Mavic 3 SDK

shb · Mar 28, 2022

Just got this email from DJI.

I am sorry to tell you that currently SDK development is not supported for DJI Mavic 3. And it won't be supported until the end of the year at the earliest.

Hope your understanding.

Kindly Regards,
DJI Developer Support

zeusfl · Mar 28, 2022

ohhh nooo... They are very busy with the M30/30T
The Mavic 3 has been a disaster

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Mar 28, 2022

I could be (and often am) entirely wrong, but the way this reads to me is:

"Yes, we release products before they're finished. We have features yet to fully implement and bugs to fix (because we do not fully test our products before release, as should be obvious with the M3). So we would not want to release the SDK to 3rd parties while our firmware is still such a moving target."

Or not.

Chris

Chrislaf · Mar 28, 2022

zeusfl said:
ohhh nooo... They are very busy with the M30/30T
The Mavic 3 has been a disaster

I fail to see how the Mavic 3 has been a disaster just because the SDK will not be released until the end of the year.

The release of an SDK often takes a long time, just look at how long it has taken for the release of the SDK for the Mini SE, Mini 2, and Air 2S and many other previous drones. An end of year release, if it happens is not surprising.

Chris

zeusfl · Mar 28, 2022

Chrislaf said:
I fail to see how the Mavic 3 has been a disaster just because the SDK will not be released until the end of the year.

The release of an SDK often takes a long time, just look at how long it has taken for the release of the SDK for the Mini SE, Mini 2, and Air 2S and many other previous drones. An end of year release, if it happens is not surprising.

Chris

Not because of the SDK. Are the other problems like GPS, flyaways and ...

Chrislaf · Mar 28, 2022

zeusfl said:
Not because of the SDK. Are the other problems like GPS, flyaways and ...

This thread is about the SDK, not other complaints. There are many other threads on those topics you can post in.

Chris

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Mar 28, 2022

Chrislaf said:
I fail to see how the Mavic 3 has been a disaster just because the SDK will not be released until the end of the year.

The release of an SDK often takes a long time, just look at how long it has taken for the release of the SDK for the Mini SE, Mini 2, and Air 2S and many other previous drones. An end of year release, if it happens is not surprising.

Chris

Besides the fact that it's not just the late SDK that has lead to a "disaster" reputation for the M3.

But okay, defend the late SDK. A full year? Why? Just because that's they way it's been previously?

In no other field that I know of in product development has the SDK not be released at the same time as the product it is aligned with. IT MAKES NO BUSINESS SENSE. In fact, in other fields, manufactures worth with partners BEFORE release to be sure there is third party support when the new product is launched (or at least soon after, not a full freakin' year).

No, I'm going with my previous post: the DJI business model seems to be "release a product before it's fully baked" because no third party partner would want an SDK with "promised future fixes and functionality".

It's lame and indefensible.

Chris

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Mar 28, 2022

Chrislaf said:
This thread is about the SDK, not other complaints. There are many other threads on those topics you can post in.

Chris

But the "disaster" comment is about all of it. You're probably the only person NOT getting that.

Edit: added the "NOT"

Chrislaf · Mar 28, 2022

Whoa! I’m not defending DJI, just stating the obvious about the SDK.

With regard to the me saying the thread is about the SDK, so many M3 threads go off topic and turn into complaints about issues unrelated to the thread like this one is heading.

Chris

Jagerbomb52 · Mar 28, 2022

zeusfl said:
ohhh nooo... They are very busy with the M30/30T
The Mavic 3 has been a disaster

Maybe this is why a Mavic 3S is coming out, to fix all the problems. LOL

DJI Mavic 3s Rumored For A Possible Fall Release

In the category DJI rumors; we have been told that a DJI Mavic 3s is in the works for a possible Fall release.

dronexl.co

Jagerbomb52 · Mar 28, 2022

zeusfl · Mar 28, 2022

Chrislaf said:
Whoa! I’m not defending DJI, just stating the obvious about the SDK.

With regard to the me saying the thread is about the SDK, so many M3 threads go off topic and turn into complaints about issues unrelated to the thread like this one is heading.

Chris

@Chrislaf the deal is that DJI promises when they release the M3 that waypoint was part of the Mavic 3. The SDK apparently is a vital component for 3rd parties to make this happen since DJI looks like is not doing this. The fact of we need to wait about 1 year before being able to have waypoints if happen really is bad. Another unfinished product.

Chrislaf · Mar 28, 2022

zeusfl said:
@Chrislaf the deal is that DJI promises when they release the M3 that waypoint was part of the Mavic 3. The SDK apparently is a vital component for 3rd parties to make this happen since DJI looks like is not doing this. The fact of we need to wait about 1 year before being able to have waypoints if happen really is bad. Another unfinished product.

Just because you have to wait for an SDK doesn't mean the product is unfinished. Were the Mini 2, and Air 2S unfinished products while people who had those drones had to wait for DJI to release the SDK? What is happening is that anger over unrelated issues (GPS acquisition, unavailable features at release, etc) with the Mavic 3 is now being applied to rumours about delays in SDK release.

