So, in the last month or so I found a great deal on a brand new, unopened Mavic Air (well, not great as I've come to find out, but it was a better price than anything else I could find at the time). But now, 1.5 months later, the Mavic Air 2 releases at a lower price (!?), and I'm basically stuck with a product that is inferior in almost every way. Is this truly the case? Is the Mavic Air now officially dead? Ugh...

The remaining Fly More Air Combos are $699 at Best Buy right now. Once they are gone, I m gonna guess the Air is out. Still a cool drone tho, there is always gonna be newer, cheaper stuff when it comes to technology.

Gregg F Posted at 5-11 23:18
The remaining Fly More Air Combos are $699 at Best Buy right now. Once they are gone, I m gonna guess the Air is out. Still a cool drone tho, there is always gonna be newer, cheaper stuff when it comes to technology.

I know, but within reason. It seems that this round they have not only improved upon the original in so many ways (in fact, the Air2 is now better than the Mavic Pro 2), but they dropped the initial MSRP price!! I feel cheated!!

Is there anything about the Mavic Air that is better than the Air 2?

And do you think there's any chance of upgrading firmware, or hacking the Air to utilize any of the software improvements of the Air 2? Like Active Track 3.0? I believe I saw someone already using the new phone APP on the Air, but that seems to be the one thing they didn't really improve, but rather dumbed down and removed functionality to help beginners.

baffle Posted at 5-11 23:36
I know, but within reason. It seems that this round they have not only improved upon the original in so many ways (in fact, the Air2 is now better than the Mavic Pro 2), but they dropped the initial MSRP price!! I feel cheated!!

Is there anything about the Mavic Air that is better than the Air 2?

The original works with Litchi.

Vlas Posted at 5-12 00:15
The original works with Litchi.

I'll have to do some research. Does Litchi offer a lot of value? It's a bit pricey for a phone app at $25+

Gregg F Posted at 5-11 23:18
The remaining Fly More Air Combos are $699 at Best Buy right now. Once they are gone, I m gonna guess the Air is out. Still a cool drone tho, there is always gonna be newer, cheaper stuff when it comes to technology.

Yeah, good point. I should try to keep this in perspective. I haven't even scratched the surface of what the Air can do, so I'm not even sure what I'm missing yet. Except for the much improved Active Track and Battery Life. But those are pretty big. And after watching comparison videos, it looks like they Skydio actually does a much better job with tracking anyway...

Oh well... maybe I'll just find a cheap cinewhoop and go from there, lol.

Aloha,

     Sorry, but I do not have the heart to tell him that the Mavic Air runs on DJI GO 4 and the Mavic Air 2 runs on DJI Fly.  I guess he will have to figure that out for himself.

Aloha and Drone On!

Air 1 is smaller and lighter - includding RC - And for a backpacker this is a BIG point.

Air 1 has gesturemode, witch I like to use.

Air 1 is more handsome - but this has no practical value

I must admit I like the look of the Air better than the Air 2.
I too use gesture mode on the odd occasion, works great.
No issues with range under VLOS rules.
It's take anywhere.
I get 14-15 mins per battery, which has been ample for what I do.

Vlas Posted at 5-12 00:15
The original works with Litchi.

Completely indispensable for me.

Yes, the air 2 is better in almost every way, but I'm still keeping the original as it is a great drone. What I prefer about the original air is...
Its smaller
I prefer the look of it
The new one uses dji fly app, which in my opinion is much worse than dji go 4 (it doesn't have as much information)
The new one can't hold an iPad mini
The new one doesn't have an USB plugin, so if you want to get an iPad adapter so the controller fits an iPad you will need to get a longer micro USB to lightning cord, you can't just use the charging cord that your iPad comes with
That's all I can think of, hope that this helps

What I like about my MA is that it is light, small and easy to travel with.  The only thing I don't like is the interference problem. Even if the MA2 can fly out up to 6 miles, You are supposed to fly VLOS!!!

If it makes you feel better the Air 2 does not live stream... it uses the inferior Fly App... I still can't believe it... IF you could live stream I would buy a second one, it would be the perfect drone... My first also.

I still love my Air, It is small and travels well. Since I use it for my business (real estate photos and the occasional video) I'm not really that worried about the newer models.When I do recoup my investment on my Mavic Air I will consider upgrading.

Jose Barrios

www.josebarriosphoto.com