msinger
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Apple iPad
- Thread starter merdok14
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OK guys, I have my money together. This will be my first drone and I am as green as green can be. My plan is to try to purchase the drone and the iPad on black Friday or cyber Monday, hopefully in person but online if need be. This thread has been about the Apple iPad. Unfortunately I am still not sure what to get as there are so many versions out there. I have been an apple person for many, many years and I own nothing but Apple products from my Mac desktop to my teenage daughters iPhone 6.
I plan to purchase a Phantom 3 Professional or the Phantom 4, leaning hard on the 3 Professional. I currently have an iPhone 6 + and love the thing but as I am getting older my vision is starting to go, this is the reason i bought the + in the first place to see it easier. With that said I am thinking another iPad for a little bigger screen. My plan is to purchase another iPad, this will be the fourth one in my home. What do I need that will work well? This iPad will be used just for the drone. WiFi and Cellular? WiFi? iPad mini? iPad Air 2? 16GB?, 32GB?, 164GB? I just don't know, and since I have never done this I am asking for some guidance. I don't want to buy something that is not going to work as I want it to but in the same respect I cant drop $500 on a new iPad. I am really hoping you guys can give me some of your opinions. Everything to this point has been extremely helpful to me and I thank you guys for it.
I don't mean to keep asking some of the same stuff I just don't want to spend a bunch of money on the wrong stuff. Hopefully once I get my feet wet I can help other newbies get into this amazing thing called Drones. Thanks in advance.
I plan to purchase a Phantom 3 Professional or the Phantom 4, leaning hard on the 3 Professional. I currently have an iPhone 6 + and love the thing but as I am getting older my vision is starting to go, this is the reason i bought the + in the first place to see it easier. With that said I am thinking another iPad for a little bigger screen. My plan is to purchase another iPad, this will be the fourth one in my home. What do I need that will work well? This iPad will be used just for the drone. WiFi and Cellular? WiFi? iPad mini? iPad Air 2? 16GB?, 32GB?, 164GB? I just don't know, and since I have never done this I am asking for some guidance. I don't want to buy something that is not going to work as I want it to but in the same respect I cant drop $500 on a new iPad. I am really hoping you guys can give me some of your opinions. Everything to this point has been extremely helpful to me and I thank you guys for it.
I don't mean to keep asking some of the same stuff I just don't want to spend a bunch of money on the wrong stuff. Hopefully once I get my feet wet I can help other newbies get into this amazing thing called Drones. Thanks in advance.
msinger
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merdok14, it would be helpful if you would answer the following questions so we can recommend the proper iPad:
1) Is important to have the largest screen possible? Or, would the iPad Mini screen size be sufficient?
2) Do you plan to use your iPad for anything other than flying? If so, what?
3) Do you plan to fly in locations where the sun will often be hitting the tablet screen directly?
4) Do you need to cache the video on your iPad?
5) Do you plan on editing video on your iPad?
6) Do you want to be able to use the Follow Me feature and/or be able to reset the home point to your current location after taking off?
1) Is important to have the largest screen possible? Or, would the iPad Mini screen size be sufficient?
2) Do you plan to use your iPad for anything other than flying? If so, what?
3) Do you plan to fly in locations where the sun will often be hitting the tablet screen directly?
4) Do you need to cache the video on your iPad?
5) Do you plan on editing video on your iPad?
6) Do you want to be able to use the Follow Me feature and/or be able to reset the home point to your current location after taking off?
I have a iPad mini 2, wifi, and it works great. I feel it's the perfect balance of size for viewing and portability. I never use follow me so cellular isn't needed for me, also I just cache the map prior to flying and it's good to go. If you are only going to use it to fly you can probably get away with 16gig. All your video will be stored on the sd card anyway for you to download to your Mac. Mine is 32gig, and I have some other stuff on there that take up space. You can get the iPad mini 2 pretty cheap right now as well. Don't bother with the iPad mini 3 cause it's exactly the same other the Touch ID.
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msinger, thanks for the reply. I will try to answer these.
1. I think the mini would work great.
2. No, this iPad will be dedicated to the aircraft.
3. Not necessarily, I guess could happen but not sure.
4. By cache you mean store video, sorry I'm not the most tech savvy person but I want to learn. If I can transfer it to my Mac then I wouldn't need to and I'm sure that is an easy process between iPad and mac.
