Phone Only Control

[Scottalmas]

I've included in several posts since the release of the Mini my opinion that the absence of ability to control the Mini by phone/tablet only is a major issue. I have a Mini and love it, but I have to wonder whether I am the only one that thinks this. For me, if one of the purposes of the Mini is to be an ultraportable travel drone, that functionality is completely undermined by having to schlep around an RC and go through the whole binding process to get that selfie. This is exacerbated by the remotes removable sticks and inability to connect the remote to your phone or tablet via Wifi as you can with the Spark. Carrying around a remote and fumbling to power it on , installing sticks, and plugging in a wired connection to your phone seems antithetic to "ultraportable" a "easy." The Mini doesn't "really" fit in your pocket if you have a remote to carry also.

I realize that a direct connection to your phone would allow for a much shorter flight range (distance) and just to setup and launch Quick Shots (like the Spark and the Air).

With that said, does anyone else agree that the next firmware update really has to include phone/tablet only control over the Mini?

 

[PhantomFandom]

I've included in several posts since the release of the Mini my opinion that the absence of ability to control the Mini by phone/tablet only is a major issue. I have a Mini and love it, but I have to wonder whether I am the only one that thinks this. For me, if one of the purposes of the Mini is to be an ultraportable travel drone, that functionality is completely undermined by having to schlep around an RC and go through the whole binding process to get that selfie. This is exacerbated by the remotes removable sticks and inability to connect the remote to your phone or tablet via Wifi as you can with the Spark. Carrying around a remote and fumbling to power it on , installing sticks, and plugging in a wired connection to your phone seems antithetic to "ultraportable" a "easy." The Mini doesn't "really" fit in your pocket if you have a remote to carry also.

I realize that a direct connection to your phone would allow for a much shorter flight range (distance) and just to setup and launch Quick Shots (like the Spark and the Air).

With that said, does anyone else agree that the next firmware update really has to include phone/tablet only control over the Mini?

I don't have a MM but I do have practically every other DJI drone made. Even though other drones do/did have this feature, it was never of any interest to me. Even something as simple as a Tello is much easier and better to fly with a dedicated remote.

Even though it is small, who would actually carry a MM in their pocket anyway? It's still "brick" shaped and very susceptible to damage if you squeeze it into your pocket.

How difficult is it really to set up the controller? Not very.

There's no substitute for the ability to control with a remote. Using a phone with on-screen controls is just clumsy and prone to failure. We have enough reports now of "fly-away" MM incidents and that is with a controller. Can you imagine the reports without a controller?

Flying with a phone alone and also flying with hand gestures are (to me) just useless gimmicks. DJI can save those R&D dollars and put the effort into something more useful.

 

[Scottalmas]

I actually use Smart Capture (on Mavic Air) and Gesture (on Spark) quite often, and phone control equally as often. Obviously it's not very useful for cinematic work, but you cannot beat the convenience for selfie use. As you can see from my Youtube videos, that is a lot of my use.

I'm not suggesting that I would actually put my Mini in my pants pocket, but I would carry it in my golf bag, as I do with my Anafi, Air and Spark. I love being able to pull out my Spark and power on, tap the power button twice and it's up in the air following me. Summon it back and it lands in my hand. The Mavic Air is far superior to the Spark at gesture control, but I use them both (the Air is more responsive but you launch from the ground).

This is a pretty good representation of the convenience:

If you have a Mavic Air or Spark and haven't given gesture control a fair trial (i.e., even a quarter of the time spent learning how to operate the drone with an RC), you might consider it. It could add a whole new dimension to your drone use.

 

[Scottalmas]

to clarify: when I ask about “phone only” control, I am not saying to eliminate the RC, I am talking about adding the option to not have to use the RC. I am having trouble understanding why those that are negative on phone control wouldn't want the option of being able to travel like this with their Mini? I know it's a pretty small sample of respondents so far (8), but are there really twice as many people who believe that this convenience should not even be available to people who want it than there are that don't care either way about it? I don't get that at all.

 

[PhantomFandom]

to clarify: when I ask about “phone only” control, I am not saying to eliminate the RC, I am talking about adding the option to not have to use the RC. I am having trouble understanding why those that are negative on phone control wouldn't want the option of being able to travel like this with their Mini? I know it's a pretty small sample of respondents so far (8), but are there really twice as many people who believe that this convenience should not even be available to people who want it than there are that don't care either way about it? I don't get that at all.

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Well I have that "convenience" on some of my DJI drones and I have never (not even once) used it. So for me, I would rather have DJI put their time and effort into features that are more useful to me. Just my opinion.

 

[lenabanana]

I loved this feature on my Mavic pro. It enabled me to take pics I’m the pool (life proof phone case) without worrying about getting the controller wet and let me take my drone up in my flag snowboarding , which was already bulky enough without having to take the controller to get some cool shots.

Really disappointed that the mini in its super portable size doesn’t have the option to further unload the equipment needed and retake just the bird.

I really do hate setting up the controller, making sure my phone case is slim enough or off all together, fidgeting with that connector... I would have gladly paid extra for a remote free option.