I believe there's more to the decision than purely money and specs. I was in the same boat and labored over the decision as well. Money was not a deciding factor, and I even had discounts that would narrow the price between the two by less than $200.
What it came down to for me was the conspicuity. I like to fly in both urban and beautiful public nature areas. I highly value not disturbing others' experience when outdoors or at their homes, so it was more important to me to not infringe on others with a larger and louder drone, and worth losing the few advantages that the larger
Air 2 have over the
Mini 2. Strange concept, I know. I also hike, mountain bike and gravel cycle, so overall system weight and size was a big factor, as I'd like to take it with me on longer rides.
From personal experience before getting into drones, I'd been on hikes in the past and been annoyed as hell by someone flying low over the trails for over an hour. It was cool at first, but became like a splinter in my ear I couldn't unhear the entire time they were flying, which really put a damper on my limited time outdoors. I was not alone on this, as others on the trail started getting annoyed and even paranoid, fearing their picture was being taken by some "nefarious" unknown entity. (We have to keep in mind this is how a lot of the general public view drones).
So although they are fascinating and cool to me now, I have to keep this experience in mind and realize nearly everyone out enjoying nature is not going to be pleased by hearing and seeing a loud and large drone. And the last thing the hobby needs is more of the general public hating drones. Thus, I chose the
Mini 2 which has been hardly noticeable once high in the sky. I also make an effort to launch and fly as far away from others as possible, but realize I will probably still annoy someone if I'm staying in the same area for a long time, so I try to move around. It's a personal feeling, but I get more enjoyment and less stress flying when I know I'm more inconspicuous and less likely to bother others or be approached by an angered redneck or Karen.
The second most common argument for the
Air 2 seems to be the camera. To me it's a moot point, as even in side-by-side comparisons there is not a massive difference. I'm not shooting videos for Hollywood. 99.9% of people watching my videos (that are going to be compressed/degraded by whatever site you're sharing them on, by the way) are not going to be pausing and pixel-peeping by zooming in 400% to assess the image quality. Content and editing trump the minute image differences. So then you have to weigh the other advantages like a supposed wind advantage, sensors, hyperlapse and active tracking, which are all legitimate reasons to go
Air 2 if you need/want those. Again, for me they didn't outweigh the conspicuity and portability. Either way, you're getting a great drone no matter which you choose!
I found this other thread really interesting, as it's also one of the few comparisons where I've seen someone that is not "campy" (aka, staunch purchase decision loyalty) and a realist compare the two after switching to the
Air 2.
Again, either way you're going to have a great time!
Preparing for a trip to the mountains this month I purchased a
Mini 2 on 12/1/20. After flying it for several days and getting some good footage I realized how much I enjoyed this drone and began looking at other DJI products. I found the
Air 2 decided that the better camera, Focus Track Modes...
mavicpilots.com