The DJI Mavic Pro is one of the best drones currently available on the market and a common question from new Mavic Pro owners is what are the benefits of a tablet vs a phone for the Mavic Pro as well as what is the best tablet to use with the Mavic Pro remote controller. If you decide that a tablet is the best choice there are some great tablet options available which you can use to control the Mavic Pro. We’ve tried a number of tablets with our Mavic and this is our list of the best tablets for the DJI Mavic Pro drone. We’ve outlined the pros and cons of each to help you choose the best table for your Mavic Pro.
Tablet vs Phone for Mavic Pro
Using a tablet with the Mavic Pro remote controller brings benefits around visibility, battery life and screen size while phones are often more portable and readily available. We use a combination of phone and table when flying our Mavic Pro: we find the phone the best choice when we want to set up fast and capture some quick footage but we prefer the table when we’re out flying our Mavic Pro for longer periods or capturing destination footage.
- bigger screen size
- better visibility of the flying area
- dedicated tablet controller removes pressures on phone storage and battery
- the quality resembles the final footage more closely
- Standalone tablet purchase is an additional cost
- The mount provided with the default controller only fits phones up to 6.3-inches in height meaning some table require an additional adapter to be purchased
- wi-fi tablets have limitations so cellular chip may be neccessary
DJI GO and the Best DJI Mavic Pro Tablet Software
One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a tablet for your Mavic Pro drone is compatibility with the DJI GO app that you will use every time you fly the Mavic Pro. The DJI Go app updates regularly so it’s important to get a tablet that is compatible and works seamlessly with the app.
Both Apple and Android devices work great but you need to ensure that the device is capable of running iOS 8.0 or later or Android 4.1.2 or later at a minimum.
Mavic Pro Tablet Tip: In general the DJI Go app works better on Apple devices. The DJI app updates regularly and Apple devices have a better reliability with the app. This is super important as app crashes are really frustrating during your drone flights
How to Mount Tablet to the Mavic Pro
The stock Mavic Pro controller can just about hold an iPad mini so you’ll need a tablet mount for your drone in order to use a tablet with it. There are lots of options on the market, there a link at the bottom of the article to our recommendations. Make sure to get a good quality mount as you’ll be relying on the mount to hold your expensive tablet on your Mavic Pro controller – check prices now!
Mavic Pro Tablet Tip: Don’t forget to pick up some spare USB cables for attaching your tablet to the Mavic Pro with a mount – the included cables will not be long enough.
iOS lightning cable – check prices now!
Micro USB – check prices now!
USB Type C – check prices now!
Wi-Fi or Cellular Tablet?
When choosing a tablet you will need to choose between a Wi-Fi and a cellular tablet. We prefer a cellular table due to the below limitations which we’ve encountered with wi-fi tablets:
- No GPS: Most Wi-Fi only devices lack GPS which is a major inconvenience when flying your drone. GPS is needed by your Mavic Pro: some Mavic Pro fly modes (eg Follow-me mode) won’t work with the DJI GO app without GPS
- Maps: you will need to cache your map area before you leave a Wi-Fi source as your maps won’t work without access to cell data on a Wi-Fi only device. This is a deal breaker for us as, when we’re travelling, we don’t often know what maps to save before our flights.
- Tethering: With cellular tablets you can connect to the internet anywhere, however with Wi-Fi devices you will have to tether to your phone while you fly.
Best Mavic Pro Tablets
1 | Apple iPad Mini 4
The Apple iPad Mini 4 is quite simply the best option for a tablet for your Mavic Pro drone and is the tablet we reach for with our Mavic Pro. It’s the perfect balance of size, cost and features and the reliability of the iPad Mini with the DJI GO app is unrivalled. In our opinion you won’t find a better tablet for your Mavic Pro than the Apple iPad Mini 4- check prices on Amazon!
- Widely regarded as the best tablet for the Mavic Pro
- Reliable compatibility with the DJI Go app
- Super thin and compact to pack with the Mavic Pro
- Bright screen for viewing in direct sunlight
- Excellent battery life
- Does not require a mount
- Relatively expensive option
The Wi-Fi + cellular version is our most recommended as you’ll have GPS capability for flying your Mavic Pro. The 16GB version will work fine and is ample storage for most drone users.
