DJI’s Go 4 app is a well-thought-out interface for flying a drone. I know that I really liked flying my first ever drone – the DJI Mavic air – with this app, and it was the perfect mash of usability and functionality.
The drone community hasn’t been overly warm towards the release of the new DJI Fly app. It lacks many features and you can look at the difference between the two DJI apps in my other article – click here. The new Fly app is not compatible with a range of different drones which means people are missing out on important features such as waypoints.
The DJI Go 4 app is not compatible with the Mavic Air 2. The official response from DJI is that you will need to download the Fly app to pilot this drone. You can also use third-party apps to get access to waypoints and other powerful flight features.
Many people are unhappy with this response as the new Fly app is missing a load of features and usability aspects.
The complaints include:
- small font size on the screen
- aircraft orientation doesn’t display properly
- no way to download maps
- now waypoints support
- and more…
Therefore, many people eagerly await firmware updates introducing new features missing from the Fly app.
Official DJI response
The Mavic Air 2 is not compatible with the DJI GO 4 app:
the DJI Fly application interface was designed to be simplified and ultra-intuitive and it is compatible for the DJI Mavic Mini and for the DJI Mavic Air 2 while the DJI Go 4 application is compatible with the DJI Mavic Pro, DJI Mavic 2 Series, DJI Spark, and DJI Phantom 4 series.
DJI representative
Drones compatible with the GO4 app
As we discussed above, the biggest difference between the two apps is that one is made for the newer model drones, as you can see from the list below.
| DJI Fly app | DJI GO 4 |
| Mavic Mini, Mavic Air 2, DJI Mini 2, DJI FPV, DJI Air 2S, DJI Mini SE, DJI Mavic 3, DJI Mini 3 Pro Likely newer drones too | Mavic Air Mavic Pro Platinum Mavic 2 Zoom Mavic 2 Pro Spark Phantom 4 Pro 2.0 Phantom 4 Advanced Phantom 4 Pro |
If you are purchasing a secondhand drone a little bit older such as the DJI Mavic Air, Spark, or Phantom 4, you will likely be using the DJI GO 4 app.
In fact, the DJI Go 4 app was one of my favourite drone apps for flying my Mavic air.
Why isn’t DJI supporting the GO4 in new drones?
The Fly app’s underlying architecture is different from the Go 4 app.
The Fly app runs on a 64-bit architecture, which means it can address a larger amount of memory than the Go 4.
Short-term pain for drone users means you will lose functionality of the well-developed Go 4 app.
However, the upside is that the developers of the Fly app will be able to bring in a lot more power and functionality down the road.
Unfortunately, this may take some time, and we may not see the same features being introduced to the new Fly app as quickly as we would like or in the order we would like.
Luckily, some excellent third-party applications are compatible with the DJI Mavic Air 2, providing you with powerful flight options. We will talk about these below.
App options for the Air 2
If you do not like the updated fly app you can opt for other third-party piloting apps that are compatible with DJI drones. The most popular of the bunch are Litchi and Mavern.
Mavern
Mavern has been designed with functionality and DJI drones in mind. It has powerful waypoint mission functionalities and comes with features such as:
- waypoint mission control
- GPS follow and tracking modes
- virtual reality with head tracking
- Geo fencing
- headless mode – perfect for beginners
- and much more
the app is completely compatible with the DJI Mavic Air 2 and requires an Apple device running iOS 12 or higher.
If you do not have an Apple device you can use litchi which is compatible with both android and Apple smart phones.
Litchi
Many people want to fly their drone using a different app than the one supplied by DJI.
The most popular of the bunch is Litchi.
There are over 4000 successful daily flights using this software, and it is available on the Google play store and the iTunes App Store.
The App is compatible with the DJI Spark, Mavic, Phantom, and Inspire series.
The user interface is very intuitive and offers a powerful waypoint mission planner. It is also available on all platforms and operating systems so that you can seamlessly sink your missions across many devices.
Here are all the features I particularly like about this software that make it perfect for beginners and advanced users.
- Focus mode – the software takes control of the gimbal and the drone’s yaw axis to concentrate on the horizontal movements, creating amazing shots easily for a beginner.
- Track mode – track mode allows your DJI drone to understand what it sees and keeps your selection perfectly framed while flying the drone. Orbit and follow are also incredible tracking options too.
- Intuitive mission hub – the mission hub allows you to plan waypoints from a desktop or laptop. It is intuitive and will enable you to discover other people’s missions.
- Visual mission planning with Google Earth – you can’t use Google Earth Pro two plan a mission in three dimensions.
- Litchi for flight controllers – you can also use this software on a smart controller, crystal sky, and Phantom 4 screens.
Overall, this software is a fantastic option for a relatively small price for planning your flights and getting your drone to execute various tasks during its flight.
The current price of the Litchi app is $22.99 (iOS) $24.99 (Android).
Wrapping up
This article has covered everything you need to know about the DJI Go 4 app and the Air 2.
Unfortunately, the DJI Mavic Air 2 is not compatible with the DJI Go 4 app. You will have to use the DJI fly app to pilot your drone.
Some people do not like that you are missing out on several different advanced features and have therefore chosen to pilot their drone with a third-party app such as Mavern and Litchi.
These relatively inexpensive applications can open up a whole new world of features to your DJI drones.
Happy flying!
