Im about to order a few clone batteries from banggood, half the price of DJI's. The app detection issue is supposedly solved, but may return on a future update. I'll report back when I get them.
As for why take the chance; the prices DJI charges are simply ridiculous, an original battery costs over €150 here. A similar sized and specced 5200 4S battery (lipo only) costs about 1/4th that on hobbyking, and Ive used them plenty, also on craft that cost a lot more than a phantom, and they work just fine. Granted, DJI puts some additional electronics in there (that Id rather not have to pay for and or carry its extra weight), but that doesnt justify the price.
The clones could cut corners, they arent very accountable, thats true, but even at half DJI's price they have ample profit margin that they dont need to. I wouldnt even be surprised at all if they are the exact same batteries that DJI sells, from the exact same factory, just put in different cardboard boxes and not flashed with DJI's ID or serial numbers (something they fixed now i suspect, to circumvent their detection by software). This happens all the time in China, where the factories produce more than the OEM ordered and sell them in to a grey channel.
So I'll take my chances and I'll just keep an eye on the voltages. After all, more than one phantom pilot lost their drone when it fell out of the sky with empty original batteries misreporting capacity.
