Android versus Apple

[RaptorMan]

I currently have Android devices including a Note 4 smartphone and a Galaxy Tab 8.4 Pro and am pondering whether or not to change to Apple for FPV display. I plan to order my I1 Pro next week so that makes the decision kind of pressing. The upside to using what I have is obviously lower cost as I already have them and as far as the third party apps are concerned it looks to me like Litchi, although perhaps a small step behind Autopilot, is a bit cheaper and nearly as capable. The upside to switching to Apple is that there does seem to be more development with iOS devices than with Android, though having to buy an Apple tablet would be an additional expense I'd rather not have to make.

So, how do we as a group come down on this? How does our group feel about Litchi versus Autopilot? I would probably get the iPad Air 2 if I went Apple but I'd still be using my Note 4 for data and my PC's are Windows based. What advantages and disadvantages do others see in the Apple vs Android decision?


Brian

 

[pixl45]

Apple vs. Android discussion? Won't be touching this topic with a 10' pole. Or a 3m one.

 

[The Editor]

This has been debated until the cows come home previously on this forum since the introduction of the Inspire.
Please use the search facility on the forum - there are numerous threads regarding this topic/discussion.

I will not comment on this thread further (other than to possibly lock it!)

 

[RaptorMan]

OK, I revised my search and think I found the info I need though it does go back nearly a year. Lock this if you feel the need...


Brian

 

[ringolong]

I would use what you have, and if it lacks something that you need that is an iOS function, then pick up an ios device.

 

[Meta4]

What advantages and disadvantages do others see in the Apple vs Android decision?

You're overthinking this. Both are good, it's apples vs oranges.
There's no clear "best". If there was, everyone would use that.

 

[badbiggz]

I say the same..
If u want the best get them both..
I have iPad Air 2 and tab s 8.4 inch
I love them both.litchi has more features on android atm and it's the only 3rd party app that I have on droid...but I do have 2 RC's so maybe that's why I got both,2nd hand too not new and I'm very happy
Can't hurt too find a use iOS or android

 

[RaptorMan]

I plan to use my SGTab 8.4 Pro and if it works acceptably then that's what it will be.

As far as third party flight control apps there's things I like/prefer about Litchi and things I like/prefer about Autopilot, but I can't quite justify shelling out for another FPV device if it isn't needed. So, for now it's Android -- I should know within a week or two if it's going to do the job running DJI Go so no money spent on apps until I confirm if my current tab is sufficient.


Brian

 

[badbiggz]

Your on the right track...if it works then why fix it
The Tab pro will be fine for Litchi ( I had to root and remove all the bloatware) how does the DJI go app work for you with the Tab pro,if well then it should be fine with Litchi

 

[Mopar Bob]

I plan to use my SGTab 8.4 Pro and if it works acceptably then that's what it will be.

As far as third party flight control apps there's things I like/prefer about Litchi and things I like/prefer about Autopilot, but I can't quite justify shelling out for another FPV device if it isn't needed. So, for now it's Android -- I should know within a week or two if it's going to do the job running DJI Go so no money spent on apps until I confirm if my current tab is sufficient.


Brian

Before the Editor locks this down, I will share one comment with you. I have both the SG Tabs8.4 and an Ipad Mini2. The android is a great tablet and I like the format better than the IOS. But there is definitely a latency issue with my android. Not much, but sometimes its annoying as hell. With the IOS, no latency at all. 99% of the time I fly with the Ipad. By the way, Its the only apple product I own!

 

[RaptorMan]

Before the Editor locks this down, I will share one comment with you. I have both the SG Tabs8.4 and an Ipad Mini2. The android is a great tablet and I like the format better than the IOS. But there is definitely a latency issue with my android. Not much, but sometimes its annoying as hell. With the IOS, no latency at all. 99% of the time I fly with the Ipad. By the way, Its the only apple product I own!

Ballpark the latency issue. About how much of a delay do you see best case with Android?


Brian

 

[ringolong]

They both have latency. If you want latency free then get a set of goggles, and run them from the hdmi on the radio. I highly doubt it will matter since you will most likely not be flying this like it is a 250 racing quad.

I would only pay the money if the iOS device has a needed function that is worth the price.

