Mavic Air 2s is a great consumer drone in the DJI lineup. It combines the superior camera features of the Mavic 2 Pro with the sleek design and high-end features of its predecessor – the Mavic Air 2.
However, when it comes to battery timing, users have some doubts about the Mavic Air 2s compared to the previous Mavic Air 2.
So, how long does Mavic Air 2s battery last? According to the company specifications, the DJI Mavic Air 2s battery will last for 31 minutes of flight in no wind condition. However, the real-world flight time can vary significantly.
Let’s check things out in more detail and see how long the Mavic Air 2s flight time is with an Intelligent Flight Battery.
Mavic Air 2s battery specifications
The Mavic Air 2s uses the DJI proprietary Intelligent Flight Battery system. It is basically a battery system integrated with an intelligent battery management system inside the battery pack.
The Mavic Air 2s Intelligent Flight Battery uses the latest Li-Po cells which are expensive but have very high energy density. That means you get high capacity per unit weight.
The below table lists some of the important specifications of the Mavic Air 2s battery system.
| Battery weight | 7 ounce (198g) |
| Rated Capacity | 3500 mAh |
| Battery Type | 2S – LiPo |
| Rated Voltage | 11.55 V |
| Fully charge time | 1 hour 40 minutes. |
| Flight time | 31 minutes (no wind) |
| Max Charging Power | 38 W |
The battery has a built-in intelligent battery management system (BMS) that makes sure the battery is charged and discharged properly without damaging the cells.
The BMS also ensures the battery goes into hibernation during long storage times. That’s why some Mavic Air batteries won’t charge right away after unpacking.
The Intelligent BMS is the backbone of the battery’s safe operation and your drone. It monitors the battery status in real-time and reports back to the IMU.
It helps with stable energy dispatch and accurate calculations of remaining battery time in the air.
How long is Mavic air 2s battery life?
Back to our main question – how long is Mavic Air 2s battery flight time. According to the official specification sheet, the Mavic Air 2s battery should give you a flight time of 31 minutes in an ideal condition.
But as we all know, the company provided specifications are always recorded in an ideal environment. That’s why DJI always mention the “no wind” condition whenever it specifies the battery flight time.
What does the “no wind” condition even mean?
The battery timing depends highly on how the wind is blowing. If you are flying against the wind, considerable energy is spent countering the effects of wind resulting in low battery timing.
Whenever DJI tests the flight time of a battery, it does so inside a controlled environment with no wind blowing. This could be a closed building space.
The main purpose of doing this is to provide a common baseline for reporting the specification. So, we treat this as the maximum possible flight time under ideal conditions.
Real world timing of Mavic Air 2s battery
Since you will not be flying your drones in ideal conditions, it is highly probable that you will get a battery flight time of less than what the company reports i-e less than 31 minutes.
Apart from the weather conditions and wind speed, other factors also affect how many minutes you can squeeze out of your Mavic Air 2s battery. Some of them are:
- Battery age (old batteries give less flight time)
- Additional payload (prop guards etc.)
- Outside temperature (batteries give less time in cold weather)
- Flying style (more aggressive, less time in the air)
You can read more about how long drone batteries last in general in my linked article.
Due to the above real-world factors, you can expect a realistic flight time of 20 – 25 minutes from your Mavic Air 2s battery. This has been my own personal experience as well as the experience of other pilots.
Where I live, it’s mostly windy and I can only get 20 minutes out of one battery. This has been my experience with other drones as well.
Are Mavic Air 2 and 2S batteries the same?
Interestingly, the Mavic Air 2s uses the exact same battery as you can find in the Mavic Air 2. This makes the upgrade a little cheap.
If you are coming from the old Mavic Air 2, you can also use your older batteries for extended flight sessions.
However, if you look at the specification sheet for both the drones, you will notice that the previous Air 2 has a listed flight time of 34 minutes vs 31 minutes on the newer Air 2s.
Although the difference is subtle and unnoticeable in the real world, it begs the question – why is the flight time different if the batteries are the same?
The answer is quite simple really. The previous Mavic Air 2 was slightly lighter than the newer version. The Mavic Air 2s is 595 grams compared to the previous Air 2 which was 570 grams.
This slight difference in takeoff weight affects the flight time with the same battery.
How long it take for DJI Mavic Air 2s batteries to charge?
Like your mobile phone, charging your drone batteries is a time taking job. For better results, you should always use the recommended 38 Watt charger
If you are charging your Mavic Air 2s battery using the DJI provided single battery charger, it will take approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes to fully charge one battery.
This time is under ideal conditions when the temperature and humidity are in a normal range.
If you bought the FlyMore combo, you will also get 2 additional batteries and a series charging hub. You can use the charging hub to charge all your batteries in series overnight.
The charging hub will not charge the batteries all at one time. It will scan the batteries and start with the one with the highest charge level first, charge it fully and then move on to the next one.
Depending on the charge level, the charging hub can take up to 5 hours to charge all 3 of your batteries.
If you want to go a step further and charge all your batteries in parallel to get them fully charged quickly, you can use a third-party charging hub like this one that supports parallel safe charging.
How many battery cycles you can get out of Air 2s batteries?
DJI officially recommends not using the batteries after 200 cycles. You can find this recommendation in their safety guidelines document.
After 200 cycles, there is a higher chance of battery degradation and risk of swelling and explosion. You should dispose of the batteries safely.
A physically damaged battery might not even turn your drone ON.
However, the actual age of the batteries depends on how you used them throughout their life.
I found an interesting poll in one of the discussion forums where people have reported the charge cycles there were able to get out of their batteries (see below)
From the votes, you can see that some people have got much more out of their batteries compared to what DJI suggests.
In summary, if you find your batteries swollen or de-shaped at any stage of their life, immediately discard them and get new ones.
Else, you can keep using them for as long as you are getting a decent flight time.
Below is a great infographic from DJI to take good care of your Intelligent Flight Battery to get the most out of it.
How Long Does Mavic Air 2S Battery Last? – Conclusion
In summary, your Mavic Air 2s battery can last up to 31 minutes on a single charge if you are flying in ideal windless conditions and the temperature is nominal.
However, if there is wind and/or the temperature and humidity conditions are extreme, you can expect a flight time of 20-25 minutes.
You Intelligent flight battery can last for up to 200 flight cycles or even more if you use them correctly as per company guidelines.
Hope you find this short article informative and helpful. If you have any questions, you can post them below and I will answer. Happy flying :)