No one new is going to be able to buy a new Skydio 2 until mid-next year.  DJI will still have time to develop a better drone.  I'm part of 1st batch of the Skydio 2 launch.  It could be a lot better due to the camera but I like my DJI drones.

They could probably compete with this with a software update to the M2P and their own beacon device.

I'm curious about this drone, any way someone can get a trial from DJI to test and review?

Am wondering how AI features will differ greatly,  stuff like Follow Me/Auto Tracking is what excites me.

Hello and good day AntDX316. Thank you for sharing these information and for your insights with regards to this matter. Thank you for your support.

DJI Stephen Posted at 10-8 09:05
Hello and good day AntDX316. Thank you for sharing these information and for your insights with regards to this matter. Thank you for your support.

DJI has no competition but Skydio 2 but until that comes out of at least a year of preorders and shows to be the best, DJI will still be on top.

The Phantom line coming back with at least 13 stops of HDR at 1" and 20MP would be great.  Sure it would beat at the Inspire 2 line and the M2P but pricing it at $2.5k I assume it would sell a lot more and beat Skydio.  When they've picture bench tested the Skydio 2 to the competition, it annihilates them.  They did all the tests except night of course as the sensor is smaller.  Perhaps all the drones need a camera upgrade.  It would be nice to be able to swap the old camera with the new one on older platforms like the Inspire 1, Phantom 4, M2 without having to buy a new aircraft.  This would drive sales up as people are less likely to buy new drones because too many people are in the drone business already and new people will find out it's difficult.  Only the commercial people would buy but that is rare.  The rest would just go Skydio 2 as it's cheaper.

My drone jobs have pretty much have finished and I don't think my last drone would be the Skydio 2.

Imo, the aircraft platforms are so robust, reliable, and great that there is no need to redesign.  If they need to be redesigned all you need to do is scale them up a bit like how the Inspire 1 was then it went to the Inspire 1 Pro/RAW/V2.0 size.  Only need to redesign the internal camera.

Maybe work with Skydio 2 early before they turn DJI into what Lyft has turned Uber.

I missed that release totally.

DJI can develop all the drones they want, but their rubbish support has turned off a lot of people off DJI... I'm one of them and waiting until mid next year is a small price to pay to have a product that will be supported and a company that will support their Pro and premium accessories, like the CRYSTALSKY.

mAIRs Posted at 10-25 09:16
DJI can develop all the drones they want, but their rubbish support has turned off a lot of people off DJI... I'm one of them and waiting until mid next year is a small price to pay to have a product that will be supported and a company that will support their Pro and premium accessories, like the CRYSTALSKY.

Not to mention that the S2 is made in the USA and much of the money will stay home instead of going to a Communist competitor.

DAFlys Posted at 10-8 00:47
They could probably compete with this with a software update to the M2P and their own beacon device.

I highly doubt they can compete with Skydio in the tracking category with the existing hardware, even with the best software in the world. They would need much better sensors - probably more of them, and they should be full-fledged cameras - and higher on-board computing power.
Having said that, with Skydio's current backlog (which may even grow), DJI has time to come up with Mavic 3 or Phantom 5 or something.

djiuser_Kf4iPA3DtL3S Posted at 10-30 01:47
I highly doubt they can compete with Skydio in the tracking category with the existing hardware, even with the best software in the world. They would need much better sensors - probably more of them, and they should be full-fledged cameras - and higher on-board computing power.
Having said that, with Skydio's current backlog (which may even grow), DJI has time to come up with Mavic 3 or Phantom 5 or something.

I was referring to adding a beacon to follow not the improved obstacle avoidance.

parkgt214 Posted at 10-25 10:11
Not to mention that the S2 is made in the USA and much of the money will stay home instead of going to a Communist competitor.

Well, the federal government just nixed any future dealings with foreign drone companies, so that budget is ripe for the picking for any U.S. based drone company.  I really do hope that the state side drone companies step their game up and don't just take advantage of a restricted market and manufacture crap product.

Let’s face it. The drone market is nothing but a tease at this point. I would love to get my hands on the Skydio 2 but why bother. “Give us $100” and we will ship this thing to you before the end of June 2020. SAY WHAT? Keep it already. If I still desire after watching this dryspelll market respond, I will press buy in July. Seriously! I feel like I’ve been ”click baited” for even watching the Skydio 2 advertise something that isn’t going to be around for over 1/2 year. Very disappointed at the marketing strategy and instead of being an advocate, I find myself rooting against them and hoping another company answers the call and meets the demand of the drone consumer market By making the hype “available” to enjoy. However, I realize that our government has already picked the winner by placing barriers against foreign competition via tariffs. So much for the free market and competition. Meanwhile, I will wait for the next hottest thing to hit the market; the new government drone. It can only be used indoors on Tuesdays pending it ends with an odd numerical registration number. it comes is one color, brown. Oh, did I mention, it’s very green energy as it runs off of solar. Too bad you cant use it outdoors.

