iPad ?

[deleted member 877]

Depending on which model of drone you're flying, Cell capability also enables Dynamic Home Point which makes the drone recognise the remote control as the home point. This is handy if you are operating the drone from a moving vehicle such as a car or boat.

 

[passedpawn]

First, to confirm what others have said, it works just fine without any cell connection, so you don't need that feature.

However ...

When I got my iPad Mini 5 I opted to pay the $150 to get the cell capability. Why? Well, for one, I do not own a cell phone and have no plans to get one, but I figured that this might let me use the iPad to make emergency phone calls from my car, if needed.

But that is only the tip of the iceberg. Getting the cell service version turned out to be a REALLY GOOD IDEA for many other reasons. Read on ...

1. While you actually cannot use the iPad as a phone (meaning that you can't add it to a cell phone plan, and it cannot use the cell phone network), you can get a data plan and make phone calls via the data network (see below).

2. You can purchase data REALLY CHEAP. I shopped around and got a 5 GB plan through T-Mobile that is good for four months. It only cost $30, which is less than $10/month. When this expires in October, I can switch to whatever carrier has the best plan at that point. There are no contracts and the Apple SIM card works with pretty much all of the carriers.

3. I already have a voice over IP (VOIP) phone number that I use through my home PBX. You can get this for free via Google Voice, or you can pay $30/year to get a service that not only gives you a dedicated phone number, but also gives you voicemail and even the ability to receive incoming faxes (which I've actually used once or twice).

4. You can then download an app that lets you use this VOIP phone number on your iPad. When someone calls that number both my home phone AND my iPad ring. Whichever picks up the call first gets the call and the other is locked out. What this means is that I can answer my home "line 2" (line 1 is still a traditional landline) from anywhere in the world. I can make free calls anywhere in the USA from the iPad.

5. While in my car, I can use my iPad to listen to any music service (very little data used); use Google maps; and do all the other things that those of you with smartphones now take for granted.

6. Since you can't connect to the phone network, you cannot do SMS text messaging. However, you can text message to anyone with an iPhone using iMessage. Most people now use this instead of SMS because it has no text limit and you can attach pictures.

So, that one-time $150 to get the cell feature added to the iPad can give you lots of features.

Oh yes, for flying with your Mavic, having the cell service does give you one thing you don't get without it: maps. You can pre-download these while you're still on Wi-Fi, but if you are out in the field and have forgotten to download the maps ahead of time, and if you need them (I don't), then with the cell service they will be instantly available.

Uh, wut? Why don’t you just get a cell phone. Are you a Mennonite.

 

[deleted member 877]

Uh, wut? Why don’t you just get a cell phone. Are you a Mennonite.

I think you mean "Luddite" but, in any case, he's probably avoiding a lot of unnecessary stress by not owning a cell phone - IMHO.

 

[passedpawn]

I think you mean "Luddite" but, in any case, he's probably avoiding a lot of unnecessary stress by not owning a cell phone - IMHO.

I meant Mennonite. Amish Lite. Probably was an obscure reference, apologies for that.

 

[deleted member 877]

I meant Mennonite. Amish Lite. Probably was an obscure reference, apologies for that.

LOL - all good. Following a little googling it turns out that many modern day Luddites as well as Mennonites do actually use cell phones but prefer simple ones (like the old Nokia flip phone) that don't do internet. O.P. Sorry to go off topic but I thought that this was kind of interesting.

 

[johnmeyer]

Short version of a long story: I don't own a smartphone because I don't like what they have done to the way people interact. A room full of people, all looking down at their phones rather than interacting with each other is totally bizarre, even though many have gotten used to it.

I have no problem with the phone part of it, and in the 80s was one of the first to get a car phone.

 

[msinger]

Depending on which model of drone you're flying, Cell capability also enables Dynamic Home Point which makes the drone recognise the remote control as the home point. This is handy if you are operating the drone from a moving vehicle such as a car or boat.

Unless you're flying in ActiveTrack mode and using a drone that has the dynamic home point feature, you'll still need to manually reset the home point each time the vehicle moves.

 

[detectorguy]

I went with the ipad 9.7 with 128gb memory. The screen show more information than my ipad mini did and the screen is great to watch.

 

[freightshaker]

I'm new to iPad too, just picked up a "open box" 6th generation. Haven't even flew with it yet. Been using a Galaxy Tab 2 so far. So how are you downloading to the iPad?

2018 ipad 9.7 inch its powerful can download the 4k right to ipad (cant do this with android only 1080p) u can edit the 4k with ease also! Lumafusion is a great editing app wish android had an app half as close.....and i love android! Anyway u can find these on sale for 279$ most of the time....no problems with app, super fast and can screen record at same time.

