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Why does the Mavic air 2 not use DJI Go4?

I own a phantom 4,mavic pro and Mavic 2 Pro

Last week I got a Mavic air 2 to add to the fleet and was shocked to see it using such a basic and shoddy "new" app that takes us back in to the dark ages in the DJI Fly app.

Why is this? My understanding is that both of the Mavic and air 2 use ocysync 2 so why not the same app?

Cheers yall
Likely a marketing decision. You need to have the customer not completely satisfied so they will eventually move up a better platform
 
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You can use Compyle to allow your MA2 to use Dji Go instead of the Fly app.
Ok, I'm a complete newb to DJI but I'm waiting on my MA2. Can this really be done and if so....
1. Will it have all the same capabilities?
2. Does that mean it would be more compatible with more phones/tablets too? It would be nice to be able to use my Shield K1 and not have to buy another expensive tablet.

Please tell me more. PM is ok too!!
 
Haha, Microsoft merge with DJI... make sure you have plenty of batteries for the updates... ?
 
As a person in the software roadmap side of things for a living my opinion is the Fly app is their new platform going forward.. However, they are breaking off these cheaper drones (mini and air 2) with limited features as they go through their sprint process and add in features as they go. So hopefully the fly app only gets better as time goes on... this makes sense if they will deprecate the old system completely but we most likely wont know that until we see what the mavic 3 will be running on.

Just my opinion and I have been wrong before but this is how it is done for other platform software so you have gradual adoption and dont **** off your old base while minimizing the development and effort needed on the legacy system in parallel.
That makes sense. Plus they just had an upgrade to the Fly app that added several sensitivity settings not originally available. More supporting evidence this the new platform.
 
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The feature lack is to help sell more expensive drones with more features. 32 bit or 64 bit is a red herring.
If that is the reason from Dji, its really pissing on customers.

You see every phone today all the "pro" options on camera. Nobody cribles down their starter or middleclass products.

I really hope this is not the reason for Fly vs. Go matter.
 
If that is the reason from Dji, its really pissing on customers.

You see every phone today all the "pro" options on camera. Nobody cribles down their starter or middleclass products.

I really hope this is not the reason for Fly vs. Go matter.
[/QUOTEIt is all about MVP getting something out the door. its sad but reality.
 
One thing that I don't recall seeing discussed is corporate mentality in general and Chinese apporach to business. I think in this case a lot of this has to do with their concept of margin and marketing and they seem to be experts in these areas in addition to building the best drones in the industry. In recent months we have seen them realign their entire line up through the prosumer levels. The Spark was replaced by the Mini and the the Mavic Air has been upgraded significantly to the Mavic 2 series. That left a big hole in the middle, which they filled with the Mavic Air 2. The Mini was designed to let people get acquainted with drones who want to start with something better than the cheap Chinese "throw-away" drones. Let's face it, the MA2 is so darn good that if DJI didn't do something to hold it back they would end up killing off the market for the Mavic 2's. Think of how much more margin there has to be between a $800 drone and a $1500 one. And to do that they largely differentiate with software that has fewer features; thus the DJI Fly app. Taking this tactic, with the MA2 they reach a market that might, and often do, skip over the Mini for their first drone, reap another $400 at retail, while maintaining reasons for folks to buy one of the M2 series. It's actually a brilliant strategy and is almost perfection in implementing business psychology.
 
I've never used litchi and the playstore rating is under 3.8, is it really worth the cost?

I've had Litchi for under a week and it is pretty scary what it can do. $23? Super cheap for what it can do. In addition to the features that are similar on the GoFly app, with Litchi you can go on your PC (or Mac) into the "mission hub" and actually map out a mission, IMO with more clarity than you can on a 5" phone. You can then download that mission into KLM file and see it mapped out on Google earth. But what is totally mind blowing, with the help of the "Vitural Litchi Mission" application, you can download (export) the mission as a VLM file which utilized Google Earth for a VIRTUAL PREVIEW ofthe mission that actually flies you through the mission!!!! With that ability you can tweak your missions before ever flying them. It's almost cheating because when you get to the mission site you call it up on your phone, press start and stand back. If you want to learn more about the basics of Litchi check out this site and watch the videos. It's a little dated, but still extremely informative.
Link to Litchi Basics
 
One thing that is overlooked here RE: the MA2, why isn't it compatible with the Smart Controller? I bought one when they were first released with my M2 Zoom, thinking that this was the controller for the next generation of DJI drones. Not too long after the release, they added the option for managing a fleet of drones on the device, which gave me false hope. Then they added a Phantom to the list of devices, but when they released the next OS2 device (MA2), no support (although it was rumored that it was only "weeks away"). now months later, MA2 still is not compatible with the Smart Controller. Will anything in the future be compatible with the current SC, or have we just spent big bucks to support only the current fleet? I realize that it is a 32/64 bit issue to get the fly app converted, but come on DJI, LOTS of us have invested in what we thought was the future, but nothing is being announced that makes us feel better about our investment. Maybe a little insight of the SC future???

