I took the smart controller for its first run today, so just my opinion.

First setting up, it’s pretty simple and quick and had no problems.
The Build: some have said this is just a Crystalsky glued to a remote control, as someone who uses Crystalsky both 5.5 and 7.8 , I can assure anyone thinking of buying one it’s a much better quality build , it’s touch screen is much more sensitive than Crystalsky, the layout of buttons C1&C2 and the much increased size of the actual buttons will lay just above your middle fingers , so no more searching for them they are set up to be so much more instinctive than on regular remote, the record and shutter buttons are much bigger and again fit perfectly into your index fingers.
The screen is much cleaner than Crystalsky screen and seems a lot bigger than my iPhone XR, the screen brightness is exceptional and I don’t believe for me I will need anything to shade it in direct sun, the same as Crystalsky.
It’s hard to explain how good the finish is on the smart controller, I can only compare smart controller to using Crystalsky, it’s a bit like when we used those old TV’s with the deep backs on them, if you compare them to new Flat screen , that’s the closest comparison I can make.

Using : set up takes from turning on to receiving enough sats 45 seconds, I realise that receiving sats are not the same for everyone, but it’s without hassle and fuss, lately using me iPhone XR it became very tricky because first I needed face recognition which was blocked so had to take connection out open with my face connect back up then disconnect other remote arm in order to swipe up, it was becoming a nightmare, I could have used a mount which would have made it easier, but I don’t like mounts they take time to set up they usually block something up you need a longer cable and more storage.
While flying I never lost signal except once when I ducked down behind the house to see if signal would be blocked and it was but transmission stayed on perfectly with absolutely no glitches , there was no delay in video transmission.
One of the things I really liked about the RC was how it fits perfectly into your hands, you do not need to move your hand position to change any settings all can be changed while holding RC with both hands.
I haven’t tried any of the bells and whistles, will save until I get more familiar .

Is it worth €649 , well for some they will find it to pricey others will just stick to what they have as it works fine, for those who can afford it and want to purchase it I would say yes go for it.

Although it costs €649 when you put it beside your iPhone or android which for top end phones we pay €1000+ and see the value of both and the prices we pay, you will see it must be very difficult to sell this for any less than it’s been sold.

Hello and good day hallmark007. Thank you for sharing your experience with the new DJI Smart Controller and thank you for your support.

Thanks for your review. I just ordered mine this morning. Finally it is available in Canada now! Can't wait to get it.

Just received mine this afternoon, looks like it's going to be too dark to give it a test this afternoon.

I concur with Hallmark, it's a very nice piece of kit, generations ahead of the CrystalSky, which I have the 5.5 and the 7.5 UB. I find these a little laggy and rather heavy, but for bright sun use you can't really beat them.

Set up was simple enough, no sign of any Chinese messages reported by some, the setup UI takes you through most of the important stuff, setting timezone & activation, which is very quick.

One thing I noticed is the screen brightness is not set to Auto by default, so worth doing that after the setup. Update downloaded in background while I fiddled with the settings. Update applied itself with no drama.   

Nice touches are a built in screen recorder, which was a pain on an iOS device. You can use the joysticks to navigate around the screen when not flying, using the 'O' button to select and the 'Back' button to go back.

Screen is excellent, better touch responses than the CS. Weather dependent should be able to give it a go tomorrow.

As for cost, yes its quite expensive, but its a tablet and a remote, but seems so much better. No cables and no faffing about trying to assemble everything in too the arms.

My only concern is if it locks up (Android remember) then I won't have the standard remote LCD to get me home, so I hope that it is stable and that that does not become an issue. As long as a power down and restart is always possible It should be OK.

Thanks Hallmark for the review.
I ordered one here in Canada finally this morning and can’t wait to add it to my collection.

Visual Air Posted at 1-18 08:44
Thanks Hallmark for the review.
I ordered one here in Canada finally this morning and can’t wait to add it to my collection.

I think you will enjoy this Remote. Hopefully you get it soon, mine arrived just on time.

Im curious on the USB on top. can you plug a phone/tablet for a 2nd viewing screen? much like the HDMI can??

TruGreen Posted at 1-18 08:56
Im curious on the USB on top. can you plug a phone/tablet for a 2nd viewing screen? much like the HDMI can??

I’m not to sure , I wonder could dji make it possible to watch live footage through Bluetooth, now that would be convenient, I know you can buy HDMI to lightning cable but I think that is only for output from iPad .

hallmark007 Posted at 1-18 09:12
I’m not to sure , I wonder could dji make it possible to watch live footage through Bluetooth, now that would be convenient, I know you can buy HDMI to lightning cable but I think that is only for output from iPad .

perhaps you can try? with the RC on and linked showing video plug a USB into the RC and connect to tablet/phone and see if the Go 4 app launches and shows the same image.

but i agree the bluetooth would be better

TruGreen Posted at 1-18 09:15
perhaps you can try? with the RC on and linked showing video plug a USB into the RC and connect to tablet/phone and see if the Go 4 app launches and shows the same image.

but i agree the bluetooth would be better

I have just tried it nothing happened opened up go4 on iPad and still nothing, with all the tech they have nowadays you would think simple ideas like this would be easy to set up.
I also tried with USBC to lightning cable nothing.

so guess the USB is a mystery

TruGreen Posted at 1-18 09:26
so guess the USB is a mystery

Only thing I see in the manual is for connection to external devices, I suppose Assistant 2, but this can be accessed buy using USBC.

excellent review!
thanks hallmark!

Thank You Hallmark for interesting review. It's very useful indeed

Thanks for the update.
If budget was less an issue, I would have bought both the Mavic 2 Pro and this controller

Montfrooij Posted at 1-18 12:06
Thanks for the update.
If budget was less an issue, I would have bought both the Mavic 2 Pro and this controller

I think we might see some deals for that package in the future.

hallmark007 Posted at 1-18 12:11
I think we might see some deals for that package in the future.

Yeah probably.
They might leave out the regular controller to save on price

Thanks for all of that Hallmark. Very informative.

TruGreen Posted at 1-18 08:56
Im curious on the USB on top. can you plug a phone/tablet for a 2nd viewing screen? much like the HDMI can??

Apparently it’s for a 4G dongle. It just says, check the DJI website for details.

dj_dread Posted at 1-18 11:07
excellent review!
thanks hallmark!

No problem hope to get a bit more time with it , let’s see how it goes.

Thanks for the review hallmark007. Did you have the chance to long-range it for a bit?