This is DJI’s Android-powered Smart Controller with built-in display for the Mavic 2

Flying DJI drones are a whole lot of fun but setting up the controller before you take off is always a pain in the you-know-where. If you’ve flown a DJI drone you’ll know what I mean. You’ll have to connect your mobile device to the controller, then you’ll have to connect the controller to the drone, then you’ll have to check that it all works and only then are you able to fly. Luckily for me then that DJI just launched the Smart Controller.

What is it?

The Smart Controller is a controller with a 5.5-inch built-in display. The controller works with the Mavic 2 range. Having a built-in display means I can do away with the fiddly controller-mobile device combo. It’s convenient because everything is built into one controller.

The display is much brighter too. DJI says the display on the Smart Controller is two times brighter than a standard smartphone display. That solves the other problem I have when using a mobile device to fly, under direct sunlight normal mobile displays become washed out and difficult to read. Hopefully this is not the case with the Smart Controller.

What are the specs?

The DJI Smart Controller has a 5.5-inch full HD touch-screen display. It’s essentially DJI’s CrystalSky display that is much, much brighter than the display on your normal mobile device. DJI claims that the Smart Controller display has twice the brightness of a normal mobile device.

The Smart Controller is compatible with the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Pro Zoom via DJI’s OcuSync 2.0 video transmission system which allows for better video reception in full HD when the drone is in the air especially when you’re maxing out its flying range.

The controller runs on Android and is compatible with the DJI GO 4 and DJI Pilot2 apps as well as other third-party apps such as editing software that you use together with your drone.

Another new feature is DJI GO-Share which lets your transfers images stored in the controller to your mobile device. DJI says the Smart Controller can run for 2.5 hours on a single charge and can operate in adverse temperatures from as low as -16° Celsius to as high as 40° Celsuis.

How much is it?

The Smart Controller will be available in Malaysia soon but it’s not going to be cheap. The controller alone retails for US$649 or about RM2,568 which is about one-third of the price of a basic Mavic 2 Pro.

DJI say that they will also release combo packages that includes the Smart Controller with the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom soon.

Click here for more on the DJI Smart Controller.