Don't interpret my rave as a knock of the SC, it is the reason that I have used only my Zoom lately, so easy to get into the air and the bright screen blows away any tablet/phone display. I just want some assurance that I can use if for any future investment. The last thing I need is yet another controller to keep charged and updated!!

What say you, DJI????
 
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B
I've had Litchi for under a week and it is pretty scary what it can do. $23? Super cheap for what it can do. In addition to the features that are similar on the GoFly app, with Litchi you can go on your PC (or Mac) into the "mission hub" and actually map out a mission, IMO with more clarity than you can on a 5" phone. You can then download that mission into KLM file and see it mapped out on Google earth. But what is totally mind blowing, with the help of the "Vitural Litchi Mission" application, you can download (export) the mission as a VLM file which utilized Google Earth for a VIRTUAL PREVIEW ofthe mission that actually flies you through the mission!!!! With that ability you can tweak your missions before ever flying them. It's almost cheating because when you get to the mission site you call it up on your phone, press start and stand back. If you want to learn more about the basics of Litchi check out this site and watch the videos. It's a little dated, but still extremely informative.
Link to Litchi Basics

It’s probably a good replacement for the Go app, but as a replacement for the Fly app it only currently only supports the Mini (and then only in the recent beta version). At present, it seems to offer very little functionality over the Fly app.
 
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B

It’s probably a good replacement for the Go app, but as a replacement for the Fly app it only currently only supports the Mini (and then only in the recent beta version). At present, it seems to offer very little functionality over the Fly app.

As I replied before, the Fly app is a different animal than Go. And while I stated that there had to be a raison d'etre for the MA2 in their lineup, there may be other programming reasons that they've written the Fly app, directed at the two newest drone designs. Will a more robust Fly app be the control software on the Mavic 3? We should know in just a few weeks or months.

I was responding primarily to the question about Litchi. I have a Mini too and have been invited to download the Litchi Beta test app. I'm a bit afraid that it migh mess up things with my M2, so I'm going to finish this project I'm working on before downloading the Beta app. To me, the benefit of Litchi is the ability to design and "proof" and modify custom flight actions before getting out into the field, wasting time and battery power.
 
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Could someone please answer the following questions as I didn't think I picked up the answers in this thread -
Will Litchi work with a Mavic Air 2 (their website also only mentions the Air)
Will dji GO work with a Mavic Air 2 and if so is the 64 bit version easily downloadable and how?
 
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G'day, Mate!
Litchi does not work with the MA2 yet. It recently was adapted to work with the Mini. The MA2 came out later. I think it's only a matter of time. Litchi is a great product, and is worth the wait. DJI Go 4 may be phased out. The consensus seems to be that DJI Fly will be improved and expanded, and will be adapted to run all DJI consumer drones.
 
G-day (hope you pronounced that correct, it's Ghee Day ;) )
Thanks for the update.
I also note that Litchi is a 64 bit app (only displays as available for download on my 64 bit tablet).
I look forward to when it is expanded to work with MA2 OR when DJI release an update of FLY so that text can be displayed larger as well as battery level (waypoints would be good too)
John
 
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Thinking more about this.

Several posts point the finger at the marketing people at Dji, or the accountants, indirectly. I disagree. I believe technical considerations are the big driver here. No final decisions on platforms for future products are going to be made in isolation by a subgroup of non-technical folks (marketers, accountants, board members, etc). Dji is, after all, a tech company at its heart. Without technology there is no company and everyone's out of a job.

If you think about it, Dji would not have gotten as far as they have if it was always about just making a quick buck with no eye to the future. In fact, they'd be long gone, and rightly so. Apple and Tesla are similar cases, that's an even longer discussion. The fact is it takes several miles to turn a big ship, you don't just press a button and change the heading 90 degrees because someone from cost accounting thinks it's a good idea.

In other words, what may currently appear to be going backwards from outside the company is actually the result of a carefully considered strategy. The goal is market share retention- and growth through continuous improvement. And a big part of that goal, my friends, is achievable only by deploying the most relevant current and/or foreseeable technological improvements available. It requires an unfailing ability to pick technology winners (you do get a couple of mulligans along the way though), and time to cut- and test the new code to use them. So far so good, IMO

Final thought. The Mavic Mini is an interesting case. The arguably too-flexible props and related packaging design issues highlight another point of discussion - material science. It's amazing to me the thing gets off the ground, hovers, flies around, shoots good video and stills, and lands. But it does. Wow. If you choose to step out onto the bleeding edge you're a beta tester by definition, there are no safer and cheaper options. We all have different tolerances for risk, mine's pretty high so I endeavor to keep my brain engaged at all times.
 
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