Mavic 2 Pro & Smart Controller; future updates planned?

ChuckNorrisUSAF · Jun 4, 2020

Any insiders in here know of any planned updates / added features or improvements coming to the Mavic 2 Pro and/or the Smart Controller? Just curious if it's hit the end of life on firmware and feature updates. I would assume the Smart Controller will have a bit more of a life span (hoping) given the price and possible features they could expand on.

Thanks in advance for your constructive comments

Bill Dunnuck · Jun 5, 2020

Good point. I have a Crystalsky that costs as much as a 65 inch smart TV and after 3 plus years is obsolete and will not work with the MA2 or the Mini. So sorry was DJI reply. Planned obsolescence at DJI is about 3-4 years.
Expensive lesson.

Inspirephil · Jun 5, 2020

Flying drones is an expensive one. Sad but true.

Checki · Jun 5, 2020

The hard and software on the smart controller is so outdated, don't think there is anything coming.
They do some bug fixes, that's it.

peterc4 · Jun 5, 2020

DJI do what they want

ChuckNorrisUSAF · Jun 5, 2020

Yes, it is a very expensive lesson - with the quality of the SmartController, you'd think (and HOPE) they would push out future updates to expand on capabilities or expand on what Drones can use it. That's why I cringe every 3 years when I start the process of updating my PC parts. Things change too fast these days

Giovanni · Jun 7, 2020

Bill Dunnuck said:
Good point. I have a Crystalsky that costs as much as a 65 inch smart TV and after 3 plus years is obsolete and will not work with the MA2 or the Mini. So sorry was DJI reply. Planned obsolescence at DJI is about 3-4 years.
Expensive lesson.

I tweeted DJI yesterday asking when the smart controller would work with air 2 and please do not respond with a future update bc I already know that. They replied immediately with a vague answer to keep following the official DJI website, they did not have a date at this time. To me this is really annoying. I would have waited purchasing the drone if I had to wait this long. I just can't see outside on bright days with regular tablets

Ichysac · Jun 7, 2020

Giovanni said:
I tweeted DJI yesterday asking when the smart controller would work with air 2 and please do not respond with a future update bc I already know that. They replied immediately with a vague answer to keep following the official DJI website, they did not have a date at this time. To me this is really annoying. I would have waited purchasing the drone if I had to wait this long. I just can't see outside on bright days with regular tablets

Considering how long it took to add the P4Pv2.0 to the smart controller we might have to wait awhile. It would be nice to update the Android version as well..

Rchawks · Jun 7, 2020

Bill Dunnuck said:
Good point. I have a Crystalsky that costs as much as a 65 inch smart TV and after 3 plus years is obsolete and will not work with the MA2 or the Mini. So sorry was DJI reply. Planned obsolescence at DJI is about 3-4 years.
Expensive lesson.

Sounds like ? and yet I still buy Apple.

DanMan32 · Jun 7, 2020

DJI has a bad habit of introducing new products, but skimping on release for features that should be standard, then soon after seeming to abandon it before it's fully developed.

But then many manufacturers of electronics tend to not maintain support for products after a few years. My HTC 10 which was released April 2016 hasn't had an update since Oreo (Android 8) which wasn't available to the HTC 10 until Feb 2018. That's less than 2 years.

Giovanni · Jun 8, 2020

Ichysac said:
Considering how long it took to add the P4Pv2.0 to the smart controller we might have to wait awhile. It would be nice to update the Android version as well..

I just got another reply... Lip service

Checki · Jun 8, 2020

Ichysac said:
Considering how long it took to add the P4Pv2.0 to the smart controller we might have to wait awhile. It would be nice to update the Android version as well..

A new android version? What are you hoping the get with a new android version?

ChuckNorrisUSAF · Jun 12, 2020

Checki said:
A new android version? What are you hoping the get with a new android version?

I think (and I'm guessing) he meant an upgrade to the currently installed Android OS in the Smart Controller itself. Sometimes that helps with optimizing the applications installed (faster, load times, etc) - I'm aware of people installing additional applications on it.

Checki · Jun 12, 2020

I know what he meant, and that's why asked what I asked.
There is no chance we get a new android version. For what reason?
Processor is outdated and everything works right now with the current os version.
To me everything is quite fast, I never have to wait too long.

dmurphynj · Jun 12, 2020

Checki said:
Processor is outdated

I don’t know why this keeps getting propagated, but it’s simply not true ...

Smart Controller has a Rockchip 3399. It’s fully 64-bit capable. Not a speed demon CPU, but more than enough horsepower to run any version of Android.

RK3399 - Rockchip open source Document

opensource.rock-chips.com

The CrystalSky has a 32-but chip (Rockchip 3288) - so it’s not going to run DJI Fly.

But the RK3399 is plenty capable for the controller’s needs.

Smart Controller has no issue whatsoever with running DJI Fly or supporting the Air 2.

Ichysac · Jun 14, 2020

The only problem that I see is that the DJI Fly app uses more of the devices processor for flight control and functions that would normally be handled by the drone itself. In other words, the Fly app runs heavy on your device where as the Go 4 app runs heavy on the drones hardware. This is due to the smaller processors on the MA2 and the mini. They are trying to lighten up the Fly app with subtle changes. Small things like instead of Normal mode in the upper left it now shows N mode or S mode. Small refinements then they will start to add features..Squash the bugs first, then add features. Such as Smart Controller compatibility. Make sense?

fGene · Jun 15, 2020

Ichysac said:
The only problem that I see is that the DJI Fly app uses more of the devices processor for flight control and functions that would normally be handled by the drone itself.

Like what functions? I don't think that's the case. I can't imagine anyone sane would design a drone relying so heavily on the transmission link quality.

Ichysac said:
In other words, the Fly app runs heavy on your device where as the Go 4 app runs heavy on the drones hardware.

Hmm... I dont't think this is accurate information either. The known fact is Fly app is 64-bit and Go4 is 32-bit, hence the former can only run on newer (and more powerful) 64-bit mobile devices, but it doesn't mean it should tax them more than Go4 does.

Ichysac said:
This is due to the smaller processors on the MA2 and the mini.

They might be smaller but AFAIK MA2 processor is on par or even more powerful than M2P processor. It can handle 4K60p, for instance. Moore's law, remember?