Replacement phone for Mavic Mini

Thank you for accepting me to the forum. I’ve been reading lots of informative posts.

The other day I almost placed an order for a Mavic Mini and then stumbled upon the list of compatible mobiles. Even though it sort of lists the Samsung S6 (that I currently own) I can not download DJI Fly as it reports there are no known devices suitable.
I have seen YT videos of people stating to be using the Huawei P Smart 2019 64GB mobile (even though it’s not on the compatible list) and wondered if anyone on this forum has had good results from this phone and the Mavic Mini.
Thanks in advance for any replies.

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I’ve very recently had the arduous task of debugging rendering issues with both the S6 and S7 when using these devices with the new Powervision PowerEgg X drone.

The issue was that the live video downlink would not display even though the APP would otherwise run fine, being able to communicate with the drone and change settings and view telemetry.

Android phones are like PC’s in that their operating systems are very similar but there are many different versions of embedded hardware and chipsets which some APPs will struggle with.

In the case of the Powervision APP and its issues with the S6 and S7 I believe I narrowed down the issues d incompatibility to the type of GPU they used. I was able to run the APP fully on a Huawei M5Lite8 tablet so I searched for a phone that used the same GPU and acquired a Huawei P30Lite. I installed the APP and Hey Presto, everything works a treat.

It still confuses me why authors of these APPs continually try to reinvent the wheel. My S7 works fine with similar APPs e.g. DJIGO4, Parrot”s FreeFlight Pro and FreeFlight 6, Yuneec’s CGO3 camera control. I don’t have a Mavic Mini, nor do I want one, but I imaging I may experience the same issue with my S7 and the DJIFly APP as another member on the forum has recently experienced no live video with his setup, though I don’t know what mobile device he was using.

Regards

Nidge.

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Just to add to Nidge’s comments regarding Android phones. I too was wondering which phone was best for my Mavic Air but after researching on the net an article said the same about Android phones. There’s so much mixed up hardware and software in these phones so much so it’s a wonder that anything runs at all. The article said that DJI based most of their hardware and software around Apple OS products also the RC for Mavic range was based on holding an Apple iPad min4.
I have an Apple iPhone X and it works great. So in my opinion Apple is the way to go. Hope this helps FrodoHobbits

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Thanks guys for your comments. This android thing is a real minefield. Seems like its pot luck buying any brand that you’ll end up with a 32bit OS instead of 64bit even for the same model. To me this is just plain stupid, even the companies can’t give you a straight answer on a spec. I’m just not willing to fork out double the amount for the name Apple.
Guess I’m going to look at other options that’s not DJI :frowning:

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I’ve had four random Android phones for my Mavic Pro. No issues with any of them.

Where in the UK are you based?

And, apologies Dave / @FrodoHobbits, welcome to GADC!

If you have a moment, pop over to #introductions and ten is a little about yourself! :+1:

Thanks for the replies. I’m based in Radstock which is about 16 miles outside of Bath.
From other forums around the world and YT videos it seems to be just the Mini/DJI Fly that is really picky about which android DJI Fly app will install/run on, even though my Samsung is on the list it will not install the app.

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Ah - OK. Had you been nearer me (Southampton), I have a phone that I never use that should work, and that you could have tried.

This is one of the issues plaguing the DJIFly APP on Android. It has been written to only run on 64bit architecture. I was under the impression that Google were insisting that all APPs made available on the Playstore must also have a 32bit version available when there is a 64bit version, with the correct version being downloaded based on the device’s specification.

I personally don’t pledge allegiance to any device, whether that be iOS or Android, I just find with the type of machines I build and fly that Android has the more efficient workflow and this is great for opensource projects which have infinitely higher skilled coders than those that reside in the basement of the likes of DJI, Parrot, and other companies that charge you to be a Beta tester.

Nidge.

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Advice needed. I currently connect my IPhone 7 Plus to my Mavic mini as a controller.

If I wanted to free up my phone and use a “very cheap” alternative of a similar size, what would people recommend.

Key considerations are, it needs t9 be as big as my plus because I’m an old git. It won’t be used for any other purpose other than controlling my mini.

