The extra physical buttons/controls are what appeal to me the most. Being able to change more than one camera setting without having to mess with the touch screen must be nice.
The Mavic and Air series aren't super cheap. If this is his first drone and he's looking to save money then steer him towards the DJI Mini 4k. Its not the top of the line, but it can still get some great cinematic photos and videos.
This is very good to know. I haven't actually taken them out of the box yet so I'll just leave them unused and store them in the part of my house that is always 68F or cooler.