DJI Fly vs GO/GO4 -- And any idea when SDK will be out for Mini/Air 2?

[OneQuickSix]

As a fairly new drone(s) owner (been following them and lusting after them for years though), I have to admit I am a bit disappointed with the DJI Fly app, after having watched so many videos of people using GO and GO4 (and Litchi). From Fly's difficult to read text overlay, to missing features and lack of some key info on the screen (e.g. no heading/compass, what?!? I know I can open the map or mini-map and get a decent idea, but it's not the same), I have to say I am more than a little envious of those using slightly older models that work with the GO apps and Litchi. So a few questions if you don't mind ...

1. Does anyone who has used both, actually prefer Fly over GO?
2. Do you think DJI will, or has anyone even heard a rumor when, release a SDK for Mini and Air 2?
3. Is there currently ANY way to get either of these drones to work with GO4?
4. Anyone know why on earth they removed true way-pointing with the release of Fly? Seemed liked one of the coolest and most useful features from my perspective.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Air 2 and the Mini, but I just feel like they hobbled them with forcing them to ONLY work with Fly.

Thanks!

 

[old man mavic]

As a fairly new drone(s) owner (been following them and lusting after them for years though), I have to admit I am a bit disappointed with the DJI Fly app, after having watched so many videos of people using GO and GO4 (and Litchi). From Fly's difficult to read text overlay, to missing features and lack of some key info on the screen (e.g. no heading/compass, what?!? I know I can open the map or mini-map and get a decent idea, but it's not the same), I have to say I am more than a little envious of those using slightly older models that work with the GO apps and Litchi. So a few questions if you don't mind ...

1. Does anyone who has used both, actually prefer Fly over GO?
2. Do you think DJI will, or has anyone even heard a rumor when, release a SDK for Mini and Air 2?
3. Is there currently ANY way to get either of these drones to work with GO4?
4. Anyone know why on earth they removed true way-pointing with the release of Fly? Seemed liked one of the coolest and most useful features from my perspective.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Air 2 and the Mini, but I just feel like they hobbled them with forcing them to ONLY work with Fly.

Thanks!

i use both the apps go4 for my MPP and fly for my MM i hope that in time the fly app will improve as more features are added i believe that they had reached a point with the GO4 where it was optimised for the older mavics and other drones that used it ,and in introducing the MM as a simpler starter drone ,then they set out to simplify the app and uprate the bit speed at the same time, if you have never flown with the GO4 then you would not really notice the comparisons.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Overall I prefer Go*, via typed in flight parameters they offer more accurate and perhaps less easily accidentally changed (ooops) limits.
I think Fly's setting the homepoint to somewhere other than the controller or the drone has a use but touching a point on a map seems rather inaccurate to me even when fully zoomed in. Whether it is in accordance with overall GPS positioning accuracy I do not know.

 

[AMRE2ME2]

I use both. Right now, I prefer the GO app. The Fly app has potential if they make some changes/enhancements.
First, larger font size with a black background like the GO app. Second, the Aircraft Position icon on the bottom of the screen in the Fly app is completely useless, and in most cases dangerous to use. The GO app radar screen was flawless. Why in the world did dji switch to something so useless?

 

[lannes]

They need to develop a full 64bit app I suspect

 

[coneslayer]

1. Do you think DJI will, or has anyone even heard a rumor when, release a SDK for Mini and Air 2?

Soon for the Mini, around September for the Air 2.

Mavic Mini support? · Issue #455 · dji-sdk/Mobile-SDK-Android

When will mobile sdk support mavic mini? It's not listed in https://developer.dji.com/products/#!/mobile. Thank you.

github.com

 

[old man mavic]

the SDK will arrive when DJI decide to release it until then we will just have to use what we have got

 

[OneQuickSix]

I use both. Right now, I prefer the GO app. The Fly app has potential if they make some changes/enhancements.
First, larger font size with a black background like the GO app. Second, the Aircraft Position icon on the bottom of the screen in the Fly app is completely useless, and in most cases dangerous to use. The GO app radar screen was flawless. Why in the world did dji switch to something so useless?

Yes, of course, to both of those. But schwooo, thank you ... I thought maybe I was just a moron (that still could be the case ? ) and couldn't understand how to interpret the aircraft positon iconography at the bottom. Yes, it has NEVER been right once for me as to where the aircraft was in relation to me. I mean it has the general direction, but that's about it.

 

[OneQuickSix]

Soon for the Mini, around September for the Air 2.

Mavic Mini support? · Issue #455 · dji-sdk/Mobile-SDK-Android

When will mobile sdk support mavic mini? It's not listed in https://developer.dji.com/products/#!/mobile. Thank you.

github.com

Awesome, thanks for that link! So if it holds true, looks like this month for the Mini.

Would having the SDK out there allow someone to make the MM and the MA2 work with GO? Obviously Litchi will be developing their app for them when the SDKs are available, but I was hoping it would allow someone to make GO backwards compatible.

 

[Keule]

Does anyone who has used both, actually prefer Fly over GO?

I prefer GO4

Do you think DJI will, or has anyone even heard a rumor when, release a SDK for Mini and Air 2?