 

[RaptorMan]

They both have latency. If you want latency free then get a set of goggles, and run them from the hdmi on the radio. I highly doubt it will matter since you will most likely not be flying this like it is a 250 racing quad.

I would only pay the money if the iOS device has a needed function that is worth the price.

Sounds about right to me. I can't imagine what would make ALL android devices noticeably inferior to iOS devices and it makes sense that both system will have some amount of latency. And you are correct that I have no particular need to race my $4500 copter and risk damaging or destroying it.

Of course, if getting my two year old 8.4 to run properly doesn't work out then I'd be in the market for a new tablet and at that point the game is open. I looked at the Apple offerings and was leaning towards the iPad Air 2 wifi version as it has a barometer, but none of the wifi only Apple tablets have built in gps so you would have to go with a cellular version even if you had no desire to fork over even more money for a data plan. The price delta is about $130 and getting one with 64GB, a minimum amount of storage in my book, you're looking at $729 and the preferred 128GB version is $829 -- ouch!

If I were to get another tab it's likely to be Android and given my older eyes, larger than the 8.4 I now have. If that happens I'd want one with at least Android 5.0 on it for the native support of screen recording and at present I'm leaning towards the
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7" 32GB (Wi-Fi) for $400. Add in about $75 for a 128GB uSD card and I'd be $350 richer with 32GB more storage.

But, lets hope the 8.4 works and I can save the $475.

The only thing that's concerning at this point is the lack of SDK support for the X5 version so although the DJI Go app should work Litchi probably wont until the SDK is out and VC Tech has had time to port over. I'm not sure I understand the delay in covering the X5 series is as it's been out now for 3-4 months.


Brian

 

[Meta4]

I looked at the Apple offerings and was leaning towards the iPad Air 2 wifi version as it has a barometer.

A barometer? I'm not sure what use that would be in the tablet.
The Phantom already knows how high it is above home point and that's the only height you need to know.

The price delta is about $130 and getting one with 64GB, a minimum amount of storage in my book, you're looking at $729 and the preferred 128GB

The only reason to go for an expensive one with lots of storage, is if you want it for a lot of other things.
For just flying, the additional storage would be of no advantage.

 

[Kilrah]

A barometer? I'm not sure what use that would be in the tablet.
The Phantom already knows how high it is above home point and that's the only height you need to know.

The Autopilot app for example can make use of it for the advanced modes that are referenced to the pilot's position.

 

[pixl45]

Sounds about right to me. I can't imagine what would make ALL android devices noticeably inferior to iOS devices and it makes sense that both system will have some amount of latency. And you are correct that I have no particular need to race my $4500 copter and risk damaging or destroying it.

Of course, if getting my two year old 8.4 to run properly doesn't work out then I'd be in the market for a new tablet and at that point the game is open. I looked at the Apple offerings and was leaning towards the iPad Air 2 wifi version as it has a barometer, but none of the wifi only Apple tablets have built in gps so you would have to go with a cellular version even if you had no desire to fork over even more money for a data plan. The price delta is about $130 and getting one with 64GB, a minimum amount of storage in my book, you're looking at $729 and the preferred 128GB version is $829 -- ouch!

If I were to get another tab it's likely to be Android and given my older eyes, larger than the 8.4 I now have. If that happens I'd want one with at least Android 5.0 on it for the native support of screen recording and at present I'm leaning towards the
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7" 32GB (Wi-Fi) for $400. Add in about $75 for a 128GB uSD card and I'd be $350 richer with 32GB more storage.

But, lets hope the 8.4 works and I can save the $475.

The only thing that's concerning at this point is the lack of SDK support for the X5 version so although the DJI Go app should work Litchi probably wont until the SDK is out and VC Tech has had time to port over. I'm not sure I understand the delay in covering the X5 series is as it's been out now for 3-4 months.


Brian

It should be noted that you don't have to hook up the cellular plan on the cell-enabled iPads. You don't even need a sim in the slot. The reason that you need the cell version is that the GPS and the cell service use the same antenna.

 

[RaptorMan]

A barometer? I'm not sure what use that would be in the tablet.
The Phantom already knows how high it is above home point and that's the only height you need to know.

The only reason to go for an expensive one with lots of storage, is if you want it for a lot of other things.
For just flying, the additional storage would be of no advantage.

