DJI are the main player in the drone photography at the minute and with other companies popping up left right and centre, all suggesting that their drone is the next best – it starts to beg the question – can anyone really outsell DJI? The estimated consumer drone shipments is expected to double in the next 3 years, so we’re expecting that some companies are about to rise from the ashes and attempt to overthrow the throne so well guarded by DJI – but it’s some task. Chart courtesy of Business Insider However it’s not impossible and with such a rapid growth in the drone market, DJI has suffered from manufacturing issues in the past with consumers waiting for a Mavic Pro for months after release after issues with the production line. So there’s a potential gap in terms of the size, providing that DJI don’t address the problem. All that power bad for competitors? DJI have a huge 72% of the market in US sales in 2017 and with the next competitor in Parrot having undergone financial issues after being forced to layoff part of its workforce. The competition may prove just too strong for start-ups and with DJI approaching the valuation of $10bn – it’s going to be a hard market to crack. Drones $500-$1000 price segment US sales – courtesy of Skylogic The issue is now that DJI is gaining a monopoly over the rest of the drone industry to the point where it’s unlikely that others may start the pursuit in locking horns in competition with the quadcopter giants. With a drone at every price point interval with the launch of the Spark, there’s very little room to enter and undercut too – meaning that for sales to compete, a much better quality and trusted product is needed to battle in the same marketplace. What about GoPro? GoPro are a good bet when it comes to the future of aerial photography with their recent release of the Karma at the £600 price point. Although the drone may not be the best, it shows their interest in the market of aerial photography and with a company with such a huge worldwide fanbase and reputation of high quality, trustworthy and indestructible action cameras – they may be the safest bet in the hunt for the crown held by DJI. The takeaway In the immediate future we can’t see anyone overtaking DJI anytime soon, they’re way too big and the products that they create too good to be knocked from the top spot just yet. Of course there’s always space for two at the top, but a company would need serious size, quality and sales to be able to pull it off. Although it may seem that GoPro may be wanting a bigger slice of the pie when it comes to the drone market – it’s anyone’s guess at the minute and with the recent release of the new action cam – the GoPro Hero 7 – it may be a project in the pipeline. All that we do know for sure is that it’s going to be a great race to the top.