The shadow world of DJI clones is collapsing, and the FCC still won't explain why

The first sign that something was wrong appeared on Xtra Technology's website. The Muse 2 Pro, a camera that looked almost exactly like DJI's Osmo Pocket 4 Pro, was gone from the landing page. Preorders were paused indefinitely. The $20 deposits that early buyers had put down would be automatically refunded within five to ten business days.

"We are unable to confirm a reliable launch timeline at this stage," the company wrote. That amounts to an admission that the Muse 2 Pro might never ship.

The product that was too similar

Xtra had already succeeded once at selling DJI clones in the U.S. Last year it sold a barely disguised version of DJI's Osmo Pocket 3. The resemblance was strong enough that The Verge published a side-by-side comparison showing how identical the two cameras were. The original Muse was a direct clone. The Muse 2 Pro was supposed to do the same thing for the newer three-lens Pocket 4 Pro.

But in the months between those two launches, the FCC changed its approach. The commission had previously approved the Osmo Pocket 4 Pro before a drone ban took effect in December. It then began scrutinizing companies that appeared to be importing and selling the same technology under different brand names.

The FCC's quiet war

On July 10 the commission proposed a $25,000 fine against Xtra and each of Skyrover's suppliers for failing to respond to questions about where their technology actually comes from. A week later, on July 17, the FCC proposed to retroactively ban those companies from selling existing products, not just future ones