If you need more storage or want to keep a larger cache of drone footage on your tablet then we recommend the larger 64GB and 128GB versions of the iPad Mini 4 – check prices now on Amazon!
If you don’t need GPS capabilities then you can try the more affordable Wi Fi only iPad mini 4.
2 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
A great android option for a tablet for your Mavic Pro is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3. While the S2 had a number of issues with the DJI GO App the S3 improves on the previous model and we didn’t experience any issues with the DJI Go App. The expandable memory (up to 256gb) via a microSD card is a big advantage over the iPad Mini The S pen stylus is one of the best on the market and the inclusion of GPS make this a great alternative to the iPad Mini – check prices now!
- Cheaper than the iPad Mini (when compared to the Wifi + cellular 16GB version)
- Nice bright screen which is good for using in sunlight
- Can use the expandable micro SD card (up to 256gb) for cheap extra storage on your tablet
- Faster processing power compared with the other tablets on this list
- S Pen stylus is very useful and actually works really well
- 9.7 inch tablet so larger for carrying around and heavier than the iPad Mini
- Runs on android which is not as reliable as iOs – although this has improved with recent versions of the DJI Go app
- Battery life is shorter than the iPad Mini
3 | Google Nexus 9
A recent update to the hugely popular Nexus 7, the Nexus 9 has a bright 8.9” inch screen and superfast NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor. This tablet works great with the DJI Go app and the included GPS functionality works well with the Mavic – check prices now!
- Bright 8.9” inch IPS screen
- Fast processor: NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.3 GHz x64 Processor
- 16 GB Flash Memory and 2 GB RAM Memory the Nexus 9 has lots of ram
- High-quality construction
- Wi-fi only with no cellular option
- No expandable storage
4 | NVidia Shield K1
The NVidei Shield K1 is another great tablet option for your Mavic Pro and a tablet that has been used widely by drone users on other DJI drones such as the Phantom series. With cellular and wifi included as standard and a super bright screen the K1 is a great all round tablet. One of the biggest selling points is that it has a HDMI out port which allows you to connect FPV goggles to your controller allowing FPV flying with your Mavic Pro – check prices now!
- Super bright 4k UHD display screen which is great for using during direct sunlight
- HDMI port which allows you to connect your FPV goggles
- Can use the expandable micro SD card for inexpensive extra storage on your tablet
- Faster processing power compared with the other tablets on this list
- Cheaper than the iPad Mini!
- Runs on android which is not as reliable as iOs – although this has improved with recent versions of the DJI Go app
- Heavier than the iPad Mini
- Battery life is shorter than the iPad Mini
5 | DJI Crystal Sky
The recently released Crystal Sky display is another great option for the Mavic Pro. The monitor was primarily designed for the other DJI drones such as the Phantom and Inspire series drones, however it works great with the Mavic Pro drone too. The big selling point of the monitor is the super bright display which is 4 times brighter than a standard smartphone display. This means you’ll never have any issues viewing the display in super bright, sunny weather – check prices on Amazon!
There are three models of the DJI Crystal Sky:
- 5.5″ High Brightness
- 7.85″ High Brightness
- 7.87″ Ultra Brightness
Bear in mind that you’ll need to buy an adapter for these monitors to connect to your DJI Mavic Pro. PolarPro make one of the best version out there – check prices now!
- Super bright monitor
- the Crystal sky monitors are designed as dedicated monitors for drones so you can use this with future DJI drones too
- Relatively expensive
- It’s just a display monitor so you can’t use it for anything else except with your drone for flying
So there you have it, our list of the best tablets for your DJI Mavic Pro. Do you use any tablet we don’t have on the list – let us know in the comments!
Just curious if I’m using an IPad Mini 4 whith cellular do I have to get an account with any phone company. If I don’t have an account just a sim card in the tablet do I get the same result ?
Thanks,
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
generally the cellular version will not be locked to a network, so you can pop in any sim card for your own network and you’re good to go. Cellular is a nice option to have but it’s not required for flying the Mavic Pro, it’s just a nice addition. The Wifi version works great so long as you cache your maps before you head out to fly
Can you use iPad mini 6 with all functions work on DJI fly app.
Hi William
It works with both models (wifi/cellular) from version 1.4.8 of the DJI fly app.