The Box and Packaging
The box and packaging was surprisingly small and compact. I guess DJI wanted to emphasize the fact that this drone is truly compact and light-weight. Inside the box you’ll find everything you’ll need to get going.
The remote control is NOT bundled with the standard package. For this you’ll need the “Fly More Combo” which cost USD $999 and includes 2 spare batteries, remote control, charging hub, spare propellers, various cables and a carry case.
The Mavic Air Itself
The drone only weighs around 430g … that’s lighter than my Canon EOS M6 mirrorless camera! With a dimension of 64(H) ×184(W) x 168(L), it’s one of the smallest and most feature-packed drone I have ever come across. The propeller arms fold out just like its bigger brother – Mavic Pro. It also includes a plastic cover that protects the 3-axis gimbal.
You’ll find sensors on the front, back and underside of the drone, which helps to provide excellent collision detection. The rear of the drone has 1 x SD card slot supporting a maximum capacity of 64GB, and 1 x USB-C port for charging and updating the drone’s firmware.
The Controller
The Mavic Air uses the same remote control as the Spark, and relies heavily on the App and your smartphone. You can operate the drone without the remote control using wifi, but you’re limited to a range of about 50m height and only 80m distance.
There’s also two removable thumb/joysticks that can stored away, which I thought was pretty ingenious. And if you don’t own an iPhone, DJI includes several cables (USB) that are compatible with a variety of smartphones.
On the remote control, you’ll find buttons for Return Home (which I really like), Pause (the drone/hover), take Photos, start Filming, etc. And while using the App, you can select various other functions such as active track, smartcapture and tapfly.
All-in-all, the Mavic Air is an excellent drone for beginners, novices as well as semi-pro users like me.
Let’s move on our verdict and final thoughts …