AntDX316 Posted at 10-8 10:05
DJI has no competition but Skydio 2 but until that comes out of at least a year of preorders and shows to be the best, DJI will still be on top.

The Phantom line coming back with at least 13 stops of HDR at 1" and 20MP would be great.  Sure it would beat at the Inspire 2 line and the M2P but pricing it at $2.5k I assume it would sell a lot more and beat Skydio.  When they've picture bench tested the Skydio 2 to the competition, it annihilates them.  They did all the tests except night of course as the sensor is smaller.  Perhaps all the drones need a camera upgrade.  It would be nice to be able to swap the old camera with the new one on older platforms like the Inspire 1, Phantom 4, M2 without having to buy a new aircraft.  This would drive sales up as people are less likely to buy new drones because too many people are in the drone business already and new people will find out it's difficult.  Only the commercial people would buy but that is rare.  The rest would just go Skydio 2 as it's cheaper.

Skydio will not compete with dji drones, it has found its own niche for the new selfie drone , but it will only be available in the US, I would imagine if dji wanted to go after this market they will, but because skydio is so big at a time when drones are getting smaller I think this will be a problem for them, and so far all I have seen from this drone is to follow its owner, I wonder how long it will take to get fed up with this, I look forward to real users reviewing this drone .

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 06:36
Skydio will not compete with dji drones, it has found its own niche for the new selfie drone , but it will only be available in the US, I would imagine if dji wanted to go after this market they will, but because skydio is so big at a time when drones are getting smaller I think this will be a problem for them, and so far all I have seen from this drone is to follow its owner, I wonder how long it will take to get fed up with this, I look forward to real users reviewing this drone .

Not to mention how many will be returned when they realise they cant fly in low light conditions.

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 06:36
Skydio will not compete with dji drones, it has found its own niche for the new selfie drone , but it will only be available in the US, I would imagine if dji wanted to go after this market they will, but because skydio is so big at a time when drones are getting smaller I think this will be a problem for them, and so far all I have seen from this drone is to follow its owner, I wonder how long it will take to get fed up with this, I look forward to real users reviewing this drone .

If all you have seen is "follow footage" you have not looked closely at the available footage.

DAFlys Posted at 11-6 06:52
Not to mention how many will be returned when they realise they cant fly in low light conditions.

If any early buyers have regrets they will probably be able to sell them for a profit.   One should always know what the features and limitations are when buying.

I'm betting that people will be able to get this drone sooner then some that have put down their deposit. I've seen something like this before with another product.

Neo Supreme Posted at 10-30 04:05
Well, the federal government just nixed any future dealings with foreign drone companies, so that budget is ripe for the picking for any U.S. based drone company.  I really do hope that the state side drone companies step their game up and don't just take advantage of a restricted market and manufacture crap product.

Heard and saw this too. But I also read a more recent follow up to the story that DJI, unlike Huwei, has installed a lot of good lobbyist power in WA DC, thus "playing nice" with the US and garnering support from representatives. Will be interesting to see where all this goes.

Honestly though, DJI must be careful... even though they have 70% market share, they mustn't rest on their laurels. That enormous market share can easily evaporate due to any number of issues DJI has at present (customer support, enterprise support, cost of goods, etc..). Remember Myspace? That had nearly all the social media market just before FB came on the scene, and we know what happened. there. I know not apples to apples comparison, but still, consumer (and regulatory) sentiment can switch in a heartbeat.

Fostebrian@hotmail.com Posted at 11-6 06:15
Let’s face it. The drone market is nothing but a tease at this point. I would love to get my hands on the Skydio 2 but why bother. “Give us $100” and we will ship this thing to you before the end of June 2020. SAY WHAT? Keep it already. If I still desire after watching this dryspelll market respond, I will press buy in July. Seriously! I feel like I’ve been ”click baited” for even watching the Skydio 2 advertise something that isn’t going to be around for over 1/2 year. Very disappointed at the marketing strategy and instead of being an advocate, I find myself rooting against them and hoping another company answers the call and meets the demand of the drone consumer market By making the hype “available” to enjoy. However, I realize that our government has already picked the winner by placing barriers against foreign competition via tariffs. So much for the free market and competition. Meanwhile, I will wait for the next hottest thing to hit the market; the new government drone. It can only be used indoors on Tuesdays pending it ends with an odd numerical registration number. it comes is one color, brown. Oh, did I mention, it’s very green energy as it runs off of solar. Too bad you cant use it outdoors.

