So just saw an interview with Autel and looks like it will be released in the coming weeks.  From the looks of it, it looks like it's obstacle avoidance is advanced compared to DJI(front/back/bottom), battery flight time of 30 minutes, shoots in 4k@60fps.  Can fly and do all settings from just remote but need smart phone to do intellegent flight modes.  It's speed in non sports mode is 43mph and wait for it: NO GEO Lock.  For me this will be very appealing to first responders not wanting to worry about if they can fly over say a building on fire, etc.  Distance is 4.3 Miles.  Uses WiFi 900mhz and 2.4Ghz and switches dynamically for best signal.  Price tag will be $999.  This seems like a direct competiton to the MA but from the looks of it seems better.

So DJI I hope you have an answer like we have been wanting here.  

They did flight of it,  for IDD day in Seattle this past weekend. Looks pretty good . International drone day.

Cool been keeping my eye on this with FB, time will tell

Woe Posted at 2018-5-8 12:39
They did flight of it,  for IDD day in Seattle this past weekend. Looks pretty good . International drone day.

Oh nice I missed that.  Never knew about IDD.  Very cool.  

QuadKid Posted at 2018-5-8 13:04
Cool been keeping my eye on this with FB, time will tell

Very cool.  Yeah he said in the coming weeks so less than a month it seems.  He also said they were running a single Evo all day and had no issues.  But still like anything new that has not been tested am sure there will be bugs/issues which is why I would prefer dji step up here

Hmm... Looking forward to the healthy competition!

I would say that this is pitched against the Mavic Pro more than the Air looking at the specs regarding the flight distance, flight time, FPS and Geo. Which means only one thing for DJI - it's time to release the second generation of the Mavic Pro which I'm sorry to say will wipe this company off the map just like Go Pro in 2016. I admire these companies though but honestly, they have been talking about this drone for months which doesn't instil confidence in the product I must say. Less talk and more action from Autel and no, I won't be buying it. I'll need to see how many fall from the sky for no good reason first and if they recall it.

A CW Posted at 2018-5-8 13:21
I would say that this is pitched against the Mavic Pro more than the Air looking at the specs regarding the flight distance, flight time, FPS and Geo. Which means only one thing for DJI - it's time to release the second generation of the Mavic Pro which I'm sorry to say will wipe this company off the map just like Go Pro in 2016. I admire these companies though but honestly, they have been talking about this drone for months which doesn't instil confidence in the product I must say. Less talk and more action from Autel and no, I won't be buying it. I'll need to see how many fall from the sky for no good reason first and if they recall it.

> I'll need to see how many fall from the sky for no good reason first and if they recall it.

Yep, that's gonna be the most interesting part. And I hope they will do it right so that DJI will have the motivation to improve their software too

asaw Posted at 2018-5-8 13:29
> I'll need to see how many fall from the sky for no good reason first and if they recall it.

Yep, that's gonna be the most interesting part. And I hope they will do it right so that DJI will have the motivation to improve their software too

Competition is a good thing in any business to keep companies on their toes. That said, DJI do release a lot of drones and are constantly evolving their products. GO 4 has always worked perfectly for me using IOS. Though the amount of Android users who have complained over the years is eye watering.

A CW Posted at 2018-5-8 13:21
I would say that this is pitched against the Mavic Pro more than the Air looking at the specs regarding the flight distance, flight time, FPS and Geo. Which means only one thing for DJI - it's time to release the second generation of the Mavic Pro which I'm sorry to say will wipe this company off the map just like Go Pro in 2016. I admire these companies though but honestly, they have been talking about this drone for months which doesn't instil confidence in the product I must say. Less talk and more action from Autel and no, I won't be buying it. I'll need to see how many fall from the sky for no good reason first and if they recall it.

I agree 100% and would also never buy as well.  I like this for the fact it "should" push the release of a new MP hopefully sooner than later.  Competition is needed as lets be honest DJI really has not had for a while now.

A CW Posted at 2018-5-8 13:32
Competition is a good thing in any business to keep companies on their toes. That said, DJI do release a lot of drones and are constantly evolving their products. GO 4 has always worked perfectly for me using IOS. Though the amount of Android users who have complained over the years is eye watering.

Yup which is why I will always use IOS or their own CrystalSky to use their products.  Sad to see so many issues with Android.

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-8 13:41
Yup which is why I will always use IOS or their own CrystalSky to use their products.  Sad to see so many issues with Android.

