P4P Remote-requires ipad with cellular or no?

[Nobel Drones]

Hi I recently purchased a Phantom 4 Pro, and im now looking into buying a tablet. The regular iPad mini 2 does not have gps to my understanding, and the ipad mini 2 + cellular does have gps. do you need to have the ipad mini 2 cellular in order to use gps modes such as follow me and RTH or does the regular remote controller come with gps.

 

[Oso]

Hi I recently purchased a Phantom 4 Pro, and im now looking into buying a tablet. The regular iPad mini 2 does not have gps to my understanding, and the ipad mini 2 + cellular does have gps. do you need to have the ipad mini 2 cellular in order to use gps modes such as follow me and RTH or does the regular remote controller come with gps.

Apple iPads come in either a wifi only version or a wifi + cellular enabled version. Your Phantom has GPS to know where it is and to set the home point for RTH, so you can fly your Phantom with either version.

Some optional features require GPS at your RC (controller) so that your RC location is also known. Wifi only iPads are NOT GPS enabled and there's no crowd sourced location data accurate enough to allow the use of the optional features. However, phones, cellular enabled iPads, and most Android tablets DO have GPS that can be used for those optional features. A data plan is not required if you go with a cellular enabled iPad.

does the regular remote controller come with gps.

P3 and P4 RC's (other than "+" models with built in mobile devices) do not have their own GPS.

You can see additional info and assorted scenarios at the link below. Note that it was written for P3's, but much of it also applies to P4s.

Tablets and phones that work well with DJI GO

So this was interesting. I hooked up my mom's new iPad Air 2 to my phantom 3 and the DJI app said safe to fly (GPS). I thought the wifi iPads didn't have GPS? That's correct. Your iPad Air 2 (wifi) doesn't have GPS, but your Phantom 3 has :p

phantompilots.com

 

[Nobel Drones]

What about the Follow Me feature , does that require a GPS equipped device?

 

[Oso]

What about the Follow Me feature , does that require a GPS equipped device?

Intelligent Flight Modes with P4P's include software/camera based follow me functions such as Active Track which can be used without GPS at your RCs location.
Just read more about those modes before deciding if you think they will work well enough for your needs. For example, fast moving objects are tough. Also, a Mini 2 may be too under powered to give you a good experience. Like I said, you'll need to read more and decide.

 

[Nobel Drones]

Where should I read about this?

 

[Meta4]

What about the Follow Me feature , does that require a GPS equipped device?

Your Phantom has a perfectly good GPS receiver and that's what it uses for nearly all flying features.
Follow me and resetting the home point to the current location of the controller are the only features that can use a GPS in your tablet. (and few flyers use those).
Follow me is old-tech and Active Track which uses optical tracking works much better anyway.

ps .. the iPad mini 2 isn't really up to the task of running the DJI Go4 app properly as it's processor is too slow.
You need a mini 4 or later.

 

[Nobel Drones]

What's the difference between active track and follow me

 

[Oso]

Intelligent Flight Modes with P4P's include software/camera based follow me functions such as Active Track which can be used without GPS at your RCs location.

What's the difference between active track and follow me

Active Track is software/camera (optical) based.
Follow Me tracks GPS coordinates of a mobile device, so obviously your mobile device would need to be GPS enabled.

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[Nobel Drones]

Thank you! So the only 2 things you gain from GPS is the rth feature and follow me?

 

[Nobel Drones]

And would you say the iPad mini 3 is up to the task?

 

[Meta4]

Thank you! So the only 2 things you gain from GPS is the rth feature and follow me?

Not RTH at all.
The drone uses it's own GPS for returning to home.
The feature I mentioned was resetting the home point to the current location of the controller (sometimes used for flying from a moving boat or car)

And would you say the iPad mini 3 is up to the task?

Is the mini 3 later and faster than the mini 4?

 

[Nobel Drones]

Do you think the mini 3 would do the job, I know 4 could but maybe 3 would also just not as good

 

[Meta4]

Do you think the mini 3 would do the job, I know 4 could but maybe 3 would also just not as good

I already answered that in post #6

 

[Oso]

Your Phantom has GPS to know where it is and to set the home point for RTH

Thank you! So the only 2 things you gain from GPS is the rth feature and follow me?

 

[Nobel Drones]

ps .. the iPad mini 2 isn't really up to the task of running the DJI Go4 app properly as it's processor is too slow.
You need a mini 4 or later.

Your kind of contradicting DJI's tech support because they say that the Apple iPad mini 2 is compatible.

 

[Meta4]

Your kind of contradicting DJI's tech support because they say that the Apple iPad mini 2 is compatible.

I'm kind of not.
If you've been told that by DJI people at tech support, be advised that they are notorious for giving bad and inaccurate advice.
They don't even fly themselves and just read from a script or make things up.
The mini 2 used to work but is not up to the task of running current versions of the Go 4 app which is very demanding.

Here's what DJI recommend for running the DJI Go 4 app in the specs for the Mavic 2 (which is their latest drone released).

APP / LIVE VIEW

• iOS V4.3.16
  Requires iOS 10.0.0 or later (Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom requires iOS 10.0.2 or later).
  Compatible with iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4.
  Optimized for iPhone X.

 

[Capt KO]

Do you think the mini 3 would do the job, I know 4 could but maybe 3 would also just not as good

No! You need iOS 10 or higher. Mini 3 will only go to 9. Mini 4 or higher!

 

[CR125Honda]

All above is correct and good advice.
The 2018 iPad 9.7 is a good option. Pro even better.
Search in the forum on on DJI’s forum for more info on this.

 

[PeteSahr]

I use both a full sized iPad with WiFi only and an iPad mini with cellular service to fly My P4P. When I use the WiFi only iPad, I use the personal hotspot on my cell phone to download the background aerial photo map. It’s a little bit of a pain to go that route but not too bad. The iPad mini with cell service works great and allows you to skip the whole personal hotspot thing.

 

[Capt KO]

All above is correct and good advice.
The 2018 iPad 9.7 is a good option. Pro even better.
Search in the forum on on DJI’s forum for more info on this.