Android or ios?

[Decado]

Just saw iPhone 6 at Walmart for just $99

I'm very sorry everyone, I made an error in the previous post. I'm not an apple guy as I mentioned above. I just went and checked, the iPhone 6 which was released 2014 (not the iPhone 7 as I said before) runs the A8 processor like the iPad mini 4 so it'll handle GO 4 and flight apps if that's all you do with it but there not going to be any future proofing left there. (I've edited the above post to fix the error)

I think the iPhone 6 it is now also the oldest device they still support so while you get IOS 12 for it, it's going to be the next one to get dropped support wise.

The iPhone 7 runs the A10 Fusion chip exactly the same as the 2018 iPad so it's likely to have at least another 3 years of support for operating system upgrades and has way more grunt than an iPhone 6 / iPad Mini 4 so if you could stretch that little bit further budget wise it would see you right for DJI flying for quite a while.

As well you then have the advantage of it being able to fit straight into a Spark or Mavic controller and not have to bother with a tablet adapter to run the larger iPad.

I must admit, at my age I would probably have bought the tablet anyway for my older eyes and the extra screen real estate. There are times on a job when I am doing antenna inspections for example where I am flying with guy wires only a few inches either side of the aircraft and the tower directly in front and I rely heavily on the on screen display.

That's not going to be an issue for most of you though so from my point of view the iPhone 7 is probably the sweet spot as far as cost vs future life span and performance for someone getting into an Apple platform for the first time goes.

OH! another point for droid centric people like myself. Unlike Android devices which use seperate modules Apple devices have the GPS module on the cellular chip so no cellular = no GPS. You can get around this by hot spotting and pre caching maps etc of course but it's an extra fiddle so an iPhone 7 would be better value than a wifi only 2018 iPad. To be precise I use a 2018 Gen 6 iPad 128Gb cellular model.

Also Just FYI, when flying one of the company's 4 sparks even though technically not supported for IOS (It is for Android on the latest Spark Firmware once again) I use an OTG cable without any loss of functionality and get far less video lag and better responsiveness. No extra range to speak of, just more stability.

Regards
Ari

 

[Usul142]

I am a diehard droid user, I have been using Android since v2.1x and with the kids and family I have 12 Android devices from S5s, Galaxy Tab Notes, Galaxy Tab S2, S3, S8 and S9+. Why? because I'm a Comms tech by trade, being doing I/T for years and I like to decide what I can do with my device not be told by the manufacturer. no walled gardens for me.

Then I have 1 IOS device, a 2018 iPad which does all of my flight duties. I never fly on Android.

DJIs GO 4 app works perfectly well with stock reference vanilla android, their own CrystalSky units are Android, very close to reference and they control strictly what other apps you can install, from all reports they are (mostly) reliable. Other than that or rooting your device and loading a stripped back ROM you're not going to get stock reference Android anywhere. Every company overlays a skin of some kind to make their product "stand out" from the crowd and that's where the trouble starts. Samsung's "Touchwiz" interface is known offender for example, that's not to say every Samsung device will be flaky. Some are fairly good, some are terrible. None are perfect.

When the App writers do the DJI app and updates IOS is simple because Apple keep such a stranglehold on the O/S, the hardware and certifying apps for it. Once the App is written or updated and finalised it just works with any Apple device capable of hosting a recent IOS version because it's the same O/S regardless of device.

On the other hand there is no possible way that the App author can make allowances for every interface on every brand or type of device on Android. There are hundreds if not thousands to take into account. They can certify their app for reference android but they have no control over what the device manufacturer does with the O/S or how other loosly controlled apps will inter act.

I have the added complication that I am a certified commercial Remote Pilot and I work with my aircraft in mission critical situations where safety and threat and error management is paramount. I can't afford any avoidable variables.

When I got my first R.P.A. and while I was studying for my certification I tried most of my Android devices. Surely with that many I'd be set right? Well, here I am with an iPad...... some of the droids were not too bad, come couldn't be relied upon for 5 minutes before a drop out occurred. I only have flight related apps installed on the iPad, GO 4 , Litchi, Drone Deploy, Can I fly there, etc and since buying it I have had exactly zero issues or drop outs. Not one, not ever. As much as I hate apple (even my iMac computers are boot camped and run windows) I can't argue with the figures.

If you DO decide to go the apple route you may want to think a bit on the Mini 4. I almost bought one, I was only getting it to fly and the size was perfect but as it's now my business I do a LOT of reading at a technical level and I had noticed over the last year a small but increasing number of reports of people with Mini iPads suffering from overheating, excessive video lag or other problems. This was almost always with people who used their iPad for everything under the sun as well as flying. Those who just use them for flying seem to do OK although they do report some heating issues.

