Often it comes down to what you need, what you don't and the value of the items in the kit and their usefulness to the purchaser.
If I were to purchase the
M3 today, I believe I would buy the basic system and one extra battery. With a "hover time" of 37 minutes per battery, two batteries should be sufficient for my needs. In all my excursions with my
M2p I don't think I've had more than a total amount of flight time per trip to more than 30 minutes. Theoretically I could get by with one battery even if the flight time was 25 minutes per battery. I would have to modify my M2 case to accommodate the longer/larger lens and protector, but all it would take would be a few slices with my exacto knife. If I needed rapid recharging I know that there will be 3rd part charges that will exceed the specs of the OEM charger, even the multi charger from the FMC.
Personally, while I think the drone itself is a pretty good upgrade from the M2, I am gravely disappointed with DJI's choice to go with the same controller as the
Mini 2 et al. While some liked the newer controller better than the one that came with the M2's (though I can't see why) you would think that for the money DJI would provide a controller that had similar features to the M2's controllers without having to spend $1200 more to get them. Additionally, because of the size and weight of the
Mini2/
Air2/
M3 controller, when one considers the contrast of the M2'
s controller I found it as easy to travel with my
M2P as my
Mini 2. The larger controller made such a negative impact on packing my drone kit all the while offering fewer features, not to mention being heavier in the hand.