New Autel Robotics Drone

[audioguy]

Given my experience in the A/V world, a lot of the success of this product will be the price differential between it and the Mavic. Priced at $700 vs the $1000 for the Mavic, it could be a "Mavic Killer". Priced at $900, not so much. If I were making the decision on purchasing today, and given minimal price differentiation, and even being aware of the really crappy customer service of DJI, I would still select the Mavic.

That said, I most certainly would agree that DJI's customer service redefines the word "horrible". I called this past week to ask a simple question about the cable to connect the Mavic to my new Crystal Sky and neither of two people I was forced to talk to had any idea what I was talking about - I mean completely clueless. I never could get the answer to my question so posted it on this board and got an immediate answer.

If Autel really provided far superior customer service, that might also get them some traction.

With technology, it is always about "better, faster, cheaper". To the extent this Autel product addresses those, the more likely it could be a very interesting alternative. Hopefully, it will be a sort of "Mavic Killer" as that might provide incentive to DJI to up THEIR game and continue to improve the Mavic, their customer service (not likely) and their next set of products. Competition is always a good thing.

 

[Drifter]

The Mavic Pro is a great product but it definitely has it shortcomings, one of the biggest is bad customer service from DJI, the odd app bug is annoying but forgivable but if they have a close look at what DJI is bad at I think a lot of people will switch.

 

[robbiewex]

They better offer Autel Refresh Care, can you imagine crashing with that 1" sensor camera they are going to offer at $1299? It would cost you a fortune to fix if you crashed!

 

[PhoebeSnow]

Autel may be a worthy competitor to DJI but like the other drone fledgling company's is certainly a struggling one. They had a big layoff last year. Hope they have the stamina to introduce some real competition to DJI. We all win with that!
Autel Robotics USA lay off US sales and marketing staff - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

 

[dsd317]

Funny moment during EVO demo. Watch at 4:19

 

[Endeavor]

Being a novice and admittedly rookie flyer my first concern is parts availability. I have crashed and rebuild both my P3 and P4 so far and found parts easy to acquire. I have to assume I will need parts so ease of acquisition is important to me. Support is a non issue as I never call support as I do all my own trouble shooting. Price I imagine will be inline with dji however here for me I only buy refurb units as they are basically new at a substantial discount. I paid $599 for my mavic pro and it's perfect in every way. Then there is the software. I use litchi exclusively as it allows me to program missions in advance and offers most of the benefits of djigo and more. For me I look at every aspect not just the quad itself. As far as aesthetics I think it looks just fine with a friendly face not the intense face of the mavic but acceptable.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

The Mavic Pro is a great product but it definitely has it shortcomings, one of the biggest is bad customer service from DJI, the odd app bug is annoying but forgivable but if they have a close look at what DJI is bad at I think a lot of people will switch.

After my first minor crash DJI repaired my Phantom and returned it for a reasonalbe price in just 10 days. Then a another refurbished Phantom that didn't work out of the box took 2 months and a another return after that. After being really WOWed I was the deeply disappointed losing some great summer flying time. Fortunately, I had the Mavic to keep me going.

 

[roadkilt]

I think what happens in software is more important. If this one doesnt get in your face with NFZ, registering, data going back to China then maybe its a nice second option. Nothing yet on how loud it is, and any 3rd party software support.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Until we start seeing real user reviews, it's all hyperbole.

This industry is lousy with hyperbole followed by grave disappointment. I'll cite 3DR as just one of many companies who fell far short their advertising hype. I predict a lot of bugs, especially with the IR sensors and object avoidance. Some guys have to be at the bleeding edge of drone technology. Those are my beta testers. I like staying 1 or 2 generations behind. This has served me extremely well over the past 4 years.

I have also learned that disabling a lot of the consumer features (like object avoidance) makes drone behavior much more predictable. I own a Mavic and turned all that stuff off after just 3 flights. Flight characteristics are MUCH more predictable now.

I'm also 2 or 3 generations behind on the software and plan on staying there. My mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" really does apply to drones. My Mavic has been rock solid on legacy software and firmware. Seems priority #1 is to engineer in new "features" and restrictions. So staying a few FW/software generations behind seems to work extremely well with the DJI offerings.

