovation can be both a blessing and a curse. DJI’s engineers have set a new standard for lightweight drones, but this case shows that even with the best intentions, things don’t always go as planned. The DJI Mini 5 Pro may weigh slightly more than expected, but it’s still an incredible piece of technology promising hours of fun and adventure.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro weighs slightly over 250 grams due to its musical speaker, despite being designed to be under the magical 249g threshold. Despite this, it remains an exciting and innovative drone that promises a lot of functionality and adventure for pilots.