Has the EVO II been discontinued?

[Steverino]

I've noticed Auteldrones.com no longer has the EVO 2 for sale. They only show the EVO 2 Pro bundle with a coming soon label.

Can you still buy an EVO 2 or EVO 2 Pro?

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Yes, you can.
In fact, there are new stocks in EU of Evo 2 Pro...Is not discontinued.

 

[Brock Inspector]

The Standard Kit without extra batteries does seem to be backordered. Rugged Bundles are more easily found. I'd expect most everyone buys an extra battery or two and an extra set of props anyhow. But Geez, Louise, there's got to be a lot of profit margin in those polypropylene cases with precut foam. (Standard Kit v1 E2P I purchased shipped inside precut foam that fit a $29 Apache 3800 case beautifully. That was ~$200 profit down the tubes).

New price on the Rugged Bundle v2 AE2 Pro is now up to $2500 this past week?

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

The Standard Kit without extra batteries does seem to be backordered. Rugged Bundles are more easily found. I'd expect most everyone buys an extra battery or two and an extra set of props anyhow. But Geez, Louise, there's got to be a lot of profit margin in those polypropylene cases with precut foam. (Standard Kit v1 E2P I purchased shipped inside precut foam that fit a $29 Apache 3800 case beautifully. That was ~$200 profit down the tubes).

New price on the Rugged Bundle v2 AE2 Pro is now up to $2500 this past week?

I have just purchased 3 Bundles at 1500 Euro/piece, Poland en-gross distributor. Not refurbished!
Have ordered another 2 in case that they will find another....
V1 models, best made ever, as V2 sucks.

 

[surenmunoo]

I have just purchased 3 Bundles at 1500 Euro/piece, Poland en-gross distributor. Not refurbished!
Have ordered another 2 in case that they will find another....
V1 models, best made ever, as V2 sucks.

Why would you say the V2 sucks? I had the Lite+ and sent it back and now considering the eco 2 but because there is no stock of the 8K V2 I am thinking about the V1, is there any differences between them- the 8K version.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Why would you say the V2 sucks? I had the Lite+ and sent it back and now considering the eco 2 but because there is no stock of the 8K V2 I am thinking about the V1, is there any differences between them- the 8K version.

V2 does not have same chipset as V1, was searched a compatible one...Because of this, there is no compatibility with a lot of gadgets from Autel, also dual remote does not work.
I would advice you to get 6K, not 8K... 6k 1inch sensor is far better than 8k half.

 

[Brock Inspector]

The v.1 Evo II has a Software Define Radio chipset made by ZTE, a Chinese telecom manufacturer that landed on the USA Entities List (companies too close to state and military control by China). It looked like for Autel to stay off the Entities List themselves, they had to find another chip supplier. So it wasn't only due to a shortage of chips that caused them to bring out the v.2. Though that was the initial reason given, it's overly simplistic. The unfortunate and ironic part of the story is that the v.1 Autel Evo II made a big dent in DJI's market share in the USA among first responders and government departments largely because of the availability of the $449 Live Deck. As a second device bound to the Evo or Evo II v.1, Live Deck allows remote viewing of the video camera feed to a TV or monitor, iPad or Android tablet, or recorded to a PC-- great solution for command posts, but sadly it's not compatible with the v.2 chipset. The v.2 chipset will not permit binding to two devices at once, so there isn't a Live Deck v.2 and never will be one. Another point about the v.1 being arguably superior to the v.2 Evo II, is that the v.1 is capable of dual frequency radio control using 900 MHz and 2.8 GHz (possble with the Smart Controller v.1, in a country where 900 MHz is legal), versus the v.2 dual frequencies using 2.8 GHz and 5.8 GHz. The v.2 using 5.8 GHz might add diversity in a crowded environment, but the 5.8 GHz signal just doesn't propagate as well at a distance or around obstacles as 900 MHz

 

[surenmunoo]

The v.1 Evo II has a Software Define Radio chipset made by ZTE, a Chinese telecom manufacturer that landed on the USA Entities List (companies too close to state and military control by China). It looked like for Autel to stay off the Entities List themselves, they had to find another chip supplier. So it wasn't only due to a shortage of chips that caused them to bring out the v.2. Though that was the initial reason given, it's overly simplistic. The unfortunate and ironic part of the story is that the v.1 Autel Evo II made a big dent in DJI's market share in the USA among first responders and government departments largely because of the availability of the $449 Live Deck. As a second device bound to the Evo or Evo II v.1, Live Deck allows remote viewing of the video camera feed to a TV or monitor, iPad or Android tablet, or recorded to a PC-- great solution for command posts, but sadly it's not compatible with the v.2 chipset. The v.2 chipset will not permit binding to two devices at once, so there isn't a Live Deck v.2 and never will be one. Another point about the v.1 being arguably superior to the v.2 Evo II, is that the v.1 is capable of dual frequency radio control using 900 MHz and 2.8 GHz (possble with the Smart Controller v.1, in a country where 900 MHz is legal), versus the v.2 dual frequencies using 2.8 GHz and 5.8 GHz. The v.2 using 5.8 GHz might add diversity in a crowded environment, but the 5.8 GHz signal just doesn't propagate as well at a distance or around obstacles as 900 MHz