It does stand to reason, the Mini 4 is 4+ years since it's last upgrade now and rocks the A8 processor of the iPhone 7 era. The DJI GO4 app has evolved a lot in the last year adding many more functions with the release of the newer aircraft and as such it's requirements for system resources has increased quite a bit.

I'll repeat, if you only use it for flying than you should be OK with a Mini 4 as things stand now, the Spark is not exactly the most demanding aircraft in DJI's stable but you do have to ask yourself how much future headroom is in the unit and what if you buiy a Mavic 2 pro in 6 months? I asked myself and after a lot of thought bought a 2018 9.7" iPad with the A10 fusion chip and then had to buy Lifthor tablet holders and a full harness and the like to compensate for the extra weight etc, After 6 or more hours flying the setup gets heavy but I haven't regretted it.

Also for that matter, an industry insider famous for doing very accurate leaks on upcoming Apple devices has said that there will be a 2019 entry level iPad and finally a Mini 5 released around June/July so you might want to hold off and see.

New iPad mini 'will launch this spring'

As with everything my experiences aren't going to be the same as every body else, Other people will totally disagree and that's all good. I have to be conservative because it's a job and a Droid or a Mini 4 may be perfect for you I can't risk it and if I was only a recreational flyer I'd still think ..... "why risk having to buy twice?"

Regards
Ari

Ari....just looked at your website and a lot of useful information there and a must read for all drone users. Thank you for putting that together for all of us.

 

[Andre Levite]

I'm very sorry everyone, I made an error in the previous post. I'm not an apple guy as I mentioned above. I just went and checked, the iPhone 6 which was released 2014 (not the iPhone 7 as I said before) runs the A8 processor ike the iPad mini 4 so it'll handle GO 4 and flight apps if that's all you do with it but there not going to be any future proofing left there.

I think it is now also the oldest device they still support so while you get IOS 12 for it, it's going to be the next one to get dropped.

The iPhone 7 runs the A10 Fusion chip exactly the same as the 2018 iPad so it's likely to have at least another 3 years of support for operating system upgrades and has way more grunt than an iPhone 6 / iPad Mini 4 so if you could stretch that little bit further it would see you right for DJI flying for quite a while.

As well you then have the advantage of it being able to fit straight into a Spark or Mavic controller and not have to bother with a tablet adapter to run the larger iPad.

I must admit, at my age I would probably have bought the tablet anyway for my older eyes and the extra screen real estate. There are times on a job when I am doing antenna inspections for example where I am flying with guy wires only a few inches either side of the aircraft and the tower directly in front and I rely heavily on the on screen display.

That's not going to be an issue for most of you though so from my point of view the iPhone 7 is probably the sweet spot as far as cost vs future life span and performance for someone getting into an Apple platform for the first time goes.

OH! another point for droid centric people like myself. Apple devices have the GPS module on the cellular chip so no cellular = no GPS. You can get around this by hot spotting and pre caching maps etc but it's a fiddle so an iPhone 7 would be better value than a wifi only 2018 iPad. To be precise I use a 2018 Gen 6 iPad 128Gb cellular model.

Regards
Ari

I agree wholeheartedly with your post. It is absolutely true that the iPhone 6 will be obsolete before the iPhone 7. But that could be years away. Nobody knows DJI's timeline but they have a good record with Apple legacy devices.

The 7 costs about $300 compared to just $99 for the iPhone 6. For $300 you can get full size 2018 iPad if you watch for deals.



If you want a $99 solution today and are okay with it becoming outdated in a year or two (or three?) then iPhone 6 is the only option.

Decisions. Decisions

 

[Decado]

Ari....just looked at your website and a lot of useful information there and a must read for all drone users. Thank you for putting that together for all of us.

Thank you but to be fair that was someone else's work I just quoted the page, but I'm really quite passionately interested in R.P.A.'s (I don't use the "D" word lol). So much so I came out of retirement and qualified as an RePL and founded a business simply to give my 2 natural and 2 foster kids a career when they leave school in 1 to 2 years.

Being a relatively new field with (thanks to media beat ups and a few idiots) a doubtful reputation in the eyes of the public and governments always looking to put new restrictions on us (Look at the poor people in Canada) I like to try and help out where I can and I think most of us are the same on these forums.

Always happy to answer questions, I'm heavily cross qualified in other fields which helps but I'm human so I'm not always right

Regards
Ari

 

[Decado]

The 7 costs about $300 compared to just $99 for the iPhone 6.

I can't argue ... at $99 bucks if you are on a strict budget it's cheap peace of mind ... and if they DO release an iPad mini 5 later this year you could probably on sell the iPhone without much loss at that price and grab a mini 5 if the budget allows.