I tried using my wife’s old Samsung, I think it’s a S9. I just can’t get on with anything that isn’t an iPhone, even just using it for the MM. To be honest I’m not really liking the smart controller for the M2P but I’m going to persevere as there isn’t a lot I can do about the os on that. Maybe I should give the Samsung another go at some point.

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What are you not liking about the smart controller. Is it screen size or other things. Cheers.

It’s too Androidy. To be fair I’ve only had it a few days and have only really had a couple of chances to get out with it. I find android things very confusing, there always seems to be bits everywhere and things happening that I don’t want to happen. I’ll get used to it, my point really was if you’re used to an iPhone you may be better off just using your iPhone. Or it might just be me!

I can understand what your saying on the android side of things. I purchased the Huawei m5 lite 8 to use as tablet for my MP.
There are some differences in the go4 app I didn’t expect running on Android. Main annoying one is there is no calibration box in the pre flight menu that pops up when first connecting for the compass. I also didn’t realise that android devices charge from the controller when in use.
Little things I know but I suppose I need to use it more and get used to it.
On the plus side the 8 inch screen is very good and brighter than my iPhone 8 Plus.
Goggles are definitely something I want to try. Downside is I fly a lot on my own so technically I can’t use them alone.

I’d recommend you check out the compatibility list before doing anything.

A “very cheap” device will also be very low in ram and very low in processing power. Buy something very cheap and it probably won’t have enough power to run DJI Fly smoothly.


Supported Mobile Devices

iOS V 1.1.0

Requires iOS 10.0 or above.

Compatible with iPhone 11 Pro Max,iPhone 11 Pro,iPhone 11,iPhone XS Max,iPhone XS,iPhone XR,iPhone X,iPhone 8 Plus,iPhone 8,iPhone 7 Plus,iPhone 7,iPhone 6s Plus,iPhone 6s,iPhone 6 Plus,iPhone 6,ipad Pro(9.7-inch),ipad air2(9.7-inch),iPad mini4(8-inch),iPad Pro(10.5-inch),ipad Pro 2018(11-inch),ipad Pro (12.9-inch)

Android V 1.1.5

Requires Android 6.0 or above.

Compatible with Samsung Galaxy S20,Samsung Galaxy S10+,Samsung Galaxy S10,Samsung Galaxy S9+,Samsung Galaxy S9 ,Samsung Galaxy S8+,Samsung Galaxy S8,Samsung Galaxy S7 edge,Samsung Galaxy S7,Samsung Galaxy S6,Samsung Galaxy Note10+ ,Samsung Galaxy Note9,Samsung Galaxy Note8,HUAWEI Mate30 Pro,HUAWEI P30 Pro,HUAWEI P30,HUAWEI P20,HUAWEI P10,HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro,HUAWEI Mate 10,HUAWEI nova 5,HUAWEI nova 4,HUAWEI nova 3e,HUAWEI nova 2,Honor 8X,Honor V10,Honor 9,Honor 20 Pro,Honor Magic 2,MI10,Mi 8,Mi MIX 2S,Mi MIX 2,Redmi Note 5,OPPO Find X,OPPO R15,vivo NEX,vivo X27,vivo X21,vivo X20A,OnePlus 7,OnePlus 6T,OnePlus 5,Pixel 4,Pixel 3 XL,Pixel 2 XL,Pixel 2,Pixel,LG V20,LG G6,Sony Xpeial 1

Is there that much of a difference in the DJI apps between Android & iOS

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Probably not really once you’re flying, just when I was at home finding my way around. For instance there’s something in the settings on the controller that says 13 apps are installed. I haven’t even dared to look. I haven’t installed them and I fear if I go poking around I’ll inadvertently screw something up. But what are they doing?

That’ll be google services and the play store etc (I reckon)

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This is what I meant by too androidy. Do I need google on the controller? I have a phone for that. My wife’s Samsung was the same, just loads of stuff running that you weren’t even aware was there. But from a flying point of view it’s fine. It would just be better if it was Apple software!