5. Maybe, but I can do it on the Mac as well.
6. I do like the idea of the follow me feature although I have no idea where I would use it. I want the drone to know where it takes off from in case of the instance I have to use the return to home feature.
I hope these have answered the questions, i appreciate the time you spent to type them up.
I was also thinking I could move down to the advanced model and move up in iPad but that sounds silly if you think about it.
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1. I think the mini would work great.
2. No, this iPad will be dedicated to the aircraft.
3. Not necessarily, I guess could happen but not sure.
4. By cache you mean store video, sorry I'm not the most tech savvy person but I want to learn. If I can transfer it to my Mac then I wouldn't need to and I'm sure that is an easy process between iPad and mac.
5. Maybe, but I can do it on the Mac as well.
6. I do like the idea of the follow me feature although I have no idea where I would use it. I want the drone to know where it takes off from in case of the instance I have to use the return to home feature.
I hope these have answered the questions, i appreciate the time you spent to type them up.
I was also thinking I could move down to the advanced model and move up in iPad but that sounds silly if you think about it.
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msinger
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In response to your comments above:
4) The cache feature copies a lower resolution version of the video on the tablet. I guess some people like to do this to keep a record of what occurred if they lose their Phantom. I think it just wastes resources on the tablet for most people though.
6) You could use your iPhone during flights where you need to use Follow Me. Resetting the home point after taking off is not a feature used by most pilots. It would allow you to do something like take off from a boat, move the boat, and reset the home point to the boat's new position.
A 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Mini 2 would be a good fit for you. If it's still in the budget, get the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Mini 4. If you compare the two, the iPad Mini 4 is lighter, faster, brighter, and it has an anti-reflective coating on the screen. Performance-wise, either will run DJI GO well.
4) The cache feature copies a lower resolution version of the video on the tablet. I guess some people like to do this to keep a record of what occurred if they lose their Phantom. I think it just wastes resources on the tablet for most people though.
6) You could use your iPhone during flights where you need to use Follow Me. Resetting the home point after taking off is not a feature used by most pilots. It would allow you to do something like take off from a boat, move the boat, and reset the home point to the boat's new position.
A 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Mini 2 would be a good fit for you. If it's still in the budget, get the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Mini 4. If you compare the two, the iPad Mini 4 is lighter, faster, brighter, and it has an anti-reflective coating on the screen. Performance-wise, either will run DJI GO well.
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msinger, I really appreciate you helping me out on this. I think I am going to try to pick up the iPad mini 2, wifi, 32GB. Now I'm trying to find the place I should buy it from. I'm thinking I can walk into Best Buy and pick up both, we shall see.
sandman259, when you say you cache a map before you fly does that mean you downloaded a map through wi fi at home and then had the Phantom follow that map? I am kind of confused on the map deal.
sandman259, when you say you cache a map before you fly does that mean you downloaded a map through wi fi at home and then had the Phantom follow that map? I am kind of confused on the map deal.
No you just open the Dji go app and click on map view and scroll to where you wanna fly and the map will be there when you go to your destination to fly...
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I would be skeptical about the iPad Mini 2. It's a little bit on the edge for the Phantom 3 Pro, and may very well have insufficient processor capability for the features of the next evolution of Phantoms. The tendency is for these things to need increasingly more processor power as the amount of data and video the manage increases model to model. My iPad Mini worked great for my P2V+. Doesn't work at all for my Phantom 4.
Anyway, if you're looking at iPads, look at Apple's refurb store. Prices are quite a bit better. They all have new cases, new screens, new batteries, and a 1 year warranty.
Anyway, if you're looking at iPads, look at Apple's refurb store. Prices are quite a bit better. They all have new cases, new screens, new batteries, and a 1 year warranty.
This is the route I took. Bought an iPad Air 2 - quicker processor, light, decent size screen, wifi+cellular capability (I intend to use the follow me feature) and anti-glare feature which will be a big help. And, more importantly, I bought a new one (sealed) for $349 including shipping.
I'm stoked and ready to use on my P4. Let me look for my pilot sunglasses 
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