I'm looking at both these drones and I need one that can take shots and follow while horseback riding. I need to know does the spark connect like the air to the controller or no. I'm hearing mixed things as I know you plug your phone into the air control and it's done but with the spark I hear it can't work like that and is more phone Wi-Fi to controller. Is this true.

Yes, that's correct. I have seen quite a few posts of Spark users connecting via an OTG cable although this is not supported by DJI. I've never used an OTG cable with my Spark, and never had a connection issue. Best to put your phone into Airline mode with only Wifi enabled during your flight though.

forbsie Posted at 2018-2-27 20:57
Yes, that's correct. I have seen quite a few posts of Spark users connecting via an OTG cable although this is not supported by DJI. I've never used an OTG cable with my Spark, and never had a connection issue. Best to put your phone into Airline mode with only Wifi enabled during your flight though.

I was looking at connecting my iPad to it would that work. So the range will be bad since u have to Wi-Fi to the controller

It is the controller (RC) to AC link that determines the range, not the connection between the phone/iPad and the controller, in general.
  
In Europe, they have a lower power output on the controller, and maybe cannot use 5.8 GHz wifi (not sure about that though), so the cable connection is preferred, so that all the 2.4GHz wifi bandwidth can be used for the RC to AC link.  
I think here in the U.S. the phone connects to the controller on one band (2.4 GHz for example), and the AC connects to the controller on the other band (5.8 GHz for example).

Someone correct me if I am wrong...

mdsniper7 Posted at 2018-2-27 21:07
I was looking at connecting my iPad to it would that work. So the range will be bad since u have to Wi-Fi to the controller

Yes certainly an iPad will work, I use both an iPhone and iPad Mini. Wifi to the controller will not have any effect on the range

Sorry that spark do not support usb or OTG cable now. And mavic air can support usb cable to connect phone with controller. Thanks for your understanding.

DJI doesn't support OTG cable for the Spark, and it was disabled in an earlier firmware. I like the fact you can charge the Spark from its rear Micro USB connection with a cable. Both the Mavic Air and Mavic Pro you cannot charge the drone directly from its Micro USB, and with the Air having USB Type C that really is a drag. My experience with the Spark WiFi is that it serves me just fine and I was able to 10,000 feet range test without much static interference. See for yourself:

davidmartingraf Posted at 2018-2-28 08:02
DJI doesn't support OTG cable for the Spark, and it was disabled in an earlier firmware. I like the fact you can charge the Spark from its rear Micro USB connection with a cable. Both the Mavic Air and Mavic Pro you cannot charge the drone directly from its Micro USB, and with the Air having USB Type C that really is a drag. My experience with the Spark WiFi is that it serves me just fine and I was able to 10,000 feet range test without much static interference. See for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8VkiY2nlic

Awesome however I heard the air has more range which would mean it's because they have a direct connection correct. That's why spark users use to do it right?

It looks like in your profile you already own both?

Just for clarity?
The Air can stil connect your phone to remote with WiFi? It doesn't have to be cable connection right?

mdsniper7 Posted at 2018-2-28 08:35
Awesome however I heard the air has more range which would mean it's because they have a direct connection correct. That's why spark users use to do it right?

Again, I really don't think it matters all that much that the Air has more frequency in its body and Remote. At the end of the day, If the Ocusync technology is stronger than WiFi and it breaks up at slightly more further you fly then no OTG cable using WiFi, in my opinion, will make a difference. Just my two cents, only because I've gotten my Spark 10,000 feet and the transmission was somewhat reliable.

Not sure I understand the point of traveling 10,000 feet with this guy. I always keep it in sight. If there’s somewhere 10,000 feet away that I want to fly my Spark over I’ll drive there and launch it there.

mdsniper7 Posted at 2018-2-28 08:35
Awesome however I heard the air has more range which would mean it's because they have a direct connection correct. That's why spark users use to do it right?

The air has better range more because of the better antenna design than whether an OTG cable is used. I found that using the OTG cable made the video a little more stable. The big issue for some non FCC countries is that the 5GHz range isn't supposed to work on some frequencies that the Spark attempts to use. Some users phones would disconnect when one of these frequencies was auto selected. The latest firmware allows manually setting the frequency and it seems to hold that frequency when restarting.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I got tired of using the OTG cable with the Spark. The programmable buttons don't remember their settings when using OTG and you need to plug and unplug it sometimes to make it work. The Mavic Air's OTG connection is better designed (like the Mavic Pro's). The connection wire is tucked away neatly.