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Notice From Autel About Controllers and Compatibility in the Future

Posted on Autel's YouTube channel here:

If they'd like to self promote, let them deal with comments.

@Autel Robotics: No, you can't Evo. You marketed and presold an Autel Smart Controller to support the current Evo II airframe and future products and DECIDED AND ANNOUNCED that you will 1) deliver a v1 Smart controller that will work with the EVO II Airframes that have been produced to date and not future product and 2) a V2 smart controller that will work with the Evo II v2 Airframe and future product. You solicited and accepted sales and plan to deliver a fraction of the the capability by giving us a true one trick pony for the low price of $1,200. What do we do when we want a second Evo II airframe or the next product that your release? Stare at the V1 smart controller and fly my DJI Air 2S with Occusync 3 with the Smart Controller that managed to support a standard that did not exist when it was released? Where's Autel's market differentiation and concern for your customers and resellers? (Don't clip props with scissors to blow this off - we're not amused!) I STRONGLY SUGGEST you visit the constructive thread on AutlePilots.com to see what your actions are yielding here: Notice From Autel About Controllers and Compatibility in the Future Be the smart company you are. A $1,200 Smart controller that will control the EVO II v1 you will stop manufacturing is no one's bargain and will differentiate you as a has been. FIX IT!
 
I'm sure they're playing whack-a-mole in customer service with our emails. They need a more thoughtful mallet as this one violates the presale and marketing promise of a Smart Controller that supports the Evo II we have and products to come. I left a voice mail to follow up this formulaic disappointment of an email requesting a call back.
Whack a is consumer, damn, I got my 2nd warranty drone back about 6 weeks ago. I finally have 2 drones working great and then this scene. I backed Autel 100% in this forum many times and now I wish I didn't. Not well thought out and now I have 2 discontinued models in less than a few months. Total BS, screwed by DJI and now these guys. Fighting for my $2398.00 (2 SC) back from a vendor on this site also. Of course vendor says we filed for credit and AMX say . . . . ugh no they didn't but we will get them for you. Filed dispute and they are pursuing vendor.I also told everyone here they treated me great and they really did but now holding my hands on my bass for 10 days. AMX stated tomorrow I should see it. Everything is a fight nowadays. May just go back to paying people to climb my roof and buildings. Worse they do is *****, they dont plug the hole for ya with a V1 or V2.
 
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Good thread, lots of good ideas. Here is what I like:

V2 bird with updated RC and compatibility with V2 smart controller and new V2 live deck. (no, I don't know if all this is coming out, just for example here)
V2 bird, being dual 2.4G and 5.8 should give further and stronger signal than currently only 2.4 output provides. This would include the standard RC, not only the V2 SC.
Autel phases out the V1 RC, and V1 Evo II to comply with USA federal regulations, so they can get federal contracts.

They have a trade in program for all of the above V1 items and offer a substantial discount for you to "trade up" your current drone to V2 hardware. To make this less costly, they could tell you to only send in the drone itself, remove everything removable. Props, CAMERA, batteries etc. Send in the V1 RC as well. They then send you a brand new V2 drone and or any other V1 hardware you have traded in with their program. You then mount the camera etc and get to enjoy your upgraded drone. This would tell people right now, DON'T WORRY ABOUT BUYING OUR DRONES RIGHT NOW, EVEN THOUGH WE WILL BE CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION TO A MORE ROBUST VERSION THAT YOU CAN'T USE. New customers will continue to buy, knowing that they will be able to trade in their drone once the V2 comes out. Yes it will cost some $$, but way less than if you had to sell everything and then turn around and pay full price for a V2 product. Without any upgrade program...who will spend this much money that we all have spent on something that will be discontinued very shortly. No one will buy right now unless it is sold with the full disclaimer that it will be replaced in a few short months, unless the current product line is severely discounted.
Maybe this is very wishful thinking, but the EVO II is not an inexpensive drone for most.

I fear that we may be left holding the bag on this, and they will stop making and supporting the current RC for the Evo II. Maybe, maybe not. Lets hope that they can come up with a win on this that makes most owners happy.
 
Whack a is consumer, damn, I got my 2nd warranty drone back about 6 weeks ago. I finally have 2 drones working great and then this scene. I backed Autel 100% in this forum many times and now I wish I didn't. Not well thought out and now I have 2 discontinued models in less than a few months. Total BS, screwed by DJI and now these guys. Fighting for my $2398.00 (2 SC) back from a vendor on this site also. Of course vendor says we filed for credit and AMX say . . . . ugh no they didn't but we will get them for you. Filed dispute and they are pursuing vendor.I also told everyone here they treated me great and they really did but now holding my hands on my bass for 10 days. AMX stated tomorrow I should see it. Everything is a fight nowadays. May just go back to paying people to climb my roof and buildings. Worse they do is *****, they dont plug the hole for ya with a V1 or V2.
I feel your frustration. I trust the resellers on the forum will take care of you and Amex never fails; they're super consumer biased (thankfully). Let's keep pressing on this ugly mess; we deserve better and Autel Robotics should do better for its own good.

