To fly the Mavic Mini I bought a used IPad Mini 4 with WI-FI only – no GPS with OS12 installed. After flying it several times I decided to return it and get the cell version which came with GPS – it has OS13 installed. I am new to drones and to Apple products so please weigh my comments accordingly. I have only about 8 batteries of time logged but here is my impression.
The Mini Ipad fits very well on the controller and is held firmly in place. A cable about 6” long or better is needed to make the connection and are readily available online. Both units seem to work well with the MM and presented no problems for basic flight. The FLY view on the screen goes all the way to the sides but there is a strip of unused black screen at the top and bottom about .6”(15mm) wide. This yields an actual screen size of roughly 7.2” (183mm). For me, this is not a problem but some have complained.
But my observation was lack of GPS did cause a few features to be non-functional.
The first was the mapping. Yes, with Wi-Fi available I could preload the map at home and use it but the tablet had to remain on to hold it. I assumed at the flight location I could use my phone as a hotspot and download the map but I could never get this to work correctly. I could bring up Google Maps on the phone and my location was marked but it would never show on the map in the fly app. I am at a loss as to why. Maybe too it was my lack of knowledge with the IPad but it was connected to the hotspot and could access the internet.
Next thing is Find My Drone did not work. It seemed to know the MM’s location but had no idea where I was. As I walked around the map didn’t move or know what direction I was moving. This was a concern for me as a new pilot. If I put it in the weeds while watching the screen I may have no idea where it is. That alone was enough reason to move to a cell/GPS version.
Also, the Aircraft Orientation display on the screen didn’t seem to work correctly. I was confused as to how it was supposed to work but just attributed it to my lack of overall knowledge. As a result, I sort of ignored it. But once I flew with the GPS model it came alive and it was obvious how it functions.
And one final thing – and this may be BS – it seemed like the battery on the RC last longer with the GPS version. After flying two batteries out the RC indicator would drop a light with the non-GPS version but now is not doing it on the new one. But like I said that may be pure BS and was just something going on with the new RC battery.
Just my observations……………….
The Mini Ipad fits very well on the controller and is held firmly in place. A cable about 6” long or better is needed to make the connection and are readily available online. Both units seem to work well with the MM and presented no problems for basic flight. The FLY view on the screen goes all the way to the sides but there is a strip of unused black screen at the top and bottom about .6”(15mm) wide. This yields an actual screen size of roughly 7.2” (183mm). For me, this is not a problem but some have complained.
But my observation was lack of GPS did cause a few features to be non-functional.
The first was the mapping. Yes, with Wi-Fi available I could preload the map at home and use it but the tablet had to remain on to hold it. I assumed at the flight location I could use my phone as a hotspot and download the map but I could never get this to work correctly. I could bring up Google Maps on the phone and my location was marked but it would never show on the map in the fly app. I am at a loss as to why. Maybe too it was my lack of knowledge with the IPad but it was connected to the hotspot and could access the internet.
Next thing is Find My Drone did not work. It seemed to know the MM’s location but had no idea where I was. As I walked around the map didn’t move or know what direction I was moving. This was a concern for me as a new pilot. If I put it in the weeds while watching the screen I may have no idea where it is. That alone was enough reason to move to a cell/GPS version.
Also, the Aircraft Orientation display on the screen didn’t seem to work correctly. I was confused as to how it was supposed to work but just attributed it to my lack of overall knowledge. As a result, I sort of ignored it. But once I flew with the GPS model it came alive and it was obvious how it functions.
And one final thing – and this may be BS – it seemed like the battery on the RC last longer with the GPS version. After flying two batteries out the RC indicator would drop a light with the non-GPS version but now is not doing it on the new one. But like I said that may be pure BS and was just something going on with the new RC battery.
Just my observations……………….
