If the stand alone Mavic with wifi control was available at a lower price point, below $500 lets say, then there would probably be a market segment that would purchase it.  The majority of Mavic buyers are use to operating with a RC type controller, and are therefore more confident with this type of control.  More important improvements would be foldable landing legs for more ground clearance, ability to hand catch, and more robust gimbal &a camera.

I haven't tried WiFI mode yet, and I don't think I have enough trust in the app. I've had several instances of the app crashing, and even the phone rebooting, which is quite concerning, but not the end of the world as long as you still have connection between the RC and the aircraft. But if you're flying with just the phone via WiFi, I would have to lose control of my aircraft for potentially minutes at a time.

Only use it when I need to quickly test some settings.

If you make a bracket for the aircraft + phone, I'll use it as an Osmo X3 replacement.

MikeQView Posted at 2016-12-22 10:19
I would also say if it for any reason WiFi part of the firmware/app is bloating or blocking the conventional controller or GO app   REMOVE IT !    by all means make a toy app for wifi if u really want to waste your time,  and make a toy drone to put it on,  i think the toy drone market was pretty full of rubbish please dont make any more !

I thought DJI was about making real up market drones/multirotors ? better time spent developing occusync and top end systems you have,  and then work to keeping it at the top by working on usability and reliability.

Have you thought of using the feature to replace Osmo? Its a swell stabilised ground cam!

I am not interested in flying with just my phone, it is much easier to use an actual remote with sticks.

So - are you getting the message development team?

Nobody actually wants it or thinks it is a useful feature (apart from 1.36%)

Why waste your time on developing something your customer base neither wants, or feels is useful?

Here's my analysis.

There are two ways to look at this.

Is WiFi mode good enough to pay $750 for a Mavic that doesn't have a remote?

Not in the current form. If you address the connections problems and add more functionality, then it could be. I mentioned a couple of additions in my earlier post, but there's more that you could do. Make it something good for someone who wants to be able to shoot himself without a remote in the shot, not just a stripped down version of what's available with the remote.

Should Wifi mode be in the Mavic 2?

Not in the current form. I would use the the wifi mode occasionally if you fixed the problems and added more functionality. I plan on shooting documentary style videos, and I'd love to be able to talk to the camera, then send it off on waypoint missions without the remote being obvious in my hands. Not everyone would use Wifi mode, but a small minority would get some use out of it, just like a lot of features.

So the real question is, is DJI willing to do enough work to make it worth it? Will they improve the wifi stability and add more flight modes, including some that are specific to wifi mode?

If not, then there's no point in releasing the $750 version that doesn't have a remote. That was my *original* choice because I wanted to save the money, but having used the Mavic, I would never recommend it to anyone. If they're not going to improve Wifi mode, then they should remove it for the Mavic 2. If taking out that hardware saves 50 cents off the price and 5 grams of weight, it's worth it in the current form.

However, I think Wifi mode does have potential. If they're willing to improve it, then it will be worth it to some people.

Incredibly useful every time when turning my mavic into a handheld cam! No need to detach the camera like "Karma kits" does, I think it's an awesome feature!

Since coming from a Parrot-Drone (haha, compared to Mavic we should not call Parrots drones anymore ;-), but 3 years ago there was no alternative ) I use WiFi mode once in a while when doing short range filming. Juts need to bring my Mavic + spare-batt with me in my laptop-case, which has not enough space left to add the RC.

Only thing I am missing (maybe I am so USED to it from Parrot): reverse-control when I navigate my Mavic heading towards me .............. Maybe a mode like this could be implemented on the phone .............

The limitations on wifi mode are pretty strict, I can understand why but it decreased the usability quite a bit.  

On another note, using the Mavic Pro (and any other dji product) for Search and Rescue, it is very frustrating not having a live GPS coordinate readout in the app.  Any way you could add this as an optional feature?  Also, an estimated wind speed readout based on motor speed vs GPS comparison would be very beneficial for SAR and other purposes and the hardware is already there.  Thank you!

Never used it...never will...range and lag issues make it of little interest to me.
Better if eliminated and more focus on streamlining the apps and UI.
Great product

Tried it, worka great and i would love DJI to make the flight limits (distance, Alttude, speed) Optional as i have some very powerful WiFi Android devices.
Great to have an option and great for JUST packing the Mavic + Smartphone.

Nils

P.S. Gemaecontroller option would be great for my NVIDIA Shield portable.

