DJI shows off iPhone-ready Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal with better battery life, easier controls

By Roger Fingas

Drone maker DJI has revealed the Osmo Mobile 2, an upgraded version of its stabilizing smartphone gimbal, set to launch through apple.com on Jan. 23.

The accessory's main improvement is a better internal battery, said to offer up to 15 hours of video shooting -- more than three times what the original Osmo Mobile allowed. The Mobile 2 is also lighter than before, and equipped with a revised button layout, including a built-in zoom slider.

While iPhone video is normally best shot in landscape mode, the Mobile 2 can also be used to shoot in vertical orientation.

Software-based features include subject tracking, panoramas, timelapses, and "Motionlapses," which are timelapses shot while an iPhone is moving.

The Osmo Mobile 2 will cost $129. After it makes its premiere through Apple, it will go on sale through DJI and various resellers starting in February.