It's ironic that many of us ventured into Autel to try something other that DJI and DJI made their years old Smart Controller Occusync 3 compatible with the Air 2S; totally unexpected. Next move is for Autel to do a lot better as the promise of the Autel Smart Controller was to be a platform for current and future product and needs to be again ASAP. Autel needs to make better, smarter decisions.
 
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Good thread, lots of good ideas. Here is what I like:

V2 bird with updated RC and compatibility with V2 smart controller and new V2 live deck. (no, I don't know if all this is coming out, just for example here)
V2 bird, being dual 2.4G and 5.8 should give further and stronger signal than currently only 2.4 output provides. This would include the standard RC, not only the V2 SC.
Autel phases out the V1 RC, and V1 Evo II to comply with USA federal regulations, so they can get federal contracts.

They have a trade in program for all of the above V1 items and offer a substantial discount for you to "trade up" your current drone to V2 hardware. To make this less costly, they could tell you to only send in the drone itself, remove everything removable. Props, CAMERA, batteries etc. Send in the V1 RC as well. They then send you a brand new V2 drone and or any other V1 hardware you have traded in with their program. You then mount the camera etc and get to enjoy your upgraded drone. This would tell people right now, DON'T WORRY ABOUT BUYING OUR DRONES RIGHT NOW, EVEN THOUGH WE WILL BE CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION TO A MORE ROBUST VERSION THAT YOU CAN'T USE. New customers will continue to buy, knowing that they will be able to trade in their drone once the V2 comes out. Yes it will cost some $$, but way less than if you had to sell everything and then turn around and pay full price for a V2 product. Without any upgrade program...who will spend this much money that we all have spent on something that will be discontinued very shortly. No one will buy right now unless it is sold with the full disclaimer that it will be replaced in a few short months, unless the current product line is severely discounted.
Maybe this is very wishful thinking, but the EVO II is not an inexpensive drone for most.

I fear that we may be left holding the bag on this, and they will stop making and supporting the current RC for the Evo II. Maybe, maybe not. Lets hope that they can come up with a win on this that makes most owners happy.
I'd be happy with this. If they don't do something satisfactory, Skydio can work to ramp up their assembly capability, slot something between the X2 and Skydio 2 with the X2's transmission capability and a variant of its controller (that abandons enhanced WiFi), with a better camera and the X2's flight time and add ADS-B. They're truly made in the USA and their follow and obstacle avoidance tech is incomparable.

Autel can make this one significant mistake and the true domestic US manufacturer could potentially eat their dinner if they can scale up with investment backing (unless they're bought up by a defense manufacturer).

I'd prefer to see Autel win, but I'll adapt.
 
All this rampant speculation glosses over a few points. First, the Smart Controller was little more than a PowerPoint slide deck when it leaked. It leaked within a day of the Air2s launch. No one in Bothell acknowledged it would be coming to the US until AFTER affiliates started taking preorders--for a product that hadn't even been submitted to the FCC for certification yet! The processor (Samsung Exynos 8895) is an odd choice, a now 5 year-old design that only ever appeared in one model phone, 4 years ago, the Note 8-- which is stuck at Android 8 (tself an OS now 4 generations old). News flash: nobody has received or reviewed or unboxed a SC v1 yet. Not one pre-order person credibly reports having a production model in hand. You all are getting wrapped around the axle about a prototype device (that was perhaps sitting on ice for several years for lack of capital to make it a reality) that got dusted off--ironically-- in an attempt to keep the Autel home fires burning after DJI played leapfrog before Autel was ready with the Remote ID version. Nobody wins until Autel has an RID version that doesn't have components on the NDAA Entity List from blacklisted companies. Warnas's statement and others allude to this. If Autel weathers this storm, they could have a bright future. If they don't, they easily could suffer the fate of Yuneec (great hardware, orphaned in USA). If you pre-ordered, you're not just disillusioned, you're quite a bit delusional if you think this is all going to be magically resolved in much less than fifteen months. I suggest you get your money back and patiently await developments.
 
I feel your frustration. I trust the resellers on the forum will take care of you and Amex never fails; they're super consumer biased (thankfully). Let's keep pressing on this ugly mess; we deserve better and Autel Robotics should do better for its own good.