It does actually state 'made for iPhone' on the back of every Mavic box

And DJI officially released the Phantom 4 Pro/+ V2.0 today... 33 minute flight time, 45MPH, motor noise output cut by 60% and they have included OcuSync HD in their new Phantom 4 - wireless use of googles and a solid 7KM range in FCC areas (4KM in CE - same as the MP). It even has a gold DJI sticker and is priced the same as the older P4P which looks like it has been discontinued over night... Looks like I sold mine just in time ;-)

A CW Posted at 2018-5-8 13:49
And DJI officially released the Phantom 4 Pro/+ V2.0 today... 33 minute flight time, 45MPH, motor noise output cut by 60% and they have included OcuSync HD in their new Phantom 4 - wireless use of googles and a solid 7KM range in FCC areas (4KM in CE - same as the MP). It even has a gold DJI sticker and is priced the same as the older P4P. Looks like I sold mine just in time ;-)

Yup I saw that and must say very impressive.  Only thing is its not near as portable obviously.  Did they improve the camera at all?

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-8 13:52
Yup I saw that and must say very impressive.  Only thing is its not near as portable obviously.  Did they improve the camera at all?

Nope - exactly the same in all other areas. The Obsidian has been removed from the DJI on line store in the UK too... All very hush eh!

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-8 13:52
Yup I saw that and must say very impressive.  Only thing is its not near as portable obviously.  Did they improve the camera at all?

I won't be buying another Phantom mate. Long gone are the days where I look like I'm going camping just to fly a drone... Back ache city!  

A CW Posted at 2018-5-8 13:49
And DJI officially released the Phantom 4 Pro/+ V2.0 today... 33 minute flight time, 45MPH, motor noise output cut by 60% and they have included OcuSync HD in their new Phantom 4 - wireless use of googles and a solid 7KM range in FCC areas (4KM in CE - same as the MP). It even has a gold DJI sticker and is priced the same as the older P4P which looks like it has been discontinued over night... Looks like I sold mine just in time ;-)

Regarding the P4P v2.0, the flight time is no longer then v1.0 according to DJI themselves.  30 minutes.

The Evo honestly doesn't bring enough to the table, it's really a miniscule update on the MP minus DJI's engineering backing...  Plus they've been talking about this thing for quite awhile and still no solid release date.

Definitely nothing interesting for me. If it turns out to be good enough to heat up competition (and even for that I still have doubts), well enough. We shall see, once we eventually get to see it in the stores and can read customer feedback.

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-8 13:10
Oh nice I missed that.  Never knew about IDD.  Very cool.

It been going on for the last 4 years. We had one here in Oregon the last three.

I pre-ordered one from Carolina Dronz because........ I could!

Looking forward to it.

It will be interesting, it’s funny how they are trying to use the geo to gain an advantage, I do some work with first responder group here and they use dji drones but their drones are not locked into geo they are permanently released from geo NFZ, so that part is a underhanded joke, I expect when the first evo closes down an airport we will see marketing gurus at autel run for the hills.

I think the big thing for this drone will be reliability, I imagine they will also suffer from newbies first timers having great difficulty with both tech and flying which always results in a bit of a backlash in public opinion, but if they can get over these teething problems then this might stand a chance.

I think when you look at the style of Mavic Air , EVO looks prehistoric it’s like a very bad copy of Mavic Pro not quite as ugly as karma but they missed a trick in not being able to improve on the style of the Mavic Pro which in itself is very dated .

But anything that can push dji to put out better drones and better technology will be good for dji enthusiasts. Good luck whenever it happens to autel evo.....

I vote for EVO

Thagra Posted at 2018-5-8 15:52
I vote for EVO

What happened to your post I was just reading, it was pretty ironic all the stuff you were saying but you passed over autel to buy a spark was there a problem with autel’s drones ?

I own a Mavic Pro and an Autel X-Star Premium. As I see it, DJI makes great products. That said, after you've had to deal with their horrendous customer service, you'll never buy DJI again. I've had to deal with both companies customer service. Autel's was good. DJI was so bad I posted a video on how they sent back my Mavic Pro- unassembled with a bag of screws, wrapped in clear bubble wrap with no gimbal lock/cover.