One of the factors in favor of more storage is screen recording and I plan to do a bunch of it. Maybe not every flight years from now, but in the beginning I want to have as complete a record as possible. In addition, if you make videos, particularly training ones, having high quality screen recordings as opposed to strapping a GoPro to your head in an effort to capture the screen is a vastly better solution.

And, some of the third party flight control apps make use of the barometer at the RC end so that in follow me mode or similar modes the copter can adjust its height to keep pace with changing elevation of the RC.


Brian

 

[IrishSights]

Sounds about right to me. I can't imagine what would make ALL android devices noticeably inferior to iOS devices and it makes sense that both system will have some amount of latency. And you are correct that I have no particular need to race my $4500 copter and risk damaging or destroying it.

Of course, if getting my two year old 8.4 to run properly doesn't work out then I'd be in the market for a new tablet and at that point the game is open. I looked at the Apple offerings and was leaning towards the iPad Air 2 wifi version as it has a barometer, but none of the wifi only Apple tablets have built in gps so you would have to go with a cellular version even if you had no desire to fork over even more money for a data plan. The price delta is about $130 and getting one with 64GB, a minimum amount of storage in my book, you're looking at $729 and the preferred 128GB version is $829 -- ouch!

If I were to get another tab it's likely to be Android and given my older eyes, larger than the 8.4 I now have. If that happens I'd want one with at least Android 5.0 on it for the native support of screen recording and at present I'm leaning towards the
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7" 32GB (Wi-Fi) for $400. Add in about $75 for a 128GB uSD card and I'd be $350 richer with 32GB more storage.

But, lets hope the 8.4 works and I can save the $475.

The only thing that's concerning at this point is the lack of SDK support for the X5 version so although the DJI Go app should work Litchi probably wont until the SDK is out and VC Tech has had time to port over. I'm not sure I understand the delay in covering the X5 series is as it's been out now for 3-4 months.


Brian

From my experience: I have the 2 year old 8 Inch Note. The GO app causes it eventually to lock up, when it is working the processor is just far to slow to handle the video. My sons newer Tab 8 works quite well but still struggles at times crunching the video. I had a 8" black Pearl on my Phantom and thought 8" would be OK. However with shear amount of info on the GO app it failed miserably, just too small at least for my older eyes. If you have the dosh go for an a 64gb ipad Air 2, the video stream has no noticeable stutter. If you do go for one you will not look back. This is all a personal perspective and journey so you need to find your own path. Start with what you have and go from there.

Just a side note: there is a new Nvidia Shield 8" tablet about to pop using the X1 processor which is rumoured to outperform the ipads in terms of video. Watch out for its announcement, probably at CES.

 

[RaptorMan]

From my experience: I have the 2 year old 8 Inch Note. The GO app causes it eventually to lock up, when it is working the processor is just far to slow to handle the video. My sons newer Tab 8 works quite well but still struggles at times crunching the video. I had a 8" black Pearl on my Phantom and thought 8" would be OK. However with shear amount of info on the GO app it failed miserably, just too small at least for my older eyes. If you have the dosh go for an a 64gb ipad Air 2, the video stream has no noticeable stutter. If you do go for one you will not look back. This is all a personal perspective and journey so you need to find your own path. Start with what you have and go from there.

Just a side note: there is a new Nvidia Shield 8" tablet about to pop using the X1 processor which is rumoured to outperform the ipads in terms of video. Watch out for its announcement, probably at CES.

Well my older eyes would probably prefer a larger screen to. I'll see how the 8.4 does and decide only after I've ruled it out.

Going down the road a bit I could see how a really big tablet with 13 inch or similar screen with high resolution might be used in portrait mode with the bottom half of the screen dedicated to flight control and the top to video control. But then you're going to need a bracket to support everything and a harness to transfer the load to your shoulders.


Brian

 

[IrishSights]

Well my older eyes would probably prefer a larger screen to. I'll see how the 8.4 does and decide only after I've ruled it out.

Going down the road a bit I could see how a really big tablet with 13 inch or similar screen with high resolution might be used in portrait mode with the bottom half of the screen dedicated to flight control and the top to video control. But then you're going to need a bracket to support everything and a harness to transfer the load to your shoulders.


Brian

Re: Portrait mode?...and a redesigned GO app to fit?...not going to happen.