With the evo 3 around the corner maybe a good idea to just wait

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

With the evo 3 around the corner maybe a good idea to just wait

i wouldn't believe the evo 3 is exactly around the corner since i've heard autel say it will not launch this year, 2022. definitely get the 6k over the 8k and as long as you are not interested in the live deck accessory, either v1 or v2 is fine.

 

[surenmunoo]

 

[RainShadow]

i wouldn't believe the evo 3 is exactly around the corner since i've heard autel say it will not launch this year, 2022. definitely get the 6k over the 8k and as long as you are not interested in the live deck accessory, either v1 or v2 is fine.

Where did they say this?

I’m looking to purchase an evo pro 2 but with rumors of the evo 3 since last September, I’m VERY hesitant. Problem is, I don’t want to wait months if Autel isn’t planning on releasing it anytime soon. And now, they are sold out on most sites including theirs!

its VERY frustrating that no one has heard anything. I’m not so much worried about the capabilities of the 2 being obsolete. i would be happy with those specs. What I would be concerned about is continuing support and availability of batteries and other accessories as time goes on.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Where did they say this?

I’m looking to purchase an evo pro 2 but with rumors of the evo 3 since last September, I’m VERY hesitant. Problem is, I don’t want to wait months if Autel isn’t planning on releasing it anytime soon. And now, they are sold out on most sites including theirs!

its VERY frustrating that no one has heard anything. I’m not so much worried about the capabilities of the 2 being obsolete. i would be happy with those specs. What I would be concerned about is continuing support and availability of batteries and other accessories as time goes on.

Evo2 Pro is mature product, works fine, only a couple of bugs identified THAT Autel keeps ignoring from 8 months ago.
Evo3 if appears this year, will take another 1 year to fix the bugs, as Autel have not invested in programmers as much as DJI, also I doubt they have even high-then-middle skill programmers, as many mistakes are made in encoding.
So... I have brought another couple of Evo2Pro...

 

[gschulzuio]

With the evo 3 around the corner maybe a good idea to just wait

Yup, I heard that it was announced yesterday, actual release, GA, fully functional bug free expected about 4/1/23

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

Where did they say this?

I’m looking to purchase an evo pro 2 but with rumors of the evo 3 since last September, I’m VERY hesitant. Problem is, I don’t want to wait months if Autel isn’t planning on releasing it anytime soon. And now, they are sold out on most sites including theirs!

its VERY frustrating that no one has heard anything. I’m not so much worried about the capabilities of the 2 being obsolete. i would be happy with those specs. What I would be concerned about is continuing support and availability of batteries and other accessories as time goes on.

you said "What I would be concerned about is continuing support and availability of batteries and other accessories as time goes on."

i guess i really don't understand what this means. as you know, these items won't be available forever but presently, i see no indication that it will be impossible to get a battery for the evo2 should you need one. this seems to be a common theme for autel product perhaps carried over from a previous autel drone but if you are really concerned, just buy enough batteries today so you are covered in the event there is a fire at the battery factory or autel battery manufacturer goes out of business.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

you said "What I would be concerned about is continuing support and availability of batteries and other accessories as time goes on."

i guess i really don't understand what this means. as you know, these items won't be available forever but presently, i see no indication that it will be impossible to get a battery for the evo2 should you need one. this seems to be a common theme for autel product perhaps carried over from a previous autel drone but if you are really concerned, just buy enough batteries today so you are covered in the event there is a fire at the battery factory or autel battery manufacturer goes out of business.

...Not to mention that a drone is a tool, in 3 months is paid back, rest is profit...
So, if people buy Evo2Pro just for fun (I doubt it), will need to accept also that each product have a life-time, usually not passing 5 years in exploitation.

...As for E2P in particular, the battery is same as E2E, so will be available longer...also as for now I would catalogate it as BEST DRONE FOR COMMERCIALS that is on market, being higher than Mavic 3, Lite, Nano, Air2S, Phantom 4 and so on...And I have worked with about all mentioned and I know what I am talking about in Commercial Video .