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- Jan 26, 2015
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Which is the best device to use with the Phantom 3 - the iPad Mini 2, the iPhone 6, or the Nvidia Shield?
I compared the Phantom 3 video lag between these devices using a stopwatch and video camera.
The iPhone 6 and Nvidia Shield were the fastest and smoothest, with almost identical average latency of 263ms and 269ms respectively. All frames I sampled from these two devices were in the 200-300ms latency range. The iPhone 6 was very slightly smoother but the difference wasn't statistically significant.
The iPad Mini 2 was definitely and noticeably the slowest, with an average latency of 297ms. I could tell the difference almost immediately. The latency range was 196-439ms. I put this down to the slower A7 processor used by this device - the iPhone 6 has an A8 inside.
The video quality was otherwise identical between the three devices.
All else being equal, my favorite is the Nvidia Shield, which I picked up refurbished from Tiger Direct for just $230. Comparing the Android with iOS versions of the DJI Pilot app:
I compared the Phantom 3 video lag between these devices using a stopwatch and video camera.
The iPhone 6 and Nvidia Shield were the fastest and smoothest, with almost identical average latency of 263ms and 269ms respectively. All frames I sampled from these two devices were in the 200-300ms latency range. The iPhone 6 was very slightly