Android person wants stable tablet recommendation (iPad?)

[Malavic]

I've been running a k1 shield, no crashes. I had to downgrade back to marshmallow. I've heard the latest go4 works with nougat but I have no experience with that yet.

 

[geigy]

Something like the K1 Shield might be perfect - HDMI output, SD card support, and half the price of even the cheapest iPad. But it's not on the DJI supported list ...

 

[Kestrel]

If in doubt buy the iPad mini 4. Can't recommend it enough for flying.

 

[geigy]

Thanks, yeah, I hear you about the Ipad mini 4. It just burns me to pay several hundred of dollars for an Apple product, and then not be able to use HDMI goggles or SD storage, just because of some software glitches ... I get your point, but Grrr.

 

[Kestrel]

Thanks, yeah, I hear you about the Ipad mini 4. It just burns me to pay several hundred of dollars for an Apple product, and then not be able to use HDMI goggles or SD storage, just because of some software glitches ... I get your point, but Grrr.

I know trust me, I know how you feel, I didn't want to drop that much money on an ipad either. I could of bought me a new quad and some fpv goggles for the price I paid for the ipad, but it had to be done if I wanted a better experience with the mavic.

 

[geigy]

Thanks - I appreciate your attitude. I bought an iPad 4 this afternoon, and am looking forward to thinking about Mavic and flying related issues, instead of fiddling with crashed screens while my bird is in the air. Reliability is key when your drone is just a distant dot in the air. Wish me luck!

 

[Eric17]

ipad 4 is great, makes a big difference flying with a bigger screen and still being able to use the mounts is nice. I was in the same boat, I got a 32gb cellular model, I have a data plan that's unlimited and figured id use it a lot just not for the mavic.

 

[geigy]

Did a test flight over my house and everything was smooth and responsive - perfect video without even any dropped frames. I'm giving this baby a workout tomorrow, and hopefully app glitches are a thing of the past now - fingers crossed.

 

[geigy]

I've been using the iPod Mini for several days now. I'm happy - thanks to those who recommended that I do so. No crashes whatsoever, clean responsive video. I am now flying over water and going larger distances without worrying about losing my FPV.

BTW - just found out that Apple bought 1/3 of DJI some time ago, is a marketing partner via the Apple Store, and has been instrumental in the software and hardware design. This explains why the quality and usability of DJI's products overall are so high for IOS devices and why Android appears to be in the back seat. I hope that changes because I would not mind being able to use my other Android devices but that's the situation for the foreseeable future.

 

[Blueabyss]

I as well was a diehard Android fan. I bought a Nvidia Shield thinking it was going to be great to use with my Mavic controller. I had nothing but app crash after crash. I bought an IPad mini4 with 128gb wifi only version and I tether it to my galaxy note4 hotspot. It works great. Haven't experienced a single problem yet (knock on wood). I am so happy I did.

I keeping hearing with some Ipads you need cellular to get GPS location on maps or something like that. Is that just BS and all you have to do is Wireless tether to your phone and all is good?

Chris

 

[CyberNate]

If you can find the older version of the Samsung Tab S2 (Exynos chipset (model SM-T710), not Snapdragon (model SM-T713)) it will work well. I actually have the newer version and it also works fine once you get it to connect. I basically have to start the Mavic, controller, and then reboot the tablet and then it works perfectly. With the older model, it will connect without needing the reboot. I like the Tab S2 because it has a very bright OLED display and very thin. The 8" version fits in the controller just like the Ipad mini.

Here are the best models to get for Mavic

8 inch Galaxy Tab S2 - SM-T710 (fits in controller)
9.7 inch Galaxy Tab S2 - SM-810 (needs a tablet adapter)

Last point, do not upgrade to Nougat (Android 7.*). Keep the Marshmallow (Android 6.*).

I sometimes fly with my 9.7 inch S2 rather than my Ipad Mini4 and I see no stability issues. I just don't like that I need to reboot for it to connect to controller.

 

[JoostGT3]

I keeping hearing with some Ipads you need cellular to get GPS location on maps or something like that. Is that just BS and all you have to do is Wireless tether to your phone and all is good?

Chris

Well, the thing is that only the models indicated with "cellular" are also the ones that have GPS receivers!
So:

• iPad Mini X Cellular = WiFi, Cellular & GPS
• iPad Mini X WiFi = WiFi only, no cellular, no GPS

Now the question is; do you need the GPS or not? It is only used for I think initial position determination and later on for active tracking modes where the drone needs the GPS position of the RC controler in order to be able to find it. Oh, that and if you later want to update the RTH position with the current location of the controler rather than the current location of the drone.
The choice is yours!

-Joost-

 

[Blueabyss]

So which ipad is best. Mini or air? I don't know anything apple products.

Chris

 

[JoostGT3]

Neither do I I'm an android person, but for the sake of stability I am willing to make the change to buy an iOs device for controlling the mavic only. For me, the choice is the following:

• As cheap as possible, probably 2nd hand iPad mini2 cellular 16 GB
• As good as possible; probably iPad mini 4 cellular with larger capacity (as I like the cache files, which I can directly share via whatsapp, etc)
• A compact option: some 5.5 or 6 inch iOs phone... probably way too expensive though.

On the other hand, after my first worrying week with a number of crashes and freezes both on my Nexus 5X (my normal day to day phone, so not a lot of storage room left, lots of apps on it, etc) and my Nexus 7 2013 (no clue why it froze), I haven't had any issues anymore last couple of days... so I'm going to hold my breath a bit and wait for the DJI CrystalSky (LINK)... see how much that will cost and how good it will be.

 

[mephisto]

Now, that Android App Version 4.0.7 is out - can anyone tell something about the reliability with Nougat?

 

[mephisto]

I did some dryrun test (too bad weather and dark outside now), and noticed that the App 4.0.7 consumes only a small fraction of memory that it used to do in previous App versions. Got it up and running for some 25-30 Minutes without a crash and with only a constant memory usage of 50-60MB (previous Versions up to 600MB). Keeping fingers crossed, will do flight testing tomorrow.

 

[geigy]

It's entertaining to see the apple heartburn manifest. These devices are just tools, get over your bias and buy the best one for the job at hand. I'm flying with an IPhone 6s(too small)and a 9.7" iPad Pro(-too big). A mini would be just right.

Glad you are entertained, but this was a painful decision for me. You also come off as just a little snarky and not very helpful, one of those who gloats about how great Apple is - blech.

I think DJI should just drop Android support. It was very hard for me to learn the lesson that Android just is not stable enough to fly with, and I could have lost my drone in the process of making that discovery. It hurts to spend another $399, just because the Android product is unstable. I hope that changes, because I would still like to be able to use my phone when I don't want to lug the tablet around.

 

[geigy]

you can run a bluetooth GPS receiver with the wifi ipads for location services if that is important to you, but paying for cellular ipad is not.

The current iPad 4 non-cellular has GPS, and it will tether to my phone if needed for maps.

 

[geigy]

So which ipad is best. Mini or air? I don't know anything apple products.

Chris

The Mini is great - the air costs the same, and is larger with longer battery life. Hopefully you have an Apple store nearby and can try them out. I wound up with an iPod 4 mini, and it works great.

 

[geigy]

for a guy who acts like he knows it all and likes to disparage others, perhaps you should contact Apple and let them know that their specification sheet and products in the stores do not have the GPS chip you claim they do. I'm sure they will appreciate you knowledgeable insights...

Well, all righty then! All the iPads currently on offer from Apple have GPS/GLONASS. Re older models, such as the iPad 2, some of them did not have GPS.