DJI won’t off an M3 SDK…

[SkyeHigh]

Its a perfectly fair description.
In Canon's case the code was already in firmware and disabled by a flag.
In DJIs case the SDK exists, is written and works (its used by Fly etc) and is almost no different to the enterprise ones.

So yes the devices hardware and features are crippled by deliberate software off switches.

Sorry, I don’t see the problem.

The past two companies I worked for developed the industry leading video production/editing and broadcasting systems. The very systems you have watched movies and TV programmes through. We developed API’s and SDK’s for third party developers who paid a fee and had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect the company’s copyright. It was at our discretion what functions and features were made available and the fee charged reflected that. Some features required a license, some a security dongle but in all cases the underlying code was feature full so only one version needed to be created.

If you want 4K support, SAN storage, real-time playback live to air, various codec support then you paid for the features you needed and a licence enabled them. That is simply how the world of software commerce works. That is what pays the bills, the wages, the insurance and a profit from what’s left so they can pay the shareholders and leave some spare to reinvest in the business.

So what you appear to be saying is a feature or features you want is not available to you and you don’t see why you should have to pay to get them. How about those who have paid for them. Would they be happy to hear the extra features they paid for are being given to someone who hasn’t paid for them?

How about if you were running a business and your customers wanted more than they were prepared to pay for an extra item/feature for a device they had already purchased at a lower price point?

I’m curious what Canon models you are referring to.

 

[guzewski]

So yes the devices hardware and features are crippled by deliberate software off switches.

The hardware is not crippled at all. But "features" arise from a combination of hardware and software. You seem to think software should be free. Developing robust software is not easy or cheap (I should know, I did it professionally for 45 years). Someone has to pay for that, and it's only fair that it's the consumer.

The producer has a couple of options:

1. Maintain a single software load for a range of products, and use switches to determine what gets run.
2. Maintain a separate software load for each product in the range, with higher-end features omitted from lower-end products.

Option 1 generally works out to be quite a bit easier to manage, so most producers opt for that. The end result for the consumer is exactly the same, so IMHO your complaint does not have much merit.

 

[Cymru]

You're still forgetting (i) these were features available in all previous releases and in the case of SDKs (ii) actually promised on and pre-launch for the products.

Developing robust software isn't the issue. It already exists via the SDK and APIs. It can do it (as releases show) but its an active choice to not do it.

They could literally copy/paste code with a firmware update to enable it all.
DJI used to do it but have stopped about 12 months ago.

Its the dishonesty in the sudden change of business plan and renaging on promises that's the issue. There are no technical reasons for it not to be done and the coding itself is likely a few hours for one person to paste in.

 

[EmilioCid]

This is my prediction, only and not backed by any facts.

DJI won’t be offering a SDK to M3 or for that matter any consumer drones in the future.

Definitely DJI is forcing the sales of the enterprise. I will never buy one. I'm already on my 3rd Mavic2Pro. When it gets old, I find another used one, who is less old. I still don't have a Mavic3 due to the absence of the SKD. That is, since November 2018 DJI has not seen the color of my money. There are thousands of cases just like mine.

 

[coullit]

This is my prediction, only and not backed by any facts.

DJI won’t be offering a SDK to M3 or for that matter any consumer drones in the future.

Why? Because after they are seeing how companies are actually using the SDK against DJI, there is no incentive for them to release one! Fact, I can do waypoints with a mini 2, I can do follow me with mini 2, I can do PPK with mini 2, I can do A LOT with the mini 2, Air 2, and the Mavic 2 that’s Enterprise level that’s cutting into their sells of more profitable enterprise models.

Why encourage cannibalize sells of your enterprise models of others are profiting off product, that makes no sense.

If they do offer it, it will be enterprise customer only and locked down with a dongle.

What say you?

I would simply say I won't buy an M3 until I can use Litchi with it so its their loss

 

[salimedwardo]

This is my prediction, only and not backed by any facts.

DJI won’t be offering a SDK to M3 or for that matter any consumer drones in the future.

Why? Because after they are seeing how companies are actually using the SDK against DJI, there is no incentive for them to release one! Fact, I can do waypoints with a mini 2, I can do follow me with mini 2, I can do PPK with mini 2, I can do A LOT with the mini 2, Air 2, and the Mavic 2 that’s Enterprise level that’s cutting into their sells of more profitable enterprise models.