A quick view at the developers SDK roadmap shows:


The support for MA2 is not mentioned ...

Is there currently ANY way to get either of these drones to work with GO4?

No

 

[OneQuickSix]

i use both the apps go4 for my MPP ... <snip>

I was actually considering getting a MPP, just so I could use GO4 and/or Litchi. The MPP still looks really nice, it's just an expensive consideration. How do you like it? Is it worth getting the platinum in your opinion as opposed to just the regular MP? If I did, it would have to be a deal (and there have been a few), as the MP2 is not a whole lot more.

 

[coneslayer]

Would having the SDK out there allow someone to make the MM and the MA2 work with GO? Obviously Litchi will be developing their app for them when the SDKs are available, but I was hoping it would allow someone to make GO backwards compatible.

I don't think so. To do that, you would have to modify GO, but only DJI is in a position to do so. Nobody else has access to the GO code, AFAIK.

I'm new to the DJI ecosystem, and I have no experience with GO or writing code against the SDKs. But, from my vantage point, it looks clear to me that Fly is the future. It doesn't make sense for a company to write and maintain two different apps that (in a big-picture sense) do the same thing. Presumably there are architectural improvements in Fly that DJI implemented based on their needs and experience (maybe things like easier to support 64-bit on Android, or easier to support Android and iOS, etc.). I expect that Fly will be improved considerably going forward. I think people who are missing capabilities that were in GO would be better served by asking/cajoling/pleading DJI to support those capabilities in Fly, rather than asking DJI to support a new drone in an old codebase that they're obviously moving away from.

(Again, I'm certain that Fly is going to be improved no matter what. But feedback could influence what gets added first, which UIs could be improved, etc.)

 

[OneQuickSix]

I don't think so. To do that, you would have to modify GO, but only DJI is in a position to do so. Nobody else has access to the GO code, AFAIK.
<snip> ...
(Again, I'm certain that Fly is going to be improved no matter what. But feedback could influence what gets added first, which UIs could be improved, etc.)

Was wondering if a third-party could make some kind of hack to get the two talking perhaps. But yes, I too would expect that DJI is moving away from GO, and I hope you are right in that they will be improving it significantly in the (hopefully near) future. I do see that they monitor their forums quite well. Is that the best place to send them requests/suggestions, or is there a form and/or email address for feature requests?

 

[coneslayer]

Was wondering if a third-party could make some kind of hack to get the two talking perhaps.

I'm on an iPhone and don't jailbreak so I wasn't really thinking along those lines. If I had to guess, it would come down to how similar the API for the new birds is to the old API. One reason you create an API in the first place is to smooth over differences between backend implementations (i.e., make it easy to talk to all the different models in the same way). So maybe DJI will extend the API in that way, so you talk to the new drones using basically the same function calls as the old drones. That would make the hack job more straightforward. But on the other hand, sometimes APIs need to change in a major way, and it seems possible that this could be such a moment, given the birds switching to a new app.

I do see that they monitor their forums quite well. Is that the best place to send them requests/suggestions, or is there a form and/or email address for feature requests?

I don't really know. I agree that the official forums seem well-monitored, so that's where I would go, but maybe somebody else knows about other avenues.

 

[old man mavic]

I was actually considering getting a MPP, just so I could use GO4 and/or Litchi. The MPP still looks really nice, it's just an expensive consideration. How do you like it? Is it worth getting the platinum in your opinion as opposed to just the regular MP? If I did, it would have to be a deal (and there have been a few), as the MP2 is not a whole lot more.

personally my time with my MPP has been faultless (touch wood) as i have said before i think it is one of the best drones in the mavic line up that DJI have released,
it ticks all my boxes ,it has just enough sensors dual IMUs dual compasses great batteries, and a good flight time, and the camera is great if you are not into professional photography,because it was an end of line upgrade of the M1 then the bugs had been sorted out and the improved ESCs and props were the icing on the cake ,its because its so good that i have not been tempted by the new MA2 ,maybe it would be something to consider, if heaven forbid something happened to my MPP ,but right now it serves my flying perfectly

 

[Pushkur]

I carry a magnify glass when using the mini with Dji Fly.?
Do they listen to feedback,or is a petiton required ?
Go 4 is far superior

 

[Deleted member 103366]

onequicksix if MPP = mavic pro platinum. you might want to look into support etc. before you fork out hard cash for, going by "deal", a possibly new drone.

 

[old man mavic]

@OneQuickSix i think what @PhiliusFoggg is saying is there are hardly any new MPPs out there any more, as it is no longer in production, but there are still plenty of spares and accessories around ,but there will come a day in the future i guess when these things become harder to get

 

[Deleted member 103366]

More or less correct OMM, in addition I have the recollection of reading what I think was a fairly recent thread, where the OP of that thread had recently bought a new MPP and encountered a problem with which they were struggling because of what you mention

 

[lannes]

@OneQuickSix i think what @PhiliusFoggg is saying is there are hardly any new MPPs out there any more, as it is no longer in production, but there are still plenty of spares and accessories around ,but there will come a day in the future i guess when these things become harder to get

However being discontinued does make parts cheaper for a while until they run out