This is by way of a “what do you think they will do to expand the Mavic Mini functionality” and “How much can (will) DJI correct with firmware updates?”
Are DJI likely to listen to user complaints/suggestions and release additional functionality through firmware update, or will they aim to produce a “new” drone called (for example) the Mavic Mini Pro.
Much has been said about the lack of camera settings - is that something that can be corrected through firmware as a “feature expansion”?
Is the firmware modifiable or does that make DJI grumpy?
I heard somewhere that the reason they didn’t use a 4K camera on the Mini was due to a “heat” issue. Do you think that the camera on the mini is capable of 4k but has been limited through firmware?
Tracking - isn’t that just an algorithm attached to the camera?
These are just general Mavic Mini thoughts, sorry if it’s in the wrong place or if its just too “outside of the box”
I think this is deliberate to distance the mini from the Air or M2 which are about 2 and 4 times the cost.
As far as DJI are concerned the mini is an entry level drone and they need to leave some incentive for people to buy the higher models.
I can only see this changing if a competitor brings out a similar sub 250g drone.
On release of the M2P a few things were missing like waypoints and precision landing. These were added as updates after a load of complaints on forums.
That did cost a few hundred more than the drone it was replacing though and it was silly not to have the features the V1 did.
To an extent but the recent drones have been locked down pretty well and it depends on the interest to get enough people to try and crack it.
There were similar questions and wants when the Spark was released. One big request was for RAW capability, all cameras are capable of producing a RAW image, but DJI chose not to acknowledge these requests probably for the same reasons that Callum has mentioned with respect to the MA and MP’s.
Another request from EU users was to include European 5GHz channels as most Android devices marketed for the EU could not connect wirelessly to the controller allowing 2.4GHz for the controller to drone link, and at the time OTG capability was not available.The hardware would support it but I think they would have run into FCC certification issues, and the USA was/is their biggest market.
Another example of hardware being capable but features not implemented was GPS. As standard the GPS unit worked with the US GPS and GLONASS. But with a firmware hack I’m now able to access the Chinese Beidou system as well which is more effective at more Northerly Latitudes. Satellite count now goes from an average of 16 to 24 in this area.
Another option that was asked for was the ability for the user to manually select ATTI mode. This was prompted because some users experienced the Spark automatically switching to ATTI if it encountered a compass issue, usually while in Sport mode, and incorrectly reported GPS errors, again DJI would not comment. Some of us found out that with earlier versions of the Assistant software we could assign the Sport mode switch to ATTI mode. The Spark still has the ability to race along at Sport mode speeds but doesn’t encounter sporadic Compass errors.
