Getting ready to sell the once again half-hearted effort on Autels part Lite+.
I think Lite+ is a very capable aircraft. I'm many ways, it's a better design than Evo 2 series models. It actually gets 90% or better advertised flight time. Camera hardware also capable. Underutilized and poorly controlled with Firmware, but capable of capturing great images. All of which doesn't mean squat when the controller paired with this drone is a joke, and the firmware is buggier than (insert something witty here)
since the March update, flying my Lite+ has become an exercise in frustration, disappointment and anger. Autel Fly restarts randomly, but often - at least once EVERY FLIGHT. Restarts, and grabs a new homepoint that is wherever the drone is at that moment. So all the safety provided by a GPS homepoint is wiped in a split second and any problem from that moment is a potential loss of the drone.
I have tried 5 different phones, all 2022 Flagship models of iPhone Pro/Pro Max, and Samsung S22/S23 Ultra models. All experience the same issue
The controller is a 100% piece of crap. I bought 4 batteries at some expense, but the controller only lasts a little past 3 batteries. Why is a FAN running in a controller? Autel can't design a heat sync capable of managing that? No cable management, no stick storage, you can't even CHECK the tiny battery capacity without starting it up. And no Smart Controller. Not even the promised SE -that I knew would never work. It doesn't match the 3 bands on Lite+
I sold my Evo 2 Pro over Autels repeated MO of buggy, half hearted Firmware releases at 6-8 MONTH intervals, then giving up making a model meet promises and just starting from scratch.with a new aircraft and chipset. Rinse and repeat.
They are small, compared to DJI, and I like supporting the underdog. But not like this. I need to part with another "almost ran" before Autel abandons it, just as they always do. So.much potential, unrealized. My advice to Autel -as if it had any chance of being heard is the following:
Stop spreading your limited resources so thin. Don't try to compete in every segment. Limit the number of product releases, but do them right. If you want enterprise business, pause Consumer product development until you have the commercial business doing well. Or just do the inverse and focus on consumer models. 1 or 2. Not 8 or 10.
Finally: for transmission issues - pick a few bands. Then stick with them. Make them work, and make ALL your drones and controllers use THE SAME BANDS. This one change will end the way you Silo every Drone/Controller - and let uou actually have a functional interoperability matrix.
Either stop over-promising, or test more so what you actually deliver is successful. The problem with abandoning products and the customers who buy them is saturation. When you exist only by sales to new customers- ones that haven't given up on Autel after going through the gauntlet of promises that never materialize, poor, buggy updates after long waits and the rest of the disappointing ownership experience, eventually the entire pool of new marks gets to know your reputation.
If only Autel was listening... how great would that be? I can only shake my head, and wonder what might have been. Perhaps some of you understand how great it was to discover a whole different drone Ecosytem, applications, imaging and flight capabilities. DJI is so solid (99% of the time anyway) - has no real competition and strange as it sounds can get boring in the way all models have very similar flight modes and software interfaces. Yes they have a good range of capabilities, but the software is so familiar that it can lose the excitement of discovery.
We have all seen new Autel Customers raving over their newly found world! Check in 6 months later and the shine has definitely gone dim. Give it a year and you are left with hard-core defenders or ex-customers, with little in between the two.
If thus was 2015, the Autel Lite Series would be a moonshot. In 2023, not so much... flying with a phone for a display and running an app is for Amazon toys and heavily budgeted buyers. Those who simply want the best consumer gear should look elsewhere, in my opinion, and at the end of the day, thar is all that this is. One man's experience, thoughts and conclusions after 2 plus years of buying and flying Autel. If I saw ANY evidence that this is improving or likely to start improving, I would just bide my time. I do not. I believe I need to move on, and that is the biggest disappointment of all.
I think Lite+ is a very capable aircraft. I'm many ways, it's a better design than Evo 2 series models. It actually gets 90% or better advertised flight time. Camera hardware also capable. Underutilized and poorly controlled with Firmware, but capable of capturing great images. All of which doesn't mean squat when the controller paired with this drone is a joke, and the firmware is buggier than (insert something witty here)
since the March update, flying my Lite+ has become an exercise in frustration, disappointment and anger. Autel Fly restarts randomly, but often - at least once EVERY FLIGHT. Restarts, and grabs a new homepoint that is wherever the drone is at that moment. So all the safety provided by a GPS homepoint is wiped in a split second and any problem from that moment is a potential loss of the drone.
I have tried 5 different phones, all 2022 Flagship models of iPhone Pro/Pro Max, and Samsung S22/S23 Ultra models. All experience the same issue
The controller is a 100% piece of crap. I bought 4 batteries at some expense, but the controller only lasts a little past 3 batteries. Why is a FAN running in a controller? Autel can't design a heat sync capable of managing that? No cable management, no stick storage, you can't even CHECK the tiny battery capacity without starting it up. And no Smart Controller. Not even the promised SE -that I knew would never work. It doesn't match the 3 bands on Lite+
I sold my Evo 2 Pro over Autels repeated MO of buggy, half hearted Firmware releases at 6-8 MONTH intervals, then giving up making a model meet promises and just starting from scratch.with a new aircraft and chipset. Rinse and repeat.
They are small, compared to DJI, and I like supporting the underdog. But not like this. I need to part with another "almost ran" before Autel abandons it, just as they always do. So.much potential, unrealized. My advice to Autel -as if it had any chance of being heard is the following:
Stop spreading your limited resources so thin. Don't try to compete in every segment. Limit the number of product releases, but do them right. If you want enterprise business, pause Consumer product development until you have the commercial business doing well. Or just do the inverse and focus on consumer models. 1 or 2. Not 8 or 10.
Finally: for transmission issues - pick a few bands. Then stick with them. Make them work, and make ALL your drones and controllers use THE SAME BANDS. This one change will end the way you Silo every Drone/Controller - and let uou actually have a functional interoperability matrix.
Either stop over-promising, or test more so what you actually deliver is successful. The problem with abandoning products and the customers who buy them is saturation. When you exist only by sales to new customers- ones that haven't given up on Autel after going through the gauntlet of promises that never materialize, poor, buggy updates after long waits and the rest of the disappointing ownership experience, eventually the entire pool of new marks gets to know your reputation.
If only Autel was listening... how great would that be? I can only shake my head, and wonder what might have been. Perhaps some of you understand how great it was to discover a whole different drone Ecosytem, applications, imaging and flight capabilities. DJI is so solid (99% of the time anyway) - has no real competition and strange as it sounds can get boring in the way all models have very similar flight modes and software interfaces. Yes they have a good range of capabilities, but the software is so familiar that it can lose the excitement of discovery.
We have all seen new Autel Customers raving over their newly found world! Check in 6 months later and the shine has definitely gone dim. Give it a year and you are left with hard-core defenders or ex-customers, with little in between the two.
If thus was 2015, the Autel Lite Series would be a moonshot. In 2023, not so much... flying with a phone for a display and running an app is for Amazon toys and heavily budgeted buyers. Those who simply want the best consumer gear should look elsewhere, in my opinion, and at the end of the day, thar is all that this is. One man's experience, thoughts and conclusions after 2 plus years of buying and flying Autel. If I saw ANY evidence that this is improving or likely to start improving, I would just bide my time. I do not. I believe I need to move on, and that is the biggest disappointment of all.