3. Once or Twice.... I generally use Ocusync as it works well for my purposes.

Too many bells and whistles are not necessarily a good thing, just one more thing that can malfunction

You asked for some wishes: As I started using the drone for my journalistic work I would really be happy to have a reduced minimum height for active tracking or when flying 360 degrees around an object / person. Because now it is quite limited for some filmings. Just add an option for reduced minimum altitude and add a warning.

So far I didn't use the WiFi mode. The controller is so small, taking the controller with me gives a a lot of advantages and is worth the carrying.

When using wifi mode, max alt & distance are reduced, but the thing is, they stay reduced after turning the Mavic off and switching to RC, then turning it back on.

Can we please have it save our RC max values in a buffer or some memory somewhere, as a small luxury?

I voted #2, but the truth is that I just have not to the point of trying it out. I will at some point, but this is my very first drone EVER, and am progressing slower than most.

To be honest I haven't even tried, but can't think of a scenario when I'd like/need to. With its limitations it seems like good only for flying around without any more serious purpose. The only use I could see would be a case when I would not be able to use RC for some reason, so basically only as a backup.

fansc4238f71 Posted at 2016-12-25 01:37
The limitations on wifi mode are pretty strict, I can understand why but it decreased the usability quite a bit.  

On another note, using the Mavic Pro (and any other dji product) for Search and Rescue, it is very frustrating not having a live GPS coordinate readout in the app.  Any way you could add this as an optional feature?  Also, an estimated wind speed readout based on motor speed vs GPS comparison would be very beneficial for SAR and other purposes and the hardware is already there.  Thank you!

Agreed!   On screen aircraft GPS coordinates and compass heading would be a very useful piece of telemetry in addition to what is already available.

While there are third party workarounds already available, one other feature that would be nice to have integrated into the DJI GO app is the ability to take a screenshot and send it.   While sharing the down-linked picture itself is nice, also being able to screenshot the telemetry (GPS coordinates, compass heading and altitude) would also be important.

Being able to email or SMS a picture that includes position information to another searcher while in flight would be invaluable.

I was originally not exactly sure how to use it, because there wasn't any actual directions on how to, other than being told it could be done by switching to Wi-Fi mode,,, but it is nice when you just want something quick!

Actually for quick selfies and such it's a good thing, I do like the fact that a could if I wanted to do this without going through the whole setup of the phone,remote etc... one thing I think everyone would actually love is the ability to fly with the DJI goggles I would think that left to right control using head tracking and a remote thumb switch for altitude and take off and landing would be an excellent improvement overall! And if backward compatible a must!

Please DJI, allow PORTRAIT orientation in DJI GO 4.
The obvious solution to allow the use of large tablets, like the Apple iPad Pro(9.7") or iPad air, is for DJI to allow PORTRAIT mode display in DJI GO 4. Both the iPad Pro(9.7) and  iPad Air in portrait orientation fit nicely inside the controller arms furthermore, unlike the landscape orientation,  the lightning connector sits away from the operator hands.

I only hear CONS about WIFI feature, but I cannot find ANY PROS.... am I not looking hard enough? What is GOOD about WIFI feature? Can someone tell me?

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet, but can please have an Atti mode back, that can be switched on at the users request?

An dy

MarcusPolus Posted at 2016-12-27 08:34
I only hear CONS about WIFI feature, but I cannot find ANY PROS.... am I not looking hard enough? What is GOOD about WIFI feature? Can someone tell me?

I have yet to test the WiFi mode, but i can imagine that if the battery in the controller dies, you can still get a nearby shot.

Would also greatly appreciagte a manualy selectable ATTI mode with no limitations regarding height and distance.

+1 for ATTI mode

StianGel Posted at 2017-1-3 12:57
I have yet to test the WiFi mode, but i can imagine that if the battery in the controller dies, you can still get a nearby shot.

Would also greatly appreciagte a manualy selectable ATTI mode with no limitations regarding height and distance.

hmm, I still don't know if that is word the potential savings if they take out the wifi features. Lower price is what I see

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-9 06:36
hmm, I still don't know if that is word the potential savings if they take out the wifi features. Lower price is what I see

So far I did not use it and I do not plan to use it soon. I will give it a try at a certain point.
It feels safer with the RC.

However, is good to know that the function is there just in case.

Not often I also have had a nightmare trying it out once never again no point

Wifi mode it´s very interesting to carry only mavic (no remote).

Wifi mode need FOLLOW ME option (very possible), and remove 80m limitation from take off.

thanks