It's ironic that many of us ventured into Autel to try something other that DJI and DJI made their years old Smart Controller Occusync 3 compatible with the Air 2S; totally unexpected. Next ove is for Autel to do a lot better as the promise of the Autel Smart Controller and a platform for now and future

All this rampant speculation glosses over a few points. First, the Smart Controller was little more than a PowerPoint slide deck when it leaked. It leaked within a day of the Air2s launch. No one in Bothell acknowledged it would be coming to the US until AFTER affiliates started taking preorders--for a product that hadn't even been submitted to the FCC for certification yet! The processor (Samsung Exynos 8895) is an odd choice, a now 5 year-old design that only ever appeared in one model phone, 4 years ago, the Note 8-- which is stuck at Android 8 (tself an OS now 4 generations old). News flash: nobody has received or reviewed or unboxed a SC v1 yet. Not one pre-order person credibly reports having a production model in hand. You all are getting wrapped around the axle about a prototype device (that was perhaps sitting on ice for several years for lack of capital to make it a reality) that got dusted off--ironically-- in an attempt to keep the Autel home fires burning after DJI played leapfrog before Autel was ready with the Remote ID version. Nobody wins until Autel has an RID version that doesn't have components on the NDAA Entity List from blacklisted companies. Warnas's statement and others allude to this. If Autel weathers this storm, they could have a bright future. If they don't, they easily could suffer the fate of Yuneec (great hardware, orphaned in USA). If you pre-ordered, you're not just disillusioned, you're quite a bit delusional if you think this is all going to be magically resolved in much less than fifteen months. I suggest you get your money back and patiently await developments.
And a month ago everyone on here (not I BTW) was calling you a numskull when you had the foresight of this. You called it out and were made to feel ashamed when all along you right! Did any of those and some are making post on this thread ever apologize?
 
All this rampant speculation glosses over a few points. First, the Smart Controller was little more than a PowerPoint slide deck when it leaked. It leaked within a day of the Air2s launch. No one in Bothell acknowledged it would be coming to the US until AFTER affiliates started taking preorders--for a product that hadn't even been submitted to the FCC for certification yet! The processor (Samsung Exynos 8895) is an odd choice, a now 5 year-old design that only ever appeared in one model phone, 4 years ago, the Note 8-- which is stuck at Android 8 (tself an OS now 4 generations old). News flash: nobody has received or reviewed or unboxed a SC v1 yet. Not one pre-order person credibly reports having a production model in hand. You all are getting wrapped around the axle about a prototype device (that was perhaps sitting on ice for several years for lack of capital to make it a reality) that got dusted off--ironically-- in an attempt to keep the Autel home fires burning after DJI played leapfrog before Autel was ready with the Remote ID version. Nobody wins until Autel has an RID version that doesn't have components on the NDAA Entity List from blacklisted companies. Warnas's statement and others allude to this. If Autel weathers this storm, they could have a bright future. If they don't, they easily could suffer the fate of Yuneec (great hardware, orphaned in USA). If you pre-ordered, you're not just disillusioned, you're quite a bit delusional if you think this is all going to be magically resolved in much less than fifteen months. I suggest you get your money back and patiently await developments.
This may very well be the case. But a lot of marketing and specs set expectations that motivated these presales.
 
And a month ago everyone on here (not I BTW) was calling you a numskull when you had the foresight of this. You called it out and were made to feel ashamed when all along you right! Did any of those and some are making post on this thread ever apologize?
Always persist and share; there's no need or ability to be right all the time as we are all human.The best we can do is share and help manage this mess to the extent we can 1) try to influence the outcome and 2) vote with our wallet. ;-)
 
Ooooohhhhh!

That's a really interesting point.

If people purchase v1 kit on a credit card, perhaps they will refund when the v2 comes out later in the year?
Amex does have buyer protection. I'm unsure that will cover the controller when it doesn't work as specified. Could be interesting.
 
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This may very well be the case. But a lot of marketing and specs set expectations that motivated these presales.
Yes, but not caused by Autel. The dealers (I believe in good faith) were posting specifications, taking pre-orders, etc. They are separate entities from Autel. Autel was late to the game in comparison to these leaks, pre-orders...even us on these forums discussing the SC.

As much as I'd prefer this new SC to work with all versions of the Evo2, I understand how things change when going into production. My biggest concern at time the specs were released was that it doesn't appear it will fit into the rugged case. Using their measurements...it doesn't. Call it OCD, but that's important to me. "Real" measurements cannot be confirmed until the SC is actually in the hands of the dealers.

