Hi All, there has been some discussions regarding the new DJI 4.0 Go App and battery drain. So I did a back to back comparison using the same device (iPhone 7) and aircraft (Mavic Pro). This was posted on another thread and I wanted to make this a new topic for comments.
Edit:
no wind (0-2mph)
iPhone 7 256 gig drive

Mavic Pro DJI Go App 4.0
Flight test 1:

19 min flight non aggressive flight in GPS / normal mode cruising speed around at 10- 15 mph and hovering
Flight distance total: 2,196 ft. at 96 ft.
Outside temp is        37*F
Starting values
Flight battery        98%
Remote battery         100%
iPhone 7                92%
Finish values
Flight battery        28%
Remote battery        93%
iPhone 7                 81%
Total battery consumption shown in battery percentages:
Flight battery        70%
Remote battery        7%
iPhone 7                11%

Mavic Pro Go App 3.11
Flight test 2:

21 min flight non aggressive flight in GPS / normal mode cruising speed around at 10-15 mph and hovering
Flight distance total: 3,884 ft. at 142 ft.
Outside temp is 35*F
Starting values
Flight battery        100%
Remote battery         100%
iPhone 7                100%
Finish values
Flight battery        26%
Remote battery        96%
iPhone 7                 93%
Total battery consumption shown in battery percentages:
Flight battery        74%
Remote battery        4%
iPhone 7                7%
Looks like the DJI Go App 4.0 may have an additional power draw vs the Go App 3.11

Feel free to share your experience's and comments.
Thanks
Rich

Thanks for sharing....this is very useful information.

The data is interesting, but I don't see how we can really learn much from this. Different starting levels of charge, different air temp, different flying altitude, different distance, and we don't know what the wind was for each test. There are just too many factors at work with the Mavic to have any confidence in these results. However, I don't doubt that the controller and phone battery usage would change, as 4.0 is a complete re-write, and may even be built on a different technology. As the intelligent flight mode features, and tweaks to collision avoidance, compass, and data transmission are all tweaked, it is likely to use more battery. For me, as long as the controller and phone battery can last an hour, I am good. I am looking for better performance and safer flight, where battery life is secondary. And, this was for iPhone, which makes many models, all of which will perform differently. Battery size may be different, and phones with larger amounts of RAM have better quality RAM that is faster. (A 128GB iPhone is much faster than a 32GB iPhone, which uses lower quality memory) The results are likely to be completely different for Android, and even that is going to vary by phone model.

Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-6 10:57
Thanks for sharing....this is very useful information.

Your welcome

I hope if helps .... there were some having trouble. The new Go App is taking more power to run on some devices.
I would be cool if others would post there device and battery drain on the Mavic Go App 4.0



Rich

dana5 Posted at 2016-12-6 11:44
The data is interesting, but I don't see how we can really learn much from this. Different starting levels of charge, different air temp, different flying altitude, different distance, and we don't know what the wind was for each test. There are just too many factors at work with the Mavic to have any confidence in these results. However, I don't doubt that the controller and phone battery usage would change, as 4.0 is a complete re-write, and may even be built on a different technology. As the intelligent flight mode features, and tweaks to collision avoidance, compass, and data transmission are all tweaked, it is likely to use more battery. For me, as long as the controller and phone battery can last an hour, I am good. I am looking for better performance and safer flight, where battery life is secondary. And, this was for iPhone, which makes many models, all of which will perform differently. Battery size may be different, and phones with larger amounts of RAM have better quality RAM that is faster. (A 128GB iPhone is much faster than a 32GB iPhone, which uses lower quality memory) The results are likely to be completely different for Android, and even that is going to vary by phone model.

I agree that everything can cause some variables and you are correct the battery testing was not ideal on my first test. I was trying to do this before it snowed.

Got to start somewhere....
Wouldn't it be nice if others would do this test with their device and report back on this thread. We could see more results and even know what devices work better with the Mavic and DJI Go App 4.0


I added the wind information and my iPhone memory size to the post.
Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2016-12-6 23:38
I agree that everything can cause some variables and you are correct the battery testing was not ideal on my first test. I was trying to do this before it snowed.

Got to start somewhere....

I would love to share my findings but I need my Mavic first {:4_177:}

RichJ53 Posted at 2016-12-6 23:38
I agree that everything can cause some variables and you are correct the battery testing was not ideal on my first test. I was trying to do this before it snowed.

Got to start somewhere....

Yes, it's a good start.

In the end, I am not very concerned with battery. The drone is going to be the first to run down, and I have never had any battery issues with my phone. My kids can play minecraft on it for an hour, and it only goes down 5-10%, and I know the controller should outlast a few Mavic batteries.

I think the best way to keep the controller battery going longer is to start with phone that is also fully charged, so you are not just pouring one bucket into another, if that makes sense.

Last, if making the Go better, or adding new features, ends up using more battery, I think it's worth it. But much of that will depend on the phone model you are using, and what version of the operating system it has on it. Mine is a Nexus 6p, with Nougat 7.0, and it should be getting 7.1.1 next week. It's pretty efficient on battery, where something like an LG G4 (my previous phone) is NOT. I think an iPhone is in the middle. I have not owned an iPhone for years, but I assume battery life must not be the best, based on all the wall huggers I see at the airport, holding iPhones, tethered to the wall.

Heavysledz Posted at 2016-12-6 21:47
I would love to share my findings but I need my Mavic first

Then you better get your new Mavic

Hopefully you get it soon
Rich

dana5 Posted at 2016-12-7 06:19
Yes, it's a good start.

In the end, I am not very concerned with battery. The drone is going to be the first to run down, and I have never had any battery issues with my phone. My kids can play minecraft on it for an hour, and it only goes down 5-10%, and I know the controller should outlast a few Mavic batteries.

dana (love your avatar)

The main reason I wanted to share this information, is because  the new DJI Go App utilizes more of the phone processing power for all of the App features. DJI keeps stepping up the load on our devices that can eventually cause HD video lag among other problems.  This summer with my Inspire 1 V2 the iPad mini 4 was getting very warm (not Hot) with only the Go App running.  This can lead to the image freezing all together making framing your shots impossible.

I find the newer iPhone's and iPad's to have plenty of battery power for me (although I also see the wall hugger groups in the airports)

Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2016-12-8 01:26
Then you better get your new Mavic

Hopefully you get it soon

I am hoping but know I have many others ahead of me.....I order one on 11/26 from dji direct but also ordered another this past Monday from NewEgg to see if I can possibly get one quicker thru them.....