Thinking of upgrading my controller: what is best to buy?

[Ronny St.]

Hello,
To get rid of the hassle of having to mount my smartphone every time to the RC-N1 and to get a better screen in bright light conditions, I am thinking of upgrading my controller. On the internet I found there are 4 DJI controllers: RC-N1, DJI RC, DJI smart controller and the RC Pro. The latter is a bit too expensive for my needs and does not work with the Mini 2 for as far as I found. But on the internet the names are often puzzling and the RM330 is sometimes called the smart controller.

The RC RM330 seems to be being discontinued by DJI, and is now available for about 300$.
On the site of DJI I get different versions when I search for 'DJI Smart Controller'. I first see



and then a pop-up window appears with another picture:


So now I am completely confused and to find some clarity in this matter, I want to turn me to this forum in order to make the right and best good choice.
I want to use it for Litchi and be able to run the Mavic Air 2 fcc.apk on it.
Which controller is the best for me?
Thanks for responding and helping me out!
Greetings from Belgium,
Ronny

 

[slup]

When it comes to RC's with screen, DJI offer 3 alternatives with various age, power, price... & compatibility with different drones.

Below a break down for the 3 ... it's only the oldest, DJI Smart Controller which now adays is discontinued that might work with your Mini 2 (see the bold red comment).

The oldest & discontinued Smart Controller is compatible with DJI Mini 2, Mavic Air 2, Mavic 2 and Mavic 2 Enterprise Series, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0... it's questionable if the DJI Mavic Air 2s is, even though they were bundled in the beginning when the Air 2s was released... it never worked in a reliable way. The Smart controller have a very old Android system & doesn't have the power needed for the DJI Fly app.

Then came the DJI RC Pro. It's compatible with DJI Mavic 3, DJI Mavic 3 Cine and DJI Air 2S I believe... it have enough power to last several coming drone model & app iterations.

From the release of the Mini 3 Pro the DJI RC came... it's compatible with the DJI Mini 3 Pro, and Mini 3, as well as the DJI Mavic 3, DJI Mavic 3 Classic, and DJI Mavic 3 Cine, and the DJI Air 2S... but it's not at all at the same sophistication level as the DJI RC Pro... it's much cheaper both price & functionality wise.

 

[Ronny St.]

Hello Slup,
Thanks for responding! So even on the DJI website they are mixing the DJI Smart Controller with the DJI RC (see my screenshots above)? That makes it completely confusing...
I found the price of the Smart Controller is 649€, which I think is quite costly for an 'obsolete' controller:




But I also found a shop where they have a demo model for sale for 350€ (not a ver good pictures, but one can clearly see it is the DJI Smart Controller as stated in the advertisement):



So I am thinking of buying that demo model, but want to be sure I can use Litchi and Mavic Air 2 fcc.apk. If not It is more a downgrade then an upgrade for me

 

[slup]

Personally I would keep on flying the Mini 2 with the controller that came with it... or upgrade the complete drone setup you have & then chose a screen equipped RC with it (to fulfill your RC screen needs).

The only one that will work with your Mini 2 is a discontinued model (DJI Smart Controller) that probably will cause you more headache then benefits due to the weak processor power & old Android system that RC have, which most probably means it will not run the DJI Fly app reliably. Furthermore you will not be able to use it for a future drone upgrade.

It's only one issue (besides the cost of a new drone setup)... the cheapest upgrade alternative, a Mini 3 with the DJI RC will not run Litchi. It's mainly 2 reasons for that... 1. DJI haven't released the SDK for it so 3:rd party app makers can't make the Mini 3 compatible... & 2. the DJI RC don't allow app installation up front... so no possibility to install anything mainly.

 

[Ronny St.]

Well, reading all this, I will follow your advice and stick to my RC-N1 for the moment. I am also thinking of upgrading a complete new drone setup. If the Mavic 3 SDK would have been released I would go for that, but for the moment it isn't yet. The Mavic 2 (with all its versions...) is also an alternative since it can be used with Litchi and the FCC hack but it seems to be overruled by the Mavic 3 in specs so I don't think it is a good idea to buy it now.
Thanks for you contribution, I will abandon my plans to upgrade only the remote controller

 

[Walleye Hunter]

Pardon my intrusion but I can't understand why one would work with the M2 series+the Air 2S and another would work with the M3 series+the Air 2S and they can't all just work with everything.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Pardon my intrusion but I can't understand why one would work with the M2 series+the Air 2S and another would work with the M3 series+the Air 2S and they can't all just work with everything.

Different communication protocol on the Mavic 3 I think, OCC 3 or something, so the controller to be used with a Mavic 3 would need to be able to communicate via that.

 

[SethB]

When it comes to RC's with screen, DJI offer 3 alternatives with various age, power, price... & compatibility with different drones.

Below a break down for the 3 ... it's only the oldest, DJI Smart Controller which now adays is discontinued that might work with your Mini 2 (see the bold red comment).

The oldest & discontinued Smart Controller is compatible with DJI Mini 2, Mavic Air 2, Mavic 2 and Mavic 2 Enterprise Series, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0... it's questionable if the DJI Mavic Air 2s is, even though they were bundled in the beginning when the Air 2s was released... it never worked in a reliable way. The Smart controller have a very old Android system & doesn't have the power needed for the DJI Fly app.