Now, I'm also considering a TriplTek. I would much, much prefer a single piece solution...but I'm getting to the point that I simply want it done. A brighter screen would be a huge asset to me.
 
If I've got it correct, Bothell, WA is the US public-facing front of Autel Robotics, of Sichuan, CN. It functions not only for warranty but also final assembly of the infrared cameras (FLIR ones) and enterprise models sold to federal, state and local government departments. They're the liaison charged with keeping Autel viable in the US (likely established because of the missteps of competitor DJI that landed them on the US blacklist a couple of years ago). No data gets uploaded to China- located servers. That feature, plus No Geofencing, have everything to do with how the Evo II could bootstrap itself into being declared the #1 drone of 2020. The Evo II doesn't necessarily possess the best controller or most rock-stable firmware or software, the most precise dynamic tracking, or even necessarily the best 10-bit color science for its Sony-sourced backlit sensor. The Evo II was sufficiently good enough, however, to leapfrog DJI for a product cycle in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and ensuing chip shortage. The politics of the blacklist are not available for our public scrutiny, but I'd venture are very much a factor in Autel's (and Skydio's) making inroads on DJI's market dominance.
The way Sichuan appeared to force-feed the Smart Controller to the US market before it was well-vetted, looks to have caused internal conflict and --voila!-- Bothell gets a new CEO. Hopefully, Sichuan wasn't just dumping product last month ahead of US pullout due to NDAA and FAA Final Rule and politics. (What if No Geofencing was on the chopping block? We likely wouldn't hear the results of such discussions until long afterwards)
I'm rooting for Autel because I own and fly an Evo II Pro that I very much like. I'm also a fan of the underdog.
 
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Amex does have buyer protection. I'm unsure that will cover the controller when it doesn't work as specified. Could be interesting.
Woke up and the Reserve card had $2398.00 credit issue - lol now I can go deposit it on another drone?? I love AMX. Be well all.
 
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Good thread, lots of good ideas. Here is what I like:

V2 bird with updated RC and compatibility with V2 smart controller and new V2 live deck. (no, I don't know if all this is coming out, just for example here)
V2 bird, being dual 2.4G and 5.8 should give further and stronger signal than currently only 2.4 output provides. This would include the standard RC, not only the V2 SC.
Autel phases out the V1 RC, and V1 Evo II to comply with USA federal regulations, so they can get federal contracts.

They have a trade in program for all of the above V1 items and offer a substantial discount for you to "trade up" your current drone to V2 hardware. To make this less costly, they could tell you to only send in the drone itself, remove everything removable. Props, CAMERA, batteries etc. Send in the V1 RC as well. They then send you a brand new V2 drone and or any other V1 hardware you have traded in with their program. You then mount the camera etc and get to enjoy your upgraded drone. This would tell people right now, DON'T WORRY ABOUT BUYING OUR DRONES RIGHT NOW, EVEN THOUGH WE WILL BE CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION TO A MORE ROBUST VERSION THAT YOU CAN'T USE. New customers will continue to buy, knowing that they will be able to trade in their drone once the V2 comes out. Yes it will cost some $$, but way less than if you had to sell everything and then turn around and pay full price for a V2 product. Without any upgrade program...who will spend this much money that we all have spent on something that will be discontinued very shortly. No one will buy right now unless it is sold with the full disclaimer that it will be replaced in a few short months, unless the current product line is severely discounted.
Maybe this is very wishful thinking, but the EVO II is not an inexpensive drone for most.

I fear that we may be left holding the bag on this, and they will stop making and supporting the current RC for the Evo II. Maybe, maybe not. Lets hope that they can come up with a win on this that makes most owners happy.
This would be a good solution! Randall Warnas needs to read this post!

By the way, does being a 109 year old drone pilot present you with any difficulties? Related to YODA are you? ?
 
Why doesn't Autel go into the chip manufacturing business? Take a lesson from American automotive giants and develop subsidiaries which provide essential components. Their(Autel's) UAV and automotive electronic diagnostic tool businesses would both be guaranteed a steady supply of "chips" and no longer be dependent on outside suppliers.
 
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Why doesn't Autel go into the chip manufacturing business? Take a lesson from American automotive giants and develop subsidiaries which provide essential components. Their(Autel's) UAV and automotive electronic diagnostic tool businesses would both be guaranteed a steady supply of "chips" and no longer be dependent on outside suppliers.
LOL
 
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I don’t want to cancel my preorder. If everything goes well, and I’ll be able to get the SC v.1 for my Evo 2 Pro, I want to enjoy it. Let’s see what’s going on with it, but I don’t think I’ll change my mind.. will see [emoji848]
 
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