It would be nice to see if the Autel Robotics offerings can live up to industry expectations. Assuming the thing is even released, I look forward to user reviews. Casey Neistat seems to be at the top of the "free drone for testing" list. I'm going to keep an eye on his channel. As an average drone consumer (not a techy), his reviews are really good.

 

[DJI27]

The importance of whether not Autel will impose built in flight restrictions (NFZ, Max speed, Max Alt, etc, etc...) is something an awful lot of DJI owners are going to be following. If Autel follows suit, it's going to loose an huge market of ex-DJI pilots that would like nothing more than to switch to a "USA" owned company. A lot of things have to go right for that to happen but I applaud them for starting to play hard ball with the DJI monopoly. I'm old enough to remember what happened in the US automobile market when a small company called Honda first challenged the big 3 US automakers... maybe just maybe history really will repeat it self.
Edit: Might just have to change my username if that happens...

 

[Lon Denard]

Hater? LOL. I have plenty of DJI products.
Calm down hero.

Bah there are tons of people on this forum that own Mavics and HATE DJI! It's not that uncommon actually.

 

[Lon Denard]

Remember 3D Robotics and the Solo? and then Lily Robotics and their Lily? And then well recognized GoPro and the Karma? And even well known, Xiaomi, a big Chinese tech company with their MI haven't gone very far and couldn't match the DJI Phantoms (but still hang in there).

DJI has a great lead and has introduced a marvelous drone - the Mavic Pro. They are not perfect but seem to have introduced a near perfect drone. Sure, they have growing pains but they are still well entrenched in the field. I find it hard to get excited about the Autel Evo until after it is out, tried and true. Karma's are still falling out of the sky as GoPro mothballs their drone division amid falling stock prices! I recollect all the hype and promise of 3D Robotics being the only American Drone Company well on it's way up until it too dropped out of the sky and then RIP. Best Buy was almost giving those Solo's away after a short time. Only time will tell but in that mean time DJI grows exponentially.

I have 3DR Solos. The last one I purchased from Best Buy was a refurbished unit that cost me $58 total. I kid you not. I bought one complete set with the gimbal, Go Pro Hero 4 Black, a backpack and a spare battery for under $500 brand new, shipped.

I'm sure whatever Karmas are left will be broomed soon and the Autel units were at a drastic discount last year if I remember correctly.

We'll see but history definitely doesn't favor those that go up against DJI.

 

[Lon Denard]

The importance of whether not Autel will impose built in flight restrictions (NFZ, Max speed, Max Alt, etc, etc...) is something an awful lot of DJI owners are going to be following. If Autel follows suit, it's going to loose an huge market of ex-DJI pilots that would like nothing more than to switch to a "USA" owned company. A lot of things have to go right for that to happen but I applaud them for starting to play hard ball with the DJI monopoly. I'm old enough to remember what happened in the US automobile market when a small company called Honda first challenged the big 3 US automakers... maybe just maybe history really will repeat it self.
Edit: Might just have to change my username if that happens...

Whoa... Autel is a Chinese company. Their customer service is based in Seattle. You could say that about 3DR or Go Pro but even they had all of their products manufactured in China.

In any case, there are several products that people wish there were comparable American examples. Sport bikes is one of my favorites. Electronics is another. Honda was and is successful because they came out with a superior product at a lower price. Eventually, "American made" will lose its allure in the face of cold hard facts.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

Remember 3D Robotics and the Solo? and then Lily Robotics and their Lily? And then well recognized GoPro and the Karma? And even well known, Xiaomi, a big Chinese tech company with their MI haven't gone very far and couldn't match the DJI Phantoms (but still hang in there).

DJI has a great lead and has introduced a marvelous drone - the Mavic Pro. They are not perfect but seem to have introduced a near perfect drone. Sure, they have growing pains but they are still well entrenched in the field. I find it hard to get excited about the Autel Evo until after it is out, tried and true. Karma's are still falling out of the sky as GoPro mothballs their drone division amid falling stock prices! I recollect all the hype and promise of 3D Robotics being the only American Drone Company well on it's way up until it too dropped out of the sky and then RIP. Best Buy was almost giving those Solo's away after a short time. Only time will tell but in that mean time DJI grows exponentially.