I am so surprised by this, as I have been flying both a Mini 2 and an Air 2S with the original Smart Controller. What is the source of these statements? They contradict both DJI’s guidance and my own direct experience. Perhaps DJI did some work on the Fly app for better compatibility; I’m running the latest firmware on Smart Controller and drones..

I’d keep the Smart Controller in the mix to consider. In my personal experience it has been great with the Mini 2 and the Air 2s, as well as the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom for which it was originally designed.

 

[slup]

...What is the source of these statements?

The source is mainly this forum with too many problems originating from that the SC is running an ancient version of Android & don't have any headroom processor power wise. You might be lucky... or you will end up having problems with force closings & app freezes.

That's why I used words like "might" & "probably"...

The history of the DJI Fly app haven't so far been an app that demands less of the mobile device (or screen RC) for every new version... rather the opposite. So with a system already pushed hard... we might see more problems running the Fly app on the SC in the future.

With few words ... the SC might barely be useable with the Fly app today, but it's not future proof at all. But if you don't care about the non existent possibility to use the SC together with upcoming DJI drone models & are willing to try your luck with it... then do it, personally I wouldn't.

 

[Ronny St.]

Just to add something to the discussion I seem to have started here: found a remarkable topic on this matter, confirming to me that Slup was right in his advice.

Edit: forgotten to give the link : DJI RC VS RC-N1

 

[wspo]

I also have been flying the Air 2s and the Mini 2 with the smart controller with no problems.

 

[SethB]

All well and good.

I have to agree that the original DJI Smart Controller RM500 is very unlikely to be supported on current drones such as Mavic 3 and Mini 3. But then, none of these controllers are "future-proof". For today, my controller is working fine, as it always has, with Mini 2 and Air 2S.

Not much to debate; I'm of a mind to discount the sense of doom about this controller. I believe the people who have posted their bad experiences, not only with this controller, but also bad experiences with the DJI RC and RC Pro. I'll point out that for every bad experience of each of these controllers there are far more people with good experiences. Forums tend to collect the problems, not the successes.

I also speculate that DJI has improved performance with recent controller firmware updates. For reference, I put my Mini 2 on the SC in October 2022, and the A2S on it in early March 2023 (waiting for a case that would hold the somewhat larger Smart Controller).

DJI says it works.
It works for me.
Others have had different experiences, and/or feel differently.

Not much more to write, as I need to go fly for some more A2S photos to continue exploring good workflow for photogrammetry... where the Smart Controller on the A2S is working just fine.

 

[Starz]

You would not be disappointed with an M2 pro and the smart controller.

 

[Bill Dunnuck]

SC working perfectly on the Mini 2 and Air 2. I have already had problems with the RC operating the Mini 3 pro. Shut down for several days sorting out problem with DJI. Never had problem one with SC.

 

[slup]

...I'm of a mind to discount the sense of doom about this controller.

I'm happy to hear that you are without problems & can enjoy your SC... but the "sense" of doom primarily doesn't come from us consumers, it's directly from DJI, they have discontinued it, as the base of it have been considered to have reached EOL & can no longer support upcoming requirements. And DJI isn't exactly famous of supporting discontinued products... it's only smaller improvements that can be made through firmware if the hardware is the limiting factor.

The SC in the days & now the RC Pro is considered to be premium, nothing you shouldn't have to upgrade every time a new drone model i being launched, it's an investment in it self, often more expensive than the drone. So buying one now with all that comes with it being discontinued ..?

You would not be disappointed with an M2 pro and the smart controller.

A much more suitable use of a SC... the DJI GO 4 app is less demanding & the SC was made with that app in mind. And the M2 series is still a real upgrade if coming from some of the older Mini models. And imagine that second hand drone & SC bundles can be found for a very competitive price level today.

 

[Starz]

very competitive price level today.

That was what I left out.
Plenty to be had.

 

[Ronny St.]

That seems a good idea, I will compare the specs of all the versions of the M2 and that might be the next drone. It seems all versions can be used with Litchi, which is my favorite app at this moment .

My main goal is to make pictures and movies of good quality, so I assume the Pro will be best, but I will compare them tomorrow as it is getting late now here in Belgium

 

[Starz]

There are only the two versions of the M2. The pro and the zoom.
Picture quality will be better on the pro model. The zoom is great for the zoom feature.

 

[Ronny St.]

Ok, searching for an upgrade to a higher model than the Mini 2 I have now and I have been browsing the internet for some hours now
On techradar I found the following:
The Air 2S is undoubtedly a better overall drone than the Mavic 2 Pro. It brings size and weight savings, despite also housing a camera with a 1-inch sensor, and offers better high ISO noise handling and improved video capture to boot. If you’re a stills photographer, then the Air 2S is the best option for you. But if you're mainly looking to shoot video, the decision isn't quite as simple.
On the one hand, the Air 2S can capture higher resolution 5.4K video up to 30fps and resolutions of 4K video at up to 60fps compared to the Mavic 2 Pro’s maximum of 4k at 30fps.
Should I take that in consideration or not?

 

[Starz]

Another consideration is the app. The fly app is a different animal. I have both aircraft and I have never been disappointed with the pictures and video from the M2 pro. No, I’m not a pixel peeper and don’t view them on a high resolution screen.