I will briefly interrupt my wailing and gnashing of teeth here to inform fellow Litchi users that I have finally seen confirmation from the horse’s mouth, as it were, that the upcoming SDK for the Mini 3 will NOT include any provision for the storage of all waypoint GPS coordinates on board the drone.
Official DJI spokesman Mr. William Wong delivered this utterly depressing news at the DJI SDK forum, and I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of his statement. I profoundly regret now having bought a new Mini 3 without first determining with absolute certainty that beyond RC signal missions would in fact be possible as they are for the older Mavics 1 and 2.
If you were thinking of buying a Mini 3 to fly fully autonomous Litchi flights, let me warn you to avoid making the mistake that I just did, in rushing to buy a Mini 3 after being seduced by that 45-minute flight time specification. Here is a link to DJI’s SDK forum where I finally learned about this truly sad reality.
The last drone to store EVERYTHING inside to fly fully autonomous Litchi flights
was the Mavic Pro 2.
That’s why I kept it and avoided the temptation to buy any newer drones, despite
their constantly improving features.
It is worth mentioning that the Mavic 3’s recent firmware update finally made possible autonomous flight plan execution abilities whereby the drone completes the waypoint sequence even beyond RC signal range or if the RC controller is turned off. For my budget though, that hefty $1,600 sticker price of a Mavic 3 is way more than I’d pay for any drone since I fly them purely for recreation and don’t make a dime of any footage I shoot.
In a couple more years the Mavic 3 will drop in price and when it sells for lower than say $500 I’ll snag one. It is worth mentioning too that the Mavic 3 waypoint feature ONLY works with the RC controller’s built-in Android device, which might be a buzz-kill factor in the eyes of IOS users.
Hope springs eternal in the meantime and as I await delivery of my recently purchased Mini 3, I would be delighted to see the Mini 3 also given beyond-RC-range waypoints just like those of the Mavic 3, at some point in the none-too-distant future.
Unfortunately this is not a surprise as it has never been indicted anywhere it was likely, and from DJI standpoint in other drones that weren’t their higher end Mavic range haven’t had this capability for a little while. I sold my original Mavic Air where this waypoint storing worked well… especially with the interference if the wifi system it used. However I hadn’t realised how much I’d miss it so to hear full confirmation that it’s extremely unlikely the mini 3 (pro) will ever get it… but I bought the mini 3 pro knowing this was the case so can only blame myself.
I’ve just sold my Phantom 4, Phantom 4 Pro and Phantom 4 Pro Plus because I couldn’t use them usefully under the restrictions of the Open A3 category, and here in Spain the rules relating to the Specific category are ridiculous - I have to make an application at least 10 working days in advance of a flight as well as submit a full flight plan. I also sold my Mini 3 because it can’t use Litchi. I still have my super little Mini 2 Pro, which can fly almost anywhere under Open A1, and is fully supported by Litchi. It has it’s limitations - twitchy in gusty wind and no decent inbuilt flight modes (other than Dronie etc.,). I am still undecided about buying a Mavic 3 - I want it with Litchi but that seems to be very unlikely, although the extra stability of a heavier UAS is very attractive, and the freedom to fly in Open A1 as a C1 marked vehicle is extremely attractive! So, do I buy the Mavic 3 and forget Litchi, or is there another App that can be used with the Mavic 3. I think DJI is being very unfair to it’s huge consumer market by not releasing an SDK that can be used by Litchi. But hey, life is unfair!
Man those are some truly repressive drone regulations being rolled out in Spain, and I suspect this is the case throughout much of Europe under CAA jurisdiction. I gripe about the crappy infrastructure, non-existent mains electricity, high crime, moonscape “highways”, and unreliable internet connectivity out here in the Third World boondocks, but when it comes to my passion for drone flying, I realize that I am blessed to reside in The Promised Land where drone regulations are what I personally decide they should be in my capacity as a Man of Culture with all rights and privileges implied.
I suspect that prices are set to drop precipitously for a wide spectrum of hobby-grade drone models over the next couple of years as pilots in the EU and USA ditch the models that have been grounded in a spider’s web of government regulations.
Looking at tightening drone regulations against the backdrop of current geopolitics, and noting the ingenious deployment of lowly hobby-grade drones in Ukraine’s horrendous trench warfare, the rationale for all those sweeping new restrictions is understandable though certainly not desirable for your average hobbyist drone flier living under FAA or CAA skies.
Bought my first drone, a mini 2, in January of 2022 and fell in love with a new hobby. Used to fly it almost everyday. Sold it in November of 2022 to upgrade to the the newer Pro version of the same, a Mini 3 Pro. I’ve flown the 3 Pro only 3 times in the 4 months I’ve had it. The backwards movement of ability has seriously disappointed me to the point that I think I’m already done with drones. Done with DJI at the least. Now I’m trying to sell this Mini 3 Pro asap before the masses realize how useless it is.
Bait and switch. I feel ripped off by DJI.
you like many others got sucked in by the hype, without having access to the SDK the M3 Pro was always going to be a backward step, loving my mini2, if i was you I’d see if I could pick up a mini2 while they are still around
as my own original mavic died 2 years ago