Not too happy

daniel84ramirez · Jan 23, 2018

Is anyone else disappointed about the new Mavic Air?

MDKEY · Jan 23, 2018

Can’t say I’m disappointed no. It looks better than the spark but not as good as the mp and the price reflects that. I think it will be a good option for some but I certainly won’t be trading in my mp for one.
I would however have considered it instead of a mavic if I didn’t already have one (after it had been out for a little while to see some reviews)
I think it looks like a nice addition to their fleet of options

Jayfdee · Jan 23, 2018

No I am not disappointed, my next purchase will be an MP2 or a P5, the Air would be a downgrade for me, but would probably appeal to a new pilot, but if you have a Mavic pro, then there is not much to consider changing.
Wifi, and limited battery are the big downsides.

Former Member · Jan 23, 2018

daniel84ramirez said:
Is anyone else disappointed about the new Mavic Air?

I, for one, am excited. I think, along with many others, that this is what the Spark should have been. 3 axis gimbal, rear front and downward obstacle avoidance, foldable arms, claimed distance of 2.5 miles, includes USB controller. The Spark was a ripoff. The Airs price point is just about right. $799 flyless, $999 FM.

I think they will sell multiples of these compared to the Spark. I knew there was a reason why they were deeply discounting Sparks in the past few weeks.

netfolks2000 · Jan 23, 2018

Jayfdee said:
No I am not disappointed, my next purchase will be an MP2 or a P5, the Air would be a downgrade for me, but would probably appeal to a new pilot, but if you have a Mavic pro, then there is not much to consider changing.
Wifi, and limited battery are the big downsides.

Don't forget the controller is different..... no display. No way to manually guide the drone back home if the app or phone crashes by just flying toward a direction shrinking the distance display.
I do like the Air a lot, however, but not enough to give up my Platinum. Might make a Spark go down in price.

Former Member · Jan 23, 2018

netfolks2000 said:
Don't forget the controller is different..... no display. No way to manually guide the drone back home if the app or phone crashes by just flying toward a direction shrinking the distance display.

Dont forget about the RTH button.

Former Member · Jan 23, 2018

netfolks2000 said:
Might make a Spark go down in price.

Already has, and alot of Spark owners arent happy.

DJinCleveland · Jan 23, 2018

Not disappointed at. Happy with my MP. Glad others have more options.
Plus who knows, when I need a back up, perhaps I have more options.

Former Member · Jan 23, 2018

daniel84ramirez said:
Is anyone else disappointed about the new Mavic Air?

OP what is disappointing to you about the AIr? You might want to include that in your OP.

joshmentele · Jan 23, 2018

The Air is a nice drone, but I am not interested in it. I am still looking at the Autel Robotics Evo.

AMGKid · Jan 23, 2018

I'm kinda confused as to why they named it the Mavic Air when it really seems like a Spark Pro or Spark 2. Any new Mavic should not have less flight time, worse camera, cheaper controller, etc. When DJI updates the Phantom line, should we expect a worse Phantom? I think Casey Neistat's comparison video is clear to me that Mavic Air 4k30 vs Mavic Pro 4K30 footage shows Mavic Air quality is lower. And $799? This just doesn't seem like a Mavic to me.

DJinCleveland · Jan 23, 2018

AMGKid said:
I'm kinda confused as to why they named it the Mavic Air when it really seems like a Spark Pro or Spark 2.

Easy to understand. Mavic is one of the best selling drones ever. And it’s foldable like the Mavic. Why not piggyback on that success?

What sounds better....a less expensive Mavic....or a more expensive Spark?

Capra Vecinului · Jan 23, 2018

Why the naming? Just an ego boost for the dissapointed Spark owners which couldn't wait to get their foldable Spark and make them feel better "upgrading" to a Mavic

gtolover · Jan 23, 2018

joshmentele said:
The Air is a nice drone, but I am not interested in it. I am still looking at the Autel Robotics Evo.

me too,when is the release date?

shb · Jan 23, 2018

netfolks2000 said:
Don't forget the controller is different..... no display. No way to manually guide the drone back home if the app or phone crashes by just flying toward a direction shrinking the distance display.
I do like the Air a lot, however, but not enough to give up my Platinum. Might make a Spark go down in price.

I never thought about that. No display on the rc is a BIG problem as far as I'm concerened

WilliamG · Jan 23, 2018

shb said:
I never thought about that. No display on the rc is a BIG problem as far as I'm concerened

Not sure why it's a big problem? If desperate, hit the RTH button on the controller. I mean, I love my Mavic Pro but I wouldn't say the screen is an absolute necessity. Even if you can't see the drone, you hit RTH, and if you need sport mode for RTH in the wind you can still flip it into sport mode, and hold the right stick forward to speed up its return to you, no?

Would I prefer the screen? Well sure! But it's not absolutely imperative (to me at least). 99.9% of the time nobody's going to have an issue with the app in any case...

FlynRyanD · Jan 23, 2018

Just bought my MPP about 3 weeks ago and wondered the same thing. Watching the reviews of the Air, I can now say that keeping the MPP is the way to go. The Air has some interesting features, and is cheaper, but I don’t like the idea of sacrificing flight time and distance. I could see the Air being appealing to those that travel often given it’s small portable size.

brandy234 · Jan 23, 2018

Not disappointed at all. I moved from a Phantom 3 to a Mavic Pro because I wanted something more portable for travel.

The Air takes that to a new level, being significantly smaller and lighter than the Mavic Pro. It also has some advantages with rear sensors for obstacle avoidance being a big one. I think I may have made a different choice if both of these were available when I made my purchase.

A "Mavic Standard" was rumoured for a long time. This has been aimed at the consumer who wants something with them all the time, especially when out hiking, travelling, etc. but still has good capability.

This wasn't meant to be a replacement for the Pro, that will most likely happen later in the year.

netfolks2000 · Jan 23, 2018

WilliamG said:
Not sure why it's a big problem? If desperate, hit the RTH button on the controller. I mean, I love my Mavic Pro but I wouldn't say the screen is an absolute necessity. Even if you can't see the drone, you hit RTH, and if you need sport mode for RTH in the wind you can still flip it into sport mode, and hold the right stick forward to speed up its return to you, no?

Would I prefer the screen? Well sure! But it's not absolutely imperative (to me at least). 99.9% of the time nobody's going to have an issue with the app in any case...

I once had the app crash during a high electromagnetic interference moment. If the drone goes into atti mode, starts drifting, RTH might not be successful. At least with the controller display you can see altitude, raise it if necessary, and distance, where you can move forward in a direction the distance decreases, until it is over you. There are numerous RTH documented failures, drone lost forever stories.

WilliamG · Jan 23, 2018

netfolks2000 said:
I once had the app crash during a high electromagnetic interference moment. If the drone goes into atti mode, starts drifting, RTH might not be successful. At least with the controller display you can see altitude, raise it if necessary, and distance, where you can move forward in a direction the distance decreases, until it is over you. There are numerous RTH documented failures, drone lost forever stories.

At that point I'm likely not VLOS anyway, right? I mean I hear you. But it seems like most people haven't had an issue like this. But I do hear you.