"Seriously! I feel like I’ve been ”click baited” for even watching the Skydio 2 advertise something that isn’t going to be around for over 1/2 year. Very disappointed at the marketing strategy and instead of being an advocate, I find myself rooting against them and hoping another company answers the call and meets the demand of the drone consumer market By making the hype “available” to enjoy."

Many thousands will be using their S2 long before a half year is up.  Just because you were too slow to get in on batch 1 or 2 it seem kind of childish to root against them.  Competition is good in the drone marketplace whether the S2 suits everyone's use case or not.

The Skydio 2 is just the start of a significant shift.

parkgt214 Posted at 11-6 10:20
If all you have seen is "follow footage" you have not looked closely at the available footage.

I’ve seen just one video with RC and all of the footage was within range, we know that skydio is advertising a 2 mile distance a lot less than MM, but we have not seen any distance footage none but if you know of any please post.
We have not seen or heard of any video profiles ie cine like d-log etc, it also has to be said very few you tubers have access to skydio, yes some have it very few, some got it for an hour or two under scrutiny by skydio, but it’s fair to say at least 90% of demos have been in relation to it OA capabilities, we will knot know anything for sure about camera until general users have it in their hands .

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 10:41
I’ve seen just one video with RC and all of the footage was within range, we know that skydio is advertising a 2 mile distance a lot less than MM, but we have not seen any distance footage none but if you know of any please post.
We have not seen or heard of any video profiles ie cine like d-log etc, it also has to be said very few you tubers have access to skydio, yes some have it very few, some got it for an hour or two under scrutiny by skydio, but it’s fair to say at least 90% of demos have been in relation to it OA capabilities, we will knot know anything for sure about camera until general users have it in their hands .

Fair enough.  Range has yet been proven independently: I doubt that in most situations that it will have any problem with VLOS.  There are a number of scenes in different videos where the RC was used, I doubt that for most the RC or it's range is going to be an issue.

I would think they are still working on camera related stuff, including color profiles etc.  If the camera is even close to the MP2 I think most users will be happy with a minor trade-off for the unique abilities they are getting with the S2.  If having the best camera possible in a small package is their priority they should probably stay with the M2P.

Granted most of the demos, have been about the OA.  That is what sets this drone apart from anything else and why they would want to highlight those capabilities

parkgt214 Posted at 11-6 11:11
Fair enough.  Range has yet been proven independently: I doubt that in most situations that it will have any problem with VLOS.  There are a number of scenes in different videos where the RC was used, Idoubt that for most the RC or it's range is going to be an issue.

I would think they are still working on camera related stuff, including color profiles etc.  If the camera is even close to the MP2 I think most users will be happy with a minor trade-off for the unique abilities they are getting with the S2.  If having the best camera possible in a small package is their priority they should probably stay with the M2P.

I don’t think camera will be even close to M2, maybe MZ2 which is fairly decent, all of the videos I have watched about skydio are 100% positive absolutely no cons, this inevitably means these are propaganda videos in that either skydio is perfect or you are not allowed mention to potential customers faults, the only videos which mention cons are those made by you tubers who don’t actually have a skydio, I think it’s fair to say that many reviewers of dji drones albeit mostly in favor of the drones, nearly always mention potential problems features missing etc, so this worries me.
A drone used for filiming adventure with a battery life of approx 18/20 mins which will almost certainly have to be changed every 15 minutes is most likely going to spoil the adventure, it’s stuff like this you tubers should be weighing up and discussing, but for some reason those you tubers didn’t get their hands on this drone yet, so I believe it’s wait and see .

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 11:53
I don’t think camera will be even close to M2, maybe MZ2 which is fairly decent, all of the videos I have watched about skydio are 100% positive absolutely no cons, this inevitably means these are propaganda videos in that either skydio is perfect or you are not allowed mention to potential customers faults, the only videos which mention cons are those made by you tubers who don’t actually have a skydio, I think it’s fair to say that many reviewers of dji drones albeit mostly in favor of the drones, nearly always mention potential problems features missing etc, so this worries me.
A drone used for filiming adventure with a battery life of approx 18/20 mins which will almost certainly have to be changed every 15 minutes is most likely going to spoil the adventure, it’s stuff like this you tubers should be weighing up and discussing, but for some reason those you tubers didn’t get their hands on this drone yet, so I believe it’s wait and see .