If and when the SDK does get released it will likely be limited to virtual sticks anyway since that seems to be what DJI has been doing recently.

There is always the option to sell your Mavic 3 if you feel so strongly that it is an unfinished product - I'm sure you would be able to get a good price for it at this stage in its release cycle.

Chris

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Mar 28, 2022

Chrislaf said:
Just because you have to wait for an SDK doesn't mean the product is unfinished. Were the Mini 2, and Air 2S unfinished products while people who had those drones had to wait for DJI to release the SDK?

Yes.

There have been both Phantom and Mavic models released half baked (nothing to do with the SDK), with either features mentioned in the owners manual that was absent on release (but came later in firmware), or features they added later that weren't mentioned in the manual (lesson learned).

Have they added burst (not AEB) shooting to the M3 yet? Because it's been reported as missing, even though it's mentioned in the specs of the owners manual (and has been on most or all previous Mavic models).

In short, DJI has a history of releasing unfinished models, SDK aside.

Chris

zeusfl · Mar 28, 2022

Chrislaf said:
Just because you have to wait for an SDK doesn't mean the product is unfinished. Were the Mini 2, and Air 2S unfinished products while people who had those drones had to wait for DJI to release the SDK? What is happening is that anger over unrelated issues (GPS acquisition, unavailable features at release, etc) with the Mavic 3 is now being applied to rumours about delays in SDK release.

If and when the SDK does get released it will likely be limited to virtual sticks anyway since that seems to be what DJI has been doing recently.

There is always the option to sell your Mavic 3 if you feel so strongly that it is an unfinished product - I'm sure you would be able to get a good price for it at this stage in its release cycle.

Chris

@Chrislaf My last comment on this thread. I do not want you to feel I am hijacking the thread. The difference is from the Mavic Air 2S and Mini 2 is that DJI does not promise waypoints on this model from day 1. When you buy a product with all the "features" offered, you expect to use them if not immediately, very soon. Is like I will sell you a car but you will need to wait a year before driving it in reverse. Does it make sense? We are not paying $900 for this drone.

Tesla is doing something similar selling the full autonomous upgrade for $5000, $7000, and now $10000, and still, does not work since 2014.

I respect your point of view as well. Not commenting more.

Eagle Eye 62 · Mar 29, 2022

Chrislaf said:
I fail to see how the Mavic 3 has been a disaster just because the SDK will not be released until the end of the year.

The release of an SDK often takes a long time, just look at how long it has taken for the release of the SDK for the Mini SE, Mini 2, and Air 2S and many other previous drones. An end of year release, if it happens is not surprising.

Chris

I agree, it does take time to release an SDK. It is clear that the firmware is not fully developed yet but is improving fairly quickly. Would I love to see the SDK released ASAP, yes, but it does not take away from the fact that the Mavic 3 is still an excellent drone. I would not trade it for anything else in it's price range.

Not A Speck Of Cereal · Mar 29, 2022

Eagle Eye 62 said:
I agree, it does take time to release an SDK.

Which is why they should do what other industries do that develop SDKs for their business partners: start the SDK development right along side the product development.

I mean, I very much hope you don't believe that SDK development and release shouldn't start until the product is released.

Eagle Eye 62 said:
It is clear that the firmware is not fully developed yet but is improving fairly quickly.

True, that's another thing they're not doing right: They should finish and test product development BEFORE release. And it's not "improving quickly"—it was a post-release firmware update that screwed up satellite acquisition times. And the latest firmware release is doing a spotty job of resolving that issue.

Look, SDKs are not often released at the same time as a product, but they typically follow soon after. Not with DJI though — their business model is flawed. Yes, they're the global leaders in this field (at least at the consumer level), but they're very much starting to lose my business.

I get that the consumer drone business is competitive. But compare to other products, like the consumer camera industry. Those products are released FEATURE COMPLETE. Firmware adds a rare feature here and there (so save anecdotal examples), but by and large, their updates are almost always for bug fixes and they are very rarely this bad.

And they (Canon, Nikon, etc.) release their SDKs in a more timely fashion.

Chris

shb · Mar 30, 2022

Don't they need a SDK, to write their own software to control the Mavic 3, like the fly app. So they must have something they could release to third parties. I'm talking the device SDK, not a SDK to write your own drone firmware.

MS Coast · Mar 30, 2022

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This is painful to watch, with all the rambling and unrelated information. Anyone have a Reader's Digest version? Is he simply buying into the idea that the automotive GPS chip is the culprit? Thanks.

Chrislaf · Mar 30, 2022

Not A Speck Of Cereal said:
And they (Canon, Nikon, etc.) release their SDKs in a more timely fashion.

Chris

Yes, but Canon and Nikon don't build flying cameras that can crash and destroy an expensive camera/drone system, so I suspect if they did, they would want to take some more time to get their SDKs just right just like DJI is likely doing before releasing the SDK to third party software developers.

Chris