The new DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 comes with a totally different remote controller, it’s larger and heavier than those of the other Mavic drones. Some people said that they really like this new design and it’s more comfortable when holding it for a long time, while some say that it’s too big and just kills the whole Air-concept.
This article will review the DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 controller from head to head and I am sure you will have your own answer.
Let’s first take a look at some of the DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 controller’s key specs.
DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 Remote Controller Specs
Transmission system: OcuSync 2.0
Battery Life: 240 minutes
Max. Supported Mobile Device Size: 180×86×10 mm (Height×Width×Thickness)
Supported Mobile Device Connectors: Lightning, Micro USB, USB Type-C
DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 Remote Controller Overview
On the front side of the controller, you can see most of the main controls:
Power button: Press it once allows you to check the battery life, press it once and press it again quickly and hold it for 2 seconds, you can turn the remote controller on.
Home button: If you want your DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 to land on the new home point, just press and hold the button until you hear the beep sound. To cancel it, just press it once again. Press short will make the aircraft brake and hover in place (Only when GPS and vision system are available).
Flight Mode Toggle: This button enables you to switch the flight mode from Normal to Tripod to Sport Mode conveniently. Before taking off, make sure the toggle is in the middle.
- Tripod Mode: When flying in this mode, your drone goes extremely slow so that you can take cinematic photos and videos.
- Sport Mode: Flying in Sports Mode allows you to enjoy the fastest flying experience.
Fn Button: This function button allows you to customize according to your needs. Press it once you can turn on the LED light at the bottom of the drone, press it again to turn it off. Double press the button will recenter the gimbal or point it face down, really depends on what angle it’s at.
How to customize the function button?
Tap on the 3 dots on the upper right of the DJI Fly main screen, then you will see the following screen, choose Control, and scroll down to find Button Customization. You will be able to customize both single tap and Double-tap with three options: Recenter Gimbal, Auxiliary LED, ToggleMap/Live View.
Photo-Video Switch button: This button allows you to easily switch between photo and video shooting.
LED lights: If you press the power button once, it will show how much battery is left. They also signify when your drone is connected.
On the top, you will find a Gimbal Control Wheel on the left, it allows you to control the tilt angle of the gimbal so you can get a different view of the camera.
On the right, you will find the Shutter button which allows you to take photos or videos easily when controlling your drone. Press it to take a photo or start video recording.
The mobile device clamp lies in the middle. To take it out, you just need to find a little lip as you can see in the above picture, grab it and pull the clamp out.
After you pull it out, you can see a cable that enables you to connect the remote controller with your mobile device. You just need to unplug the lightning end and plug it in your phone.
Note:
- Don’t unplug the wrong end, the one connect the remote has a remote sign on it.
- It comes with a lighting cable. If you use an Android device, you will need to change it accordingly.
- The clamp only supports tablets that are within 180×86×10 mm (Height×Width×Thickness), that is to say, even an iPad 5 or 4 can’t fit. If you want to mount a tablet, you will need a tablet adapter and a longer cable. For iPad users, the Apple Lightning to USB-C Cable is tested to be compatible.
It’s much simpler to mount your phone or tablet than the other Mavic drones, your phone or tablet can go in quite easily. Mounting your phone on the top will give you a more convenient line of sight when looking from screen to drone.
With the old Mavic remote controller, you have to take your phone case off if it’s too thick, clearly, this new design has better compatibility with phones that wear thick cases.
Another thing that makes this design stand out is that you can use the touch screen easier. If you have ever flown a Mavic Air or Mavic Pro, you sure know that it’s hard to get the edges and especially if you had a home button or had to swipe up from the bottom. With this new layout, everything is quite accessible, you don’t need to pull your phone or tablet out to access some features. This is one of the things I really like about the new controller.
The removable sticks are stored at the bottom, and there is also a USB-C port for charging.
If you take a look at the backside, you will see two rubber coating on each side, personally I think it gives you a nice grip when holding it.
Antennas
Another thing that the DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 remote controller differs from others is the antennas. The antennas are built in the phone clamp so there is no need to fold or unfold them every time you fly your drone.
This makes flying your DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 even easier, especially for new pilots, because you don’t need to figure out how to angle them correctly so that you will get a more reliable signal.
How to charge the remote controller?
Charging your DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 remote controller has made even simpler with this new layout. You just need to plug the USB-C cable in the remote controller and plug the other end to your charger.
Conclusion
Though the new DJI Mini 2 / Mavic Air 2 remote controller comes with a bigger size and trade-in in portability, the new layout brings more convenience and user-friendly features. Personally, I think it’s a massive upgrade to the previous Mavic drone remote controllers.
The Improvements:
- More comfortable grip
- Longer battery life: Up to 240 minutes
- Improved Antenna design. No need to fold and unfold the antennas every time you fly
- No need to remove your phone case before mounting it on the controller
- Have no problem using the touch screen
- The way of attaching your phone or tablet is much better because it gives you a more convenient line of sight when looking from screen to drone.
Downsides:
- A little bit too big.
- It doesn’t support big size mobile devices, an iPad mini 5 can’t fit in the clamp. If you want to fly with a big screen device, you will need a tablet mount/Adapter.
You may also be interested in:
DJI Mavic Air 2: Things You Should Know Right Away and Troubleshooting
My DJI mavric 2 air Does not fly in normal or cinema mode only in the sport Can someone tell me how to reset it for Normal and cinema