(Credit: DJI)
DJI's latest vlogging camera, the Osmo Pocket 4, made its debut today. It looks like a nice upgrade to the Pocket 3, which is our top-rated camera for content creation, but the Pocket 4 won't go on sale in the US anytime soon.
The Pocket 4 maintains the same handheld form factor, Type 1 image sensor size, and 3-axis gimbal stabilization as its predecessor, but doubles the fastest frame rate to 4K240 for slower slow motion and improves the camera's flat color profile to D-Log, which leaves more room for color correction than the Pocket 3's D-Log M recording format. All in all, it's a solid upgrade, but more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Americans, however, won't have a chance to test it out. DJI's entire product line—drones, gimbals, and cameras—was added to the FCC's Covered List in December. It wasn't a surprise: the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, a funding bill passed by Congress and signed into law by then-President Biden, set a December 2025 deadline for the government to conduct a security audit of DJI's product line. If DJI failed or no agency completed the audit, its "communications or video surveillance equipment" would automatically be added to the FCC's list of disallowed products, which includes cameras, microphones, gimbals, and drones.
As we got deeper and deeper into 2025, it looked pretty clear that no agency was actually performing the audit. DJI put out statements calling for the work to be completed, but the Trump administration had other priorities. When we finally got to the deadline, the FCC went well beyond the scope of changes required by law; it didn't just add DJI's entire product line to the Covered List; it banned all foreign-made drones.
The changes came with a couple of caveats: equipment that was previously approved was exempt, so old drones and cameras can still be used and sold, and carve-outs were made for drones approved by the Department of Defense. There's no crossover between drones made for video and photography and military drones, though, so those exemptions don't mean squat for content creators, real estate agents, and shutterbugs.
But consumers haven't felt the brunt of the FCC's actions until today. DJI got several of its first-quarter products through the FCC approval phase ahead of the changes to the Covered List—the Avata 360 drone, Mic 3 wireless microphone system, and RS 5 gimbal were all released in 2026. And while DJI isn't officially selling them through its online store, independent retailers are filling the gaps for US customers.
But the story is different with the Pocket 4. DJI states that "the Osmo Pocket 4 will not be available in the US market at launch due to pending FCC authorization." In plain language, that means that the Pocket 4 was submitted to the FCC, but did not get the okay from the agency ahead of DJI securing a place on the Covered List.
I won't go as far as to say that the FCC will never approve another DJI release; after all, DJI is suing the government over the ban, and its lawsuit could change the story, but it's highly improbable. If you want my read, an about-face on DJI's future in the US is as close to the highest setting on Douglas Adams' Infinite Improbability Drive as it gets, at least for the remainder of President Trump's second term in office. The FCC's technological xenophobia has already extended to foreign-made Wi-Fi routers, so a voluntary walk back doesn't seem likely until different people are in power.
So what are US-based content creators supposed to do in the meantime? If you've been thinking about adding a Pocket to your video kit, there's a bit of good news in the bad. The Pocket 3 is still available and selling for around $500, a good discount versus its $799 debut price. Yes, the Pocket 4 is better on paper, but not much better than the Pocket 3, so pick one up while supplies last. DJI appears committed to keeping FCC-approved gear in production for the US market, but there's no guarantee that the Pocket 3 will stick around forever.
We'll also have to see if any Pocket 4 clones hit the streets. The Xtra Muse looks like a literal copy of the Pocket 3, and while I haven't tested it myself, ReadySetDrone tried the Muse and described it as "99% a Pocket 3." We'll have to see if Xtra follows up with its take on a Pocket 4.
If you're shopping for a video camera for YouTube and social media, make sure to check out our list of the best vlogging cameras to help you decide on which one to get.