I'm somewhat confused.  This will be my first DJI Drone, and it's supposed to arrive in a day or two, yet, I don't see any App (DJI Pilot) available in the Apple store yet.  Is the actual flying App DJI Vision with built in Ground Station?  Or is there another App on the way to fly the Inspire.

The ranges are all too confusing for me,.. there is statements of 4500m height ceiling, 700m Visual POV feedback, 1400m control range , and and and.
Should I presume that for say, 500-700m, the drone can be flown visually, manually and so forth, and for further flights its a Automated flight plan, without much visual camera feedback, and hope for the best when it returns?

The batteries seems unnecessarily weak by default, surely the T48 could have been standard, or a 35 minute 6600mA/h LiPo at this price point?
If DJI really want to impress and tug at out pockets for this amount of money, how about selling us the drone, with a voucher for a 30 minute battery once its been perfected?  That would feel like a touch of class.

Lastly, Follow me is a huge thing.  I'm sure DJI must realize this is a pivotal purchasing point.  If I cannot have Follow me, I cant use the drone, its a simple as that.  In the real world, I use the drone for mainly sport photography, and even with fast fingers, I cannot fly a drone and manipulate a camera to follow a MX rider around a track, so please guys, I know you are very tight lipped, but where are we on Follow me at DJI?
Is it 95% ready, or 40% ready?  I'm sure most reasonable people will rather have the option, with the risk of hitting an obstruction if one is too stupid to survey your surroundings, rather than not have it because obstruction avoidance is still being developed?  Makes sense?

Mmm, After some research, it seems the Walkera Scout X4 with Gopro4 offer far more than the Inspire at a third of the price.  4K, Follow me, User defined Return to home path, stunning aerial performance by the looks of it, and 25 minutes of flight time, iPad holder, full time telemetry....  mmm, whats not to like,,
And that carbon body looks YUM

Walkera.....don't they make the Tali? I would say that's "not to like".

1. I'm somewhat confused.  This will be my first DJI Drone, and it's supposed to arrive in a day or two, yet, I don't see any App (DJI Pilot) available in the Apple store yet.  Is the actual flying App DJI Vision with built in Ground Station?  Or is there another App on the way to fly the Inspire.

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First off, it will not be arriving in a day or two.  Perhaps you did not receive a delay email as some have(I haven't), or read the official announcement here on the forum, but production has been delayed due to last minute design changes to the camera(adding a lens hood), among other things not specifically mentioned.  You can see this as a downside with regard to an unforeseen delay, or a positive decision on DJI's part in committing on putting out an excellent product with no compromises.  Still no word on if they are going to make their Dec. 15th ship date for first round pre-orders.  Most don't expect anything to ship until later this month, if not into January or later.

The App itself will not be made available until the units start shipping, so don't bother looking for it on the app store just yet.  According to Tahoe_Ed, you wouldn't be able to do anything with it since it requires a connection to the Inspire itself, so everything would be disabled/greyed out anyway.

1. The ranges are all too confusing for me,.. there is statements of 4500m height ceiling, 700m Visual POV feedback, 1400m control range , and and and.
   
2. Should I presume that for say, 500-700m, the drone can be flown visually, manually and so forth, and for further flights its a Automated flight plan, without much visual camera feedback, and hope for the best when it returns?
   

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Indeed, some of the range info is a bit confusing.  In regards to the max height ceiling, that is more for the max starting altitude you are from MSL.  So say you are on the side of a 4000m mountain, your ceiling from that point is going to be reduced.  This has to do with the thinning on the atmosphere and the reduced performance of the Inspire itself.

The radio range is said to be about 2km and Tahoe_Ed has done a range test out to 1.9km with no video breakups either outbound or inbound.  Not too shabby.  Height restrictions within its MSL range are either self-imposed based on configurable settings in the app, or by the gps and firmware which automatically restricts the range if you are within controlled airspace(near an airport, etc.)  Otherwise, there is no height/distance restriction up to max radio range.

1. The batteries seems unnecessarily weak by default, surely the T48 could have been standard, or a 35 minute 6600mA/h LiPo at this price point?
   
2. If DJI really want to impress and tug at out pockets for this amount of money, how about selling us the drone, with a voucher for a 30 minute battery once its been perfected?  That would feel like a touch of class.

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I think it comes down to a balance of weight and performance.  Larger batteries add more weight, and the Inspire is already pretty hefty compared to the P2.  Added weight means you need beefier motors, which draw more power.  Of course, everyone would want these things to fly for hours on end, but that's not realistic with current battery tech.  The rational is that 18min(standard battery) to 22min(larger battery) is enough time to pull off any shots you need, land, pop in another battery, and shoot some more.

1. Lastly, Follow me is a huge thing.  I'm sure DJI must realize this is a pivotal purchasing point.  If I cannot have Follow me, I cant use the drone, its a simple as that.  In the real world, I use the drone for mainly sport photography, and even with fast fingers, I cannot fly a drone and manipulate a camera to follow a MX rider around a track, so please guys, I know you are very tight lipped, but where are we on Follow me at DJI?
   
2. Is it 95% ready, or 40% ready?  I'm sure most reasonable people will rather have the option, with the risk of hitting an obstruction if one is too stupid to survey your surroundings, rather than not have it because obstruction avoidance is still being developed?  Makes sense?

Copy the code

If follow me is a deal breaker for you, then why did you order one knowing it would not ship with this feature?  I don't think they have ever stated that adding follow me was a sure thing.  Maybe they are looking into it because, let's face it, it would be a wise business decision on their part to implement something like that.  It's still no guarantee.  Buy the Inspire for what it is now, and not what you hope it to be in the future.  Less likely to be disappointed.

I feel that "follow me" is fraught with danger. You really need a clear field with no overhanging trees....what happens when the incline is steep? Does the drone maintain a safe distance from the ground? If you are skiing or riding a bike...will it keep up? Without collision avoidance, I think it will make for a fascinating marketing ploy....but probably no long term professional usability.