Good Find Andre

Regards
Ari

 

[Usul142]

I've been looking into getting my remote pilot certification too. Mainly to cover all my bases. Maybe down the road I would love to get paid to take aerial pictures and videos. Which also means keeping up on all of the local and federal rules & regulations. The Spark is my first true quad, I'll admit at getting a few airhogs here and there over the years, and I've been really enjoying it so far and might get a better quality quad later down the line. I might pick your brain from time to time for some answers...if you don't mind.

 

[Decado]

I've been looking into getting my remote pilot certification too. Mainly to cover all my bases. Maybe down the road I would love to get paid to take aerial pictures and videos. Which also means keeping up on all of the local and federal rules & regulations. The Spark is my first true quad, I'll admit at getting a few airhogs here and there over the years, and I've been really enjoying it so far and might get a better quality quad later down the line. I might pick your brain from time to time for some answers...if you don't mind.

Hi Usul142

I'm assuming that you are U.S. based, I'm in Australia so there are obviously going to be some differences in legislation but from what I can see there are more similarities than not. Being a Nanny state Australia got R.P.A. laws earlier than most countries and the next revision mid this year will be (I think) the fourth set. Australia is pretty good to recreational level pilots even allowing them to take on paid work in non controlled airspace with <2Kg aircraft as long as you abide by the standard operating conditions and give 5 days notice to C.A.S.A.

To do any work outside of the standard operating conditions like night flying, over populous areas, in controlled airspace, within 3 Nautical miles of an aerodrome etc requires a fairly robust certification process and for the later an Aeronautical Radio Certificate so you can clear with ATC and other aircraft. It's considered the lowesst grade of pilots licence, it's not cheap and as you say, even after certification the regulations are changing and you need to keep across them.

I always encourage anyone with the time and interest to grab any certification they can. The training gives you skills and understanding that will serve you well recreational or not. From what I understand there are a lot of people in the U.S. who do part 107 who have no intention of working in the industry, although part 107 is quite a bit cheaper and (from what I can tell) less involved than an RePL.

Anyone wanting to go into it commercially needs to go in with their eyes open and a set business plan. "The low hanging fruit always gets picked first". Here there are plenty of people who do photography, events videos and real estate work. My company specialises in Photogrammetry, aerial mapping, Structure bridge and antenna survey and damage assessment. I'm just as happy not to operate around crowds anyway. Cheaper insurance and less worries, it's also better paying.

The Spark should not be underestimated, The company is set up from Matrice 600 series down, we probably use Phantom 4 pro for more than anything else but as I said I have 4 Sparks. They are in in almost every way as full a platform as any DJI product. The 2 axis gimbol makes good video a little more challenging but if you can master that then anything afterwards is easy. If you can handle a spark to high level or precision you are ready for anything under 7Kg. The lack of 4K is not as big an issue as you would think as most customers only want HD anyway unless you are doing videography for film or T.V. I use them to train pilots and for high risk close in inspections. Rather lose a spark than something worth many times as much.

Anyway, I've hijacked the O.P.'s thread pretty rudely at this point (apologies). If you have any questions you think I can help with drop me a P.M. by all means.

Regards
Ari

 

[Usul142]

Thanks so much and I'll surely send you a PM if I have any questions I might have about using my Spark to the fullest. Still new with it and sense it's the winter time here, it can be a tad bit more challenging to get outside and take pictures and videos. Anywho....sorry for changing what this thread started out to be.

 

[tomchipps]

I have been using a galaxie s9 and also an old s5, both work great and I use wifi only. I have never used otg and don't understand why anyone does.

 

[Usul142]

I have been using a galaxie s9 and also an old s5, both work great and I use wifi only. I have never used otg and don't understand why anyone does.

I guess it all depends on personal preference and whatever works best for the pilot and device they are using and if they are using a waypoint app.

 

[Decado]

I have been using a galaxie s9 and also an old s5, both work great

I have an S9+, it's pretty close to the best droid device I have but I've still had a couple of disconnections which is a couple more than I've had on IOS. The kids have S5s which are utter pants when I let them fly but being kids they have 1 million and 1 apps loaded so I'm not surprised.

I have never used otg and don't understand why anyone does.

In my case the only reason is because I get at least a 50% reduction in video feed latency and control response time. No extra range or anything like that. I can't speak for others.

I guess it all depends on personal preference and whatever works best for the pilot and device they are using and if they are using a waypoint app.

Yes, as I fly commercially I do a lot of waypoint missions although currently Litchi doesn't support OTG connection I believe.

