Imo, it's a huge mistake to not include a remote with the standard Spark package. I'd own a spark right now if you did, the only spark you can buy in Australia now in store is the non flymore combo, and I will not ever fly a drone with a phone, stupid idea. ALL drones should come standard with a remote.

All drones.

I've said all along that IMO the Spark is useless without a RC.  They (DJI) should have lowered the price of the base Spark price to $399 and included a RC

I bought the fly-more combo and if not for the remote with sport mode the spark would have been returned to DJI after the first flight..

I made this mistake myself. I thought i didn't need the remote. I was dead wrong, so wrong, as wrong as could be, there is nothing more wrong than that wrong decision to be completely wrong.

I ordered the remote (screw the savings...), still waiting for it to ship, anyone know of a time frame?

QHovey Posted at 2017-7-6 16:19
I made this mistake myself. I thought i didn't need the remote. I was dead wrong, so wrong, as wrong as could be, there is nothing more wrong than that wrong decision to be completely wrong.

I ordered the remote (screw the savings...), still waiting for it to ship, anyone know of a time frame?

How wrong were you?{:4_177:}

I dunno... maybe my argument is invalid because i have a Mavic as well.
I find that the spark flyless is fine and flying via S7 edge is fine.
I have the flyless because i want to just carry phone and spark and do close range pics+vids.
My video and shots are not complex - Just simple hovers and straight flyovers.
Having the remote means you have to find remote, unfold remote, insert OTG+USB, insert phone.

I guess others will argue that they require range and speed. I don't think the spark was really built for that purpose.

QHovey Posted at 2017-7-6 16:19
I made this mistake myself. I thought i didn't need the remote. I was dead wrong, so wrong, as wrong as could be, there is nothing more wrong than that wrong decision to be completely wrong.

I ordered the remote (screw the savings...), still waiting for it to ship, anyone know of a time frame?

I made this same mistake

QuanthonyTrang Posted at 2017-7-6 17:24
I dunno... maybe my argument is invalid because i have a Mavic as well.
I find that the spark flyless is fine and flying via S7 edge is fine.
I have the flyless because i want to just carry phone and spark and do close range pics+vids.

And I agree, which is why i didn't get the Fly More. I wanted a close range drone, mostly to just do circle selfies (those always turn out great!) and Dronie shots (which doesn't work at the moment, sadly). But there are some shots i want to get that are farther, and there are definitely some active track shots I want greater than 100m from home (or 200 if doing the home point trick, which is a bit of a hassle).

Having the RC doesn't mean I need to use the RC, but its nice to have. I thought I could get away with just a short range drone, but that range is a bit shorter than I anticipated. Especially the Active track limitation, that was a bit of surprise to be honest.

I can buy one right now if it had a remote. Just the fact that they are in stock here and not selling out fast is proof to me that people want a remote.

I've had very good success using the app on my tablet without a remote. I appreciate having this option -- which takes nothing away from using the drone with a remote. If you don't like flying without a remote, then don't do it.

QuanthonyTrang Posted at 2017-7-6 17:24
I dunno... maybe my argument is invalid because i have a Mavic as well.
I find that the spark flyless is fine and flying via S7 edge is fine.
I have the flyless because i want to just carry phone and spark and do close range pics+vids.

totally agree with you.. People expects it to be mavic, phantom, etc.. which it isnt.

But put it with the remote and it's as good.

And I'll be honest, I'm totally a "Give a mouse a cookie" kinda guy. I got the drone with no remote, took some cool selfies and flew high up with my phone controller. But now I want to go further. Active Track distance is definitely the driving reason overall for me.

Any update on when standalone RCs ship from DJI?

... I fully agree ...
It was good from DJI selling strategy point of view, but it does not any good for ppl using it without remote ...

Like I originally said, all non-toy drones should come with a remote. It's a given.

I thought the same but having used it exclusively with an iPhone 7 Plus for a week I'm convinced it was not an oversight. You can still get some incredible shots, have plenty of control, and don't have to worry about additional gear. Especially for someone like me who is still a novice pilot, using a phone and having the distance and speeds reduced has helped build my confidence. Also, I have only lost signal once and he return to home functioned perfectly, even avoided two tall trees on return.

All that being said, I just bought the remote and can't wait to see the full potential of the spark.

I personally wouldn't buy the Spark without an RC.  I know other people have other use cases for how they want to use the Spark.  However, for me, I wouldn't want it without the RC.

It's interesting to me how much opinions on this differ. I have a Spark and a Mavic, and my logic is that I use the Spark in situations where it wouldn't be appropriate, or even necessary to carry around and set up a Mavic.  It's amazing for quick and close range video, which is often what I need. I very well may end up buying a remote in the future, and I would definitely have the remote if I didnt have a Mavic, but for now, using an iPhone with the Spark has gone great for me.

Well ... you guys who love fly high fly far fly fast, sure you will need rc. And probably Spark will not be enough. You may eventually end up with Mavic or P4P. But for those who want just photographing, rc may not be needed.

Oddly enough, I've yet to use my remote for anything other than indoor flying, probably because, as another member put it, I have a Mavic as well. The Spark fills the gap as an easy to use, quick to deploy drone for selfie photos and videos and preprogrammed flight (e.g. dronie, helix, etc).

Given the crazy hot weather here where I am at the moment (116F/47C), I'm slightly leery of heading out for a flight

QHovey Posted at 2017-7-6 16:19
I made this mistake myself. I thought i didn't need the remote. I was dead wrong, so wrong, as wrong as could be, there is nothing more wrong than that wrong decision to be completely wrong.

I ordered the remote (screw the savings...), still waiting for it to ship, anyone know of a time frame?

I think yer wrong..