Why encourage cannibalize sells of your enterprise models of others are profiting off product, that makes no sense.

If they do offer it, it will be enterprise customer only and locked down with a dongle.

What say you?

Onboard waypoints would mean that the drone can fly autonomously according to an onboard waypoint plan without intervention from the controller. New DJI drones generally do not have this capability.

 

[salimedwardo]

Onboard waypoints would mean that the drone can fly autonomously free german vps according to an onboard waypoint plan without intervention from the controller. New DJI drones generally do not have this capability.

 

[Yt2]

Funny how DJI have released the SDK for the Mini 3 pro.
That seems to blow the theory of no SDK for the consumer drone.
Might have to sell the M3 buy a Mini 3 pro for travel vids and put back into service my Phantom 4 pro for mapping. At least it has a mechanical shutter...

 

[Droning on and on...]

Funny how DJI have released the SDK for the Mini 3 pro.
That seems to blow the theory of no SDK for the consumer drone.
Might have to sell the M3 buy a Mini 3 pro for travel vids and put back into service my Phantom 4 pro for mapping. At least it has a mechanical shutter...

IMO they were planning not to, but the whining and caterwauling just became too much. So they opened up Virtual Stick to the Mini3P crowd as appeasement... which didn't satisfy the demand.

This is why it was so late in coming.

All IMO.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Why would somebody buy a $10,000 drone, if they can get the prosumer $3000 drone and do mostly what the $20,000 drone can do via SDK?

Man, that's the worst inflation in all history!! The price of that Enterprise drone doubled during the writing of that one post!!

 

[netling]

Funny how DJI have released the SDK for the Mini 3 pro.
That seems to blow the theory of no SDK for the consumer drone.
Might have to sell the M3 buy a Mini 3 pro for travel vids and put back into service my Phantom 4 pro for mapping. At least it has a mechanical shutter...

Hehehe... "Sell the M3 buy a Mini 3 Pro" is exactly why I'm surprised they release it! How many now won't be buying a more expensive M3 or M3e and just opting for a more affordable option such as Mini 3 and using third-party software solutions?

 

[Droning on and on...]

Its a perfectly fair description.
In Canon's case the code was already in firmware and disabled by a flag.
In DJIs case the SDK exists, is written and works (its used by Fly etc) and is almost no different to the enterprise ones.

So yes the devices hardware and features are crippled by deliberate software off switches.

Let's avoid a rhetorical argument.

It costs a lot to engineer those features. Money is saved (a lot!) by minimizing code branches in the engineering process for different models. Fewer bugs are introduced, reducing support costs.

All this benefits the entire product portfolio, ultimately resulting in lower prices across the board.

However, again, engineering those features does cost. That engineering is paid for through the higher pricing model for those drones.

What you seem to be asking for is to have those features without paying the cost to make them available to you, simply because the software development model results in the code being there, but disabled.

Have you thought about the logic that, if these features were there DJI would be right to increase the price of those models, to reasonably cover the cost of development of those features?

The cost of feature development should be covered by those using the feature. Isn't that fair?

If these features were enabled in lower-end models simply because "it's there" would most certainly result in a different group of complaints, essentially unhappy that these features they don't use and don't care about are in their Mini3P and they're having to pay for it. So where do you draw the line? Who pays the million$ it costs to develop and maintain these features?

This is not so simple an issue to decide over an entire product portfolio. What we see DJI doing is attempting to match the product line to the demands and needs of the market.

I think they're doing a pretty good job.

 

[Droning on and on...]

They could literally copy/paste code with a firmware update to enable it all.

This simply is not true.

Have you ever been a software developer, and worked as part of a release process?

 

[Meta4]

IMO they were planning not to, but the whining and caterwauling just became too much. So they opened up Virtual Stick to the Mini3P crowd as appeasement.

DJI don't respond to whining and caterwauling.
If that was all it took, the Mavic 3 would have had an SDK long ago.

 

[Mountainman75]

My next bridge inspection in Canada will be done at a potential -20C. My last bridge inspection I used my Mavic 2 Zoom at 4C so it was adequate. I agree with using what you have and why spend the money. But when a company is flying you on a chopper into a remote area where the weather could be snowing and -20, you need reliability and a drone that can perform in cold or wet temps.