 

[curso88]

This is my setup in my iPad Pro 11" with my Freewell tablet holder for Mavic Series

 

[ajkm]

Weight is, imho, more important than size. Having said that, an iPad mini is ideal. When set up with an RC, anything heavier than the mini makes things very tricky to balance (I use a mount that has 3 pivot points to get the balance to a relatively natural position ).

 

[harle83]

I have the 10.5 Pro and I use it always. DJI won't just come out and say it but I think they really prefer Apple over Android. I think what it boils down to is there is 1 iOS whereas with Android it's still kinda the Wild West. So many Android versions and Phones all with their own twists of Android. I was a long time Android user until my Hearing Aids would not support them anymore and that is exactly what I'm talking about. My Hearing Aids are a must, can't function without them so it left little choice. I don't regret it and everything works so well together now. Running Beta 13 on my iPad and no problems. App is already updated and works well.

 

[Joe Boudreault]

I thought I would look for a used iPad just to see if one is as good as the Android tablet that I use for my display.
I am now totally confused by all the different versions & generations of versions.
What do you Apple fans recommend ? bearing in mind its only use will be for my display screen.
At the moment I use a 10” Samsung table with a none reflective screen, I have no problems with it but thought am I missing out on something by not going with Apple.
For those of you who use an iPad I would appreciate some advice.

The manufacturers' suggestion on all DJI drones says to use only Apple devices, not Android. I found that out the hard way. iPad should be great (bigger screen) but needs equipment (arms) to attach to controller.

 

[freightshaker]

I have the 10.5 Pro and I use it always. DJI won't just come out and say it but I think they really prefer Apple over Android. I think what it boils down to is there is 1 iOS whereas with Android it's still kinda the Wild West. So many Android versions and Phones all with their own twists of Android. I was a long time Android user until my Hearing Aids would not support them anymore and that is exactly what I'm talking about. My Hearing Aids are a must, can't function without them so it left little choice. I don't regret it and everything works so well together now. Running Beta 13 on my iPad and no problems. App is already updated and works well.

DJI has said it. Box says designed for Apple. But then again, crystalsky & their new smart controller are Android based, go figure. They say one thing (Apple) & do another (Android) so where do they stand?
I just got an 6th gen iPad because so many said it's better than android. Haven't had a chance to try it yet, still playing with it & trying to learn about it. Didn't realize how dependent I am on the Back button. I was doing something with it, opened a window over something else & stuck trying to close it. Android would have been just one tap!

 

[AnishJoy]

I'm a newbie here. Recently I've bought a Mavic air and started shooting with that. I'm very much happy with the results
I've my iPad pro 12.9 inches my problem is with importing video from my mavic air to the iPad
I've tried different ways, connecting directly to iPad and through memory card reader
Both ways iPad not dieting any video
Windows has no issues, I can import both ways
Any of you have any idea, very much appreciated if anyone can throw some ideas

 

[zenfly2]

I found a used min4 for $180 I like it and it fits in the RC without another device, makes it easy to carry around and the display is plenty big enough.

Ipad mini4 here too..works great with Spark and MA.

 

[freightshaker]

But it's odd that crystal sky & their new controller are Android based. Sort of a "Do as I say, not as I do" seniaro, wouldn't you say?

The manufacturers' suggestion on all DJI drones says to use only Apple devices, not Android. I found that out the hard way. iPad should be great (bigger screen) but needs equipment (arms) to attach to controller.

 

[passedpawn]

But it's odd that crystal sky & their new controller are Android based. Sort of a "Do as I say, not as I do" seniaro, wouldn't you say?

There isn't a choice - Apple iOS is not available for license on non-Apple hardware. It's been the basic business model since jobs and wozniak connected some DRAM to a little moto processor in a garage in california.

 

[Meta4]

The manufacturers' suggestion on all DJI drones says to use only Apple devices, not Android. I found that out the hard way. iPad should be great (bigger screen) but needs equipment (arms) to attach to controller.

There are often a lot of false claims made whenever this topic gets discussed here.
But this one is the most false I've ever seen.
See if you can find where DJI has ever said that (you can't because it's never happened).

DJI has said it. Box says designed for Apple. They say one thing (Apple) & do another (Android) so where do they stand?

The logo on the box looks like this:

That doesn't mean the product is made only to work with Apple products.
It means that the product has been certified by the developer (DJI) to meet Apple performance standards.

MFi Program - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

In plain English ... the iOS version of the app works with Apple devices
... just like the Android version works with Android devices.

I just got an 6th gen iPad because so many said it's better than android.

So many say it in forums like this but that still doesn't make it true.
The DJI app runs equally well (or badly) on Android and Apple devices.
If your phone or tablet is good enough it runs great.

 

[Geoff_C]

iPad Mini 4, Kuuqa tablet holder and Penivo Sun Hood works well for me.