I know this has been asked a million times but have some specific questions as this is my first drone purchase. I will start off saying my phone is a Samsung Note 8. I have watched most of the Pro vs Air videos and read many topics. I am a photographer so image quality is important, but so is creativity.
Now that the price difference is about $200 money is not really a factor. What is more important to me is reliability in a city area and accessories.
I know there is a new model coming out but will probably be adding a second drone or third so will wait and see the reviews before buying the newest model.

So with price point not being an issue, and being a Samsung Note 8 guy (I do have an Ipad Pro 10") Which would you go with now.

I've written this before, so this is just a cut and paste from a previous post.

Your needs will determine what you want.  Each pilot here will have their own needs and views.  I'm going to try to give guidance using the little information that you have given.  

You have narrowed your search to Mavic Air and Mavic Pro.
You state that you want it for taking pictures and video.  

Both of them will offer awesome pictures.  Just take a look at some of the posts in this forum.  The clarity of photos from both the Pro and the Air are by most definitions 'great', so you will have to narrow further.

Are you the type that likes to point and shoot?  Get the Mavic Air.  The Mavic Pro has a tap to focus function that (if you are not prepared for) can cause you to have to do more to get the shot you want.
Is long flight time and distance important?  Get the Mavic Pro.  It will allow for further distance and longer flight time.
Are you good with editing in post?  Can you stitch photos together with ease?  Do you enjoy that?  If yes, get the Pro.  If no, get the Air.  (currently)  you have to stitch photos together manually to get panoramics with the Pro.  The Air does it for you.  I fully expect that to be a feature of any drone in the future.
What is your price range?  If the Pro is in your price range, then you can skip this question.  
Do you want to use Occusync?  if yes, get the Pro.  While you can use the goggles with the Air, it is wireless with the Pro, and really, who wants to attach a wire to their head while flying?


The bottom line is this:  You have to look at all of the features and find out which are more important to you.  You are going to win either way because both of them are really great drones.

What I did when I made my decision is this:  Make a list of the features of both.  Highlight the features that are most important.  The side with more highlights gets the purchase.

For me, the difference was price and size.  The Air is smaller and less expensive.  not A LOT smaller, and only $200 less, but still. I was stretching the budget for something that I was only planning to use as a hobby.  Also, the Air was actually more aesthetically pleasing to me.   The decisions I make will not affect you.  The decisions you make will affect you.  So decide wisely.  (you've already done pretty well narrowing it from all of the drones in the market to these 2)
Also, i believe that the Samsung Note8 will offer the same experience if getting the MPP or the MA

3-D Posted at 2018-6-27 18:32
I've written this before, so this is just a cut and paste from a previous post.

Your needs will determine what you want.  Each pilot here will have their own needs and views.  I'm going to try to give guidance using the little information that you have given.  

Thanks for the information, was not sure if Samsung had issues with the software or not.

I would not go for the Air or the Platinum.
The Pro is about the same as the Platinum except for 3 minutes of flight time.
(and a different name).
A Mavic Pro Fly more combo is (in my opinion) the best option if you need good connection + a portable drone.
BUT. In a couple of weeks DJI will release something (nobody knows what, but we all speculate about MP2)
Maybe it would be wise to see if that product is indeed the MP2 and has a better image sensor than the MP / MPP / MA, because all three have issues in that respect.
Dynamic range is very limited, noise etc.
Nobody knows,  but  on 18-7 they have some announcement that might be worth a little wait.

Reliability in a city area? - get the MP or MPP if $200 means nothing to you.
Better still - wait for the 18th.

Well for one thing the Samsung Note 8 has a virtual home button. Keep in mind, while it has 6GB RAM, the DJI GO 4 Application is very device intensive and prone to crashing or freezing on any particular device. I have the Galaxy S7 that is Samsung's last generation device with a physical home button, which comes in handy for pressing if and when the DJI GO 4 App crashes or freezes. I've heard people with S8's and S9's who had to press the actual power button mid-flight to restart the application because the virtual home button and entire display had frozen.

To your question about needing the best, most reliable drone in a city urban area, the likely answer today would yield the Mavic Pro. The Mavic Air isn't going to perform as stable in urban areas because it uses WiFI as its transmission system. The Mavic Pro has OcuSync technology, which streams 1080p video and has much longer range and clarity. If you don't care about image quality streaming to your smart device, and only care about the actual, raw image taken and stored in the SD card inside the drone, then the image quality of Mavic Air is competitive with that of the Mavic Pro, but the OcuSync advantage of the Mavic Pro is very disparate compared to the Mavic Air's advantages.

DKyser Posted at 2018-6-27 19:36
Thanks for the information, was not sure if Samsung had issues with the software or not.

Bear in mind though the display device and Application are just a front end display for the RC. The radio control still has full control of the aircraft should the App' or display fail. Some have been unaware of this in the past and lost control of their aircraft trying to get App' up and running again. If the aircraft is out of site then the RTH button on RC should tell it to come home.


There tend to be more problems on Android devices simply because of the diversity of hardware and custom operating systems they use. I believe there are a number of good ones that work well, some others may be able to make recommendations.

Edit:- I would go with the iPad pro, I use the 9.7 inch without problems. Also if using in built up area I believe the Mavic Pro would have the edge with its Ocusync transmission protocol. And with Ocusync you connect wirelessly to Goggles (or two pairs) which could perhaps give your client a birds eye view of image, and release the creativity :-)

I ended up going with the Pro Platinum mostly for the better remote. I want as much creative control as possible and want the most reliable device I can get. For the little difference in price I went with the quieter of the 3.

DKyser Posted at 2018-6-28 18:43
I ended up going with the Pro Platinum mostly for the better remote. I want as much creative control as possible and want the most reliable device I can get. For the little difference in price I went with the quieter of the 3.

As price is not an issue to you, I think that you should have gone for the Phantom 4/Phantom 4 Pro. It's a bigger drone but you're living in a city (not going for hikes or travelling around the world) and you might be a bit disappointed by the MPP's small sensor.