Goggles yes or no?

[airflightcontrol]

Ok, I didn't purchase the FPV goggles. I wasn't sure if this is a good thing or bad. I saw someone with a Phantom II and they had a tablet with it. That was great. However, I don't think the Mavic Air will allow a tablet.. only a phone. I have a S8 Note, so hopefully that will be good enough.

Do I really need the goggles?

 

[CanadaDrone]

I am not a fan of the goggles. I am not sure how the laws work in your area, but with the line of sight rules, it means you have to have a spotter with you for every flight which is super inconvenient. Also if you get motion sick at all, you probably won't like them - everyone is different there though - if you've ever used a VR headset, that would be a good indication of how you are likely to respond to it. The googles are also huge, but they are well made, and they have offset focal points for more natural viewing depth. Resolution of the goggles is quite poor, but you get used to it.

And you can absolutely use a tablet with the Mavic Air. The Lenovo Tab 4 8" apparently fits in the remote 'claws', or you can buy a tablet mount like the MavMount or something similar. If you have the Note 8 though that is plenty unless you want a much larger screen - all personal preference.

 

[airflightcontrol]

Does it work better with Android or IOS?

 

[msinger]

Do I really need the goggles?

I own the DJI Goggles and many other goggles/glasses. None of them replace the functionality of a mobile device. They are great if you're looking for a view that makes it look like you're seated in the Mavic as it's flying, need to be able to see a more detailed view of the screen while flying, or would like to let someone else watch as you fly.

I don't think the Mavic Air will allow a tablet.. only a phone.

You can use a tablet with the Mavic Air. If you need suggestions, you can find a list of commonly used tablets here.

If the tablet of your choice is too large to fit in the Mavic Air remote controller arms, you can mount it to the remote controller with one of these commonly used Mavic Air remote controller mounts:

FStop Labs





Hooshion or SKYREAT Extended (see it in action here)





MavMount (see it in action here)





PGYTECH (see it in action here)

 

[CanadaDrone]

Does it work better with Android or IOS?

Android has been smoother in my experience (I have flown equal amounts with an iPhone 8 and Google Pixel XL2). The FCC "hack" can only be done on an android device to my knowledge, and keep in mind iPads do not have GPS in them unless you have a 3G/LTE version, whereas virtually every android tablet has GPS. Pretty disappointing when a $1000 iPad doesn't even have GPS but a $200 android tablet does...

Both are totally fine though, generally I had zero issues with either and it probably won't be a major factor in your decision.