Lol, you think there’s been a single negative review about the MM yet.  Nope, just paid reviewers touting the greatness of this simple tiny toy drone.  DJI, does the exact same thing.  In fact, with the MM,  they elected to fool everyone into purchasing a prerelease.  They garnered all this hype, and then in tiny print, told everyone that they’re not receiving this drone for 25 business days if you bought a fly more.  Only difference, not a $100 preorder, they charged you full price right away.  Take your DJI goggles off.  All companies do this BS to hype their products.

Oracle Miata Posted at 11-6 12:12
Lol, you think there’s been a single negative review about the MM yet.  Nope, just paid reviewers touting the greatness of this simple tiny toy drone.  DJI, does the exact same thing.  In fact, with the MM,  they elected to fool everyone into purchasing a prerelease.  They garnered all this hype, and then in tiny print, told everyone that they’re not receiving this drone for 25 business days if you bought a fly more.  Only difference, not a $100 preorder, they charged you full price right away.  Take your DJI goggles off.  All companies do this BS to hype their products.

That’s strictly not true, I have watched the videos and yes all are in favor , but many mention no color profile no manual control for video missing features other dji drones have, but the difference with S2 videos is nothing no faults nothing missing failure to run through specs, not one reviewer mentioned that battery life at 22 minutes would only realize 18 minutes and that’s what I was talking about, I think apart from two reviewers skydio staff took part in the videos.

With regard to time for MM combo it did mention in the blurb time for receiving combo, yes it was small print and there was no mention of shorter time if no combo was purchased, I purchased from dji.com.

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 12:31
That’s strictly not true, I have watched the videos and yes all are in favor , but many mention no color profile no manual control for video missing features other dji drones have, but the difference with S2 videos is nothing no faults nothing missing failure to run through specs, not one reviewer mentioned that battery life at 22 minutes would only realize 18 minutes and that’s what I was talking about, I think apart from two reviewers skydio staff took part in the videos.

With regard to time for MM combo it did mention in the blurb time for receiving combo, yes it was small print and there was no mention of shorter time if no combo was purchased, I purchased from dji.com.

Disagree, mentioning a lack of features on a drone at this price point is just stating the obvious. At this price, corners had to be cut.  Most of DJI’s paid mega reviewers say this as well.  

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 11:53
I don’t think camera will be even close to M2, maybe MZ2 which is fairly decent, all of the videos I have watched about skydio are 100% positive absolutely no cons, this inevitably means these are propaganda videos in that either skydio is perfect or you are not allowed mention to potential customers faults, the only videos which mention cons are those made by you tubers who don’t actually have a skydio, I think it’s fair to say that many reviewers of dji drones albeit mostly in favor of the drones, nearly always mention potential problems features missing etc, so this worries me.
A drone used for filiming adventure with a battery life of approx 18/20 mins which will almost certainly have to be changed every 15 minutes is most likely going to spoil the adventure, it’s stuff like this you tubers should be weighing up and discussing, but for some reason those you tubers didn’t get their hands on this drone yet, so I believe it’s wait and see .

I think you will shortly see plenty of adventure filmed by S2s that was not ruined by short battery life, controller range or camera quality.  Will that stop the haters, probably not.

Most compelling video is made up of cut scenes of between 3 to 10 seconds.  I think savvy users will quickly figure out when to launch to get the footage they want and that no other drone can deliver.  

I find it interesting that those that have decided that it is not for them spend so much time thinking  and writing about it.  What is the threat?  

No drone can do it all, they are compromises.  This is another tool, not the ultimate Swiss Army Knife of drones.  I don't knock my socket set because I can't pound nails very well with it.

JPilotR Posted at 11-6 10:35
Heard and saw this too. But I also read a more recent follow up to the story that DJI, unlike Huwei, has installed a lot of good lobbyist power in WA DC, thus "playing nice" with the US and garnering support from representatives. Will be interesting to see where all this goes.

Honestly though, DJI must be careful... even though they have 70% market share, they mustn't rest on their laurels. That enormous market share can easily evaporate due to any number of issues DJI has at present (customer support, enterprise support, cost of goods, etc..). Remember Myspace? That had nearly all the social media market just before FB came on the scene, and we know what happened. there. I know not apples to apples comparison, but still, consumer (and regulatory) sentiment can switch in a heartbeat.