Brings back memories of some much published hype a few years ago. Perhaps like we see here with this Autel Evo. Only time will tell. So long Solo, Lily, Karma and maybe MI and maybe Hello Evo.

 

[Scubaerik]

DJI is the largest player in the prosumer drone arena. As such there will be more accessories, support , and knowledge available surrounding the Mavic Pro and other DJI drones versus the Autel offerings.

That alone makes me willing to work around any shortcomings of my Mavic Pro.

But I’m starting to believe DJI doesn’t give a crap about us. I know I will never buy parts from them again. I had to file a complaint to PayPal to get them to respond to me. Then It was simple to get the return process started. However when I buy from Amazon or eBay then send me a return label. With DJI I’m having to run around and get shipping.

 

[Crixus1]

DJI is the largest player in the prosumer drone arena. As such there will be more accessories, support , and knowledge available surrounding the Mavic Pro and other DJI drones versus the Autel offerings.

That alone makes me willing to work around any shortcomings of my Mavic Pro.

Support, as in DJI support? I was not aware they offered any.

 

[DJI27]

Whoa... Autel is a Chinese company. Their customer service is based in Seattle. You could say that about 3DR or Go Pro but even they had all of their products manufactured in China.

In any case, there are several products that people wish there were comparable American examples. Sport bikes is one of my favorites. Electronics is another. Honda was and is successful because they came out with a superior product at a lower price. Eventually, "American made" will lose its allure in the face of cold hard facts.

Guess I should have realized Autel was'nt an American company..

That said some more of the luster of Autel is also beginning to wear off because it looks like they're flight control system also at a minimum also include built in flight restrictions like NFZ.
New Autel Robotics Drone

Talk about two downers in just one day...

Will keep watching but something just tells me its back to the DJI Mod thread.

 

[PT_Mavic]

The importance of whether not Autel will impose built in flight restrictions (NFZ, Max speed, Max Alt, etc, etc...) is something an awful lot of DJI owners are going to be following. If Autel follows suit, it's going to loose an huge market of ex-DJI pilots that would like nothing more than to switch to a "USA" owned company. A lot of things have to go right for that to happen but I applaud them for starting to play hard ball with the DJI monopoly. I'm old enough to remember what happened in the US automobile market when a small company called Honda first challenged the big 3 US automakers... maybe just maybe history really will repeat it self.
Edit: Might just have to change my username if that happens...

One of the Autel reps at CES (the blond guy, Mike or Nate or whatever) said on camera that Autel will not impose any NFZ restrictions until forced to by laws. So far, that's only the Chicoms, so let's hope it stays that way.

Fortunately, NFZ junk can be removed from the Mavic with a little effort if it's really hindering your flights.

I just emailed them to ask about whether they're Chinese or American owned, by the way; will update to reflect whatever I hear back.

EDIT: I just received the following email reply from Autel regarding ownership:

Thank you for contacting Autel Robotics Support.

Autel Robotics is a leading drone manufacturer with US offices in Bothell, WA . Our global headquarters is in Shenzhen, China. All customer service, warranty/repair, sales and marketing is done out of our Bothell office. We manufacture our own product in Shenzhen, China. We also have R&D offices in Germany and Pittsburgh, PA.

 

[DJI27]

One of the Autel reps at CES (the blond guy, Mike or Nate or whatever) said on camera that Autel will not impose any NFZ restrictions until forced to by laws. So far, that's only the Chicoms, so let's hope it stays that way.

Fortunately, NFZ junk can be removed from the Mavic with a little effort if it's really hindering your flights.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what flight restrictions if any remain after the units go into production.

P.S. Thx for the NFZ junk tip but I'm already fully monitoring the DJI Mod thread and whats being done over in the Slack thread.

EDIT: Just noticed your location.... almost fell out of my chair laughing.... GREAT qualifier

 

[Gray_seagull]

What’s the matter with you pals. Don’t you have loyalty to our beloved Mavic, to this forum, and to the good the bad and the ugly threads in it.

Loyalty to this bird should run in our blood stream and we should take it seriously. Even when others make superior products than our Mavic, our loyalty shouldn’t change if it is real.

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Anyone knows when will this Evo be released?