I hope they do OK. Maybe why they took so long to release it is because they didnt want any stuff ups to embarrass them. Any competition to DJI is healthy competition and will keep them all on their toes. Maybe prices will fall a bit with the competion....hopefully !!! I wish them the best...they have big shoes to fill !!!!

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-5-8 14:14
Regarding the P4P v2.0, the flight time is no longer then v1.0 according to DJI themselves.  30 minutes.

Well that's interesting as the new ESC's will reduce the RPM on the motors which enhances endurance on the MPP by 3 minutes. Perhaps V2.0 will actually be 30 minutes then as V1.0 rarely gave me more than 26 minutes.

I checked this drone, would rather wait for the MP2, came to trust Dji more.

Suren Posted at 2018-5-9 02:48
I checked this drone, would rather wait for the MP2, came to trust Dji more.

You, I and no doubt a million others mate

A CW Posted at 2018-5-9 03:16
You, I and no doubt a million others mate

Yup. Made the mistake already buying a Hubsan Drone would not buy another fong kong model again

Suren Posted at 2018-5-9 04:26
Yup. Made the mistake already buying a Hubsan Drone would not buy another fong kong model again

Yup my first drone was a MJX Bugs 2 B2W fun drone don't get me wrong but nothing compares to DJI.  I haven't flown the Bugs since I got my MP if that says anything.

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-9 06:37
Yup my first drone was a MJX Bugs 2 B2W fun drone don't get me wrong but nothing compares to DJI.  I haven't flown the Bugs since I got my MP if that says anything.

Wish I still had the Hubsan, first day it took off and flew away straight up, got another endless issues with gps gave back got Dji spark never looked back from Dji after that

will wait until it passes the test of time.

I was looking at the Evo from the moment they showed it at the CES 2018.
IMO this will be the most interesting drone outside DJI.
I admire AUTEL for taking the time to make sure, the drone is perfect before releasing it. This hopefully will save the user all this updates we keep getting from DJI.
The next big plus is, the company is located right here in the US, so no more need to deal with overseas tech support.   

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-5-8 16:01
What happened to your post I was just reading, it was pretty ironic all the stuff you were saying but you passed over autel to buy a spark was there a problem with autel’s drones ?

I decided to erase it cause as you can see all here worship DJI. I never had spark and will never buy it. I have a Mavic Pro with camera problem out of the box. Do not mention about customer service and that still my drone is dead. 1200 euro got waisted. I vote Autel as company cause at least is nice and care about customer. X-star was half price of Phantom and still same and better performance. Now if you want little staff that DJI offers extra and have a drone that will not fly at all or do strange things go for DJI.

Funny so many people hate DJI yet they not only have DJI drones they are on the forums all the time.

I wont trust any drone expect DJI unless it stands the test of time..Look what happened when even an accomplished company like GoPro made a drone.......

I will probably buy it once it is released. Just to have a US made, US serviced and US supported drone. Will wait for some real time reviews though. I like the idea of no NFZ's, I consider myself a responsible pilot, 107 cert'd and know where, when and how to fly without endangering anything and anyone, so to have full control of the drone is a plus IMO.

Thagra Posted at 2018-5-9 11:40
I decided to erase it cause as you can see all here worship DJI. I never had spark and will never buy it. I have a Mavic Pro with camera problem out of the box. Do not mention about customer service and that still my drone is dead. 1200 euro got waisted. I vote Autel as company cause at least is nice and care about customer. X-star was half price of Phantom and still same and better performance. Now if you want little staff that DJI offers extra and have a drone that will not fly at all or do strange things go for DJI.

Xstar was not even close to phantom 2 never mind any other phantom and if it was why so little sales when dji was suppose to have such big CS problems, that doesn’t make sense , and if Customer service at autel is so good why buy a Mavic , it’s all a bit ironic, but I hope autel succeeds because this will insure dji make much better drones.

Just stumbled across Part 2. I liked how smooth the panning was (remembering that it was 4K) and the quietness of the thing. But I also noticed that the video on the RC screen seemed twitchy.

asaw Posted at 2018-5-10 15:17
Just stumbled across Part 2. I liked how smooth the panning was (remembering that it was 4K) and the quietness of the thing. But I also noticed that the video on the RC screen seemed twitchy.

One serious problem I already see is the slightest yaw and props showing which is really going to cause problems recording they have the same problem with xstar and this was done in very little wind. And awful tilted horizon. So dodgy gimbal.
But apart from that it doesn’t look to bad. Might keep dji on their toes.