I agree.  I feel that DJI can easily lose it's footing, due to many terrible customer support experiences and faulty units.  QA and 'sitting back' can be their own worst enemy.

Oracle Miata Posted at 11-6 12:12
Lol, you think there’s been a single negative review about the MM yet.  Nope, just paid reviewers touting the greatness of this simple tiny toy drone.  DJI, does the exact same thing.  In fact, with the MM,  they elected to fool everyone into purchasing a prerelease.  They garnered all this hype, and then in tiny print, told everyone that they’re not receiving this drone for 25 business days if you bought a fly more.  Only difference, not a $100 preorder, they charged you full price right away.  Take your DJI goggles off.  All companies do this BS to hype their products.

I agree.  Unless a product is just totally garbage, most early reviews are just basically advertising.  I honor more time tested reviews of any tech product after numerous/routine uses.  I'm still very interested in the Skydio 2, as it boasts some highly desired features.

parkgt214 Posted at 11-6 12:38
I think you will shortly see plenty of adventure filmed by S2s that was not ruined by short battery life, controller range or camera quality.  Will that stop the haters, probably not.

Most compelling video is made up of cut scenes of between 3 to 10 seconds.  I think savvy users will quickly figure out when to launch to get the footage they want and that no other drone can deliver.  

only videos I’ve seen are selfie and yes they are very good, in fact selfie would be the only way you would be allowed use the drone, it would be impossible to get permission to video people legally using this drone in auto, risk assessment would only be passed if operator was in full control, so I’m not so certain of how great videos will be of individuals videoing themselves, maybe some, again we will see soon .

Oracle Miata Posted at 11-6 12:35
Disagree, mentioning a lack of features on a drone at this price point is just stating the obvious. At this price, corners had to be cut.  Most of DJI’s paid mega reviewers say this as well.

You still don’t answer the lack of any cons mentioned in skydio videos on YT , but maybe it will turn out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread .

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 13:00
only videos I’ve seen are selfie and yes they are very good, in fact selfie would be the only way you would be allowed use the drone, it would be impossible to get permission to video people legally using this drone in auto, risk assessment would only be passed if operator was in full control, so I’m not so certain of how great videos will be of individuals videoing themselves, maybe some, again we will see soon .

Might want to check out this channel to see Skydio2 flown with RC.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewhJDkIVFKTHtV_pszgjeg/videos

The three videos seem to show acceptable performance for most?

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 13:02
You still don’t answer the lack of any cons mentioned in skydio videos on YT , but maybe it will turn out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread .

Once end users get them I am sure there will be plenty of things people wish were different, just like there were and are with any device; including my M2P.

parkgt214 Posted at 11-6 13:18
Might want to check out this channel to see Skydio2 flown with RC.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewhJDkIVFKTHtV_pszgjeg/videos

Thanks for the link I shall watch and the discussion I look forward to see how those lucky enough to get the first tranche get on .

hallmark007 Posted at 11-6 13:02
You still don’t answer the lack of any cons mentioned in skydio videos on YT , but maybe it will turn out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread .

I’ll make sure and let you know firsthand when I receive mine, hopefully at the end of the month.  

Oracle Miata Posted at 11-6 14:05
I’ll make sure and let you know firsthand when I receive mine, hopefully at the end of the month.

Good I really hope they go well for everyone . Good luck .

BrianKushner Posted at 11-6 10:31
I'm betting that people will be able to get this drone sooner then some that have put down their deposit. I've seen something like this before with another product.

That is true if there are other channels of distribution.  So far, for the standard consumer model there is only one place to buy a an S2 - Skydio.  That way they get all the purchase price and since they can sell more than they can make quickly, why should they cut someone in on the standard model.

DJI definitely needs to improve its obstacle detection and avoidance software, in the era of self driving cars.. self piloting drones should be no problem.

A lot of companies tried to get good drones up in the air and have failed startups.  Skydio coming out with what looks good to be true could be a game changer.  Of course, it's a selfie drone but the autonomous flights could prove to beat everything else out on the market that is shot during the day.  At night, w/o a bigger sensor it's bad.
The M2Z starts to become difficult to fly when it starts to get dark.  With the M2P, you can still see but when it gets too dark it becomes difficult too.

AntDX316 :

"Of course, it's a selfie drone"  

You must not have watched the videos posted above.  I think that line has been proven to be very misleading.