Regards
Ari

 

[skipper420]

Ive been using a samsung galaxy prime prepaid phone and as long as i connect otg cable i havent experienced any issues, the video feed is extremely clear and not laggy

 

[Usul142]

I have an S9+, it's pretty close to the best droid device I have but I've still had a couple of disconnections which is a couple more than I've had on IOS. The kids have S5s which are utter pants when I let them fly but being kids they have 1 million and 1 apps loaded so I'm not surprised.



In my case the only reason is because I get at least a 50% reduction in video feed latency and control response time. No extra range or anything like that. I can't speak for others.



Yes, as I fly commercially I do a lot of waypoint missions although currently Litchi doesn't support OTG connection I believe.

Regards
Ari

I haven't tried Litchi yet, but I do know that DH Basic does support the OTG cable and I haven't experienced any video lag with it.

 

[Decado]

I haven't tried Litchi yet, but I do know that DH Basic does support the OTG cable and I haven't experienced any video lag with it.

Yup, that's where it's all at for me. The video and control latency go down a massive amount for me with the OTG and when you do things like fly your spark into the cabin of a yacht wrecked 300m off shore on a mud island (that's an upcoming project, so far I've only done an external survey with the P4P) that second or so delay for the video to update can be the difference between pictures and "Ker Plunk"! lol

Regards
Ari

 

[Rmwac]

I'm an android user and recently got into flying my spark. I put one of my older 8" Samsung tablets on and love it compared to my s8+. As I said it's an older tablet and battery life isn't very good, it actually died today while I was flying and it made me want to get something new to use for my flying. I found a iPad 9.7" and the Samsung galaxy tab s3. Does having ios work better than Android or Android work better than ios? I'm curious what your experience has been with them if you have used both. Thanks

that's why you need to buy the Nvidia Shield I have for sale Best Android Tablet ever.

 

[Usul142]

Yup, that's where it's all at for me. The video and control latency go down a massive amount for me with the OTG and when you do things like fly your spark into the cabin of a yacht wrecked 300m off shore on a mud island (that's an upcoming project, so far I've only done an external survey with the P4P) that second or so delay for the video to update can be the difference between pictures and "Ker Plunk"! lol

Regards
Ari

There's a story that I want hear LoL

 

[Wanderer]

As I bought my Spark one year ago I was looking for a CHEAP but powerful enough Android device (7 or better 8 inch) to operate it.

Friends recommended the Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus (8 inch tablet with Snapdragon) which is available for ~$150 - and it turned out to be a perfect match. So there is really no need to spend more money. No need to buy a NVIDIA Shield or anything more expensive to fly your Spark, trust me.

The tablet's screen is very bright, it has just the perfect size (not too clumsy, not too small) and it has more than enough power to run the DJI app smootly under all conditions. There is also a pre-installed feature to adjust screen colors, saturation and contrast according on which app is running . So you can crank up saturation and contrast for the DJI app's live video view which is a great improvement.

I spent many hours using it with my spark (via OTG, works fine) and I am very satisfied so far. So if you're looking for a cheap alrounder, it's a good match.

 

[Rmwac]

My big beef with Android is that once the OTG cable is plugged in, the device begins to charge off of the controller's battery, diminishing it's available flight time. Workaround for the Mavic is to use an external power pack, plugged into the Mavic RC micro usb port. The overall package starts to get a little large... You can cut the black wire in the OTG cable.... yep, the device
no longer charges off the RC battery, but the
device is no longer recognized by the RC. IOS devices do not have this issue.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

My big beef with Android is that once the OTG cable is plugged in, the device begins to charge off of the controller's battery, diminishing it's available flight time. Workaround for the Mavic is to use an external power pack, plugged into the Mavic RC micro usb port. The overall package starts to get a little large... You can cut the black wire in the OTG cable.... yep, the device
no longer charges off the RC battery, but the
device is no longer recognized by the RC. IOS devices do not have this issue.

Based on my experience, the current draw from the RC is tiny ... easily leaving you enough juice for 6-8 complete full-length flights. I currently have only two Spark batteries and after flying those to empty*, my controller hasn't dropped at all from the "full" charge indicator.


* Not empty enough to cause battery damage, though

 

[Rmwac]

My Spark RC seems to last longer than my Mavic RC battery when plugged into a Droid. I always keep the Droid battery as topped off as possible. The Mavic flights can go into the 20 minute + territory, and using a Droid tablet just killed that battery's duration. I switched to an Ipad Mini 4 cellular, and have not looked back. BTW.... no cell plan, nor Sim card needed for full GPS functionality on the Ipad. They claim that a Mini 5 is coming out in spring. Refurb 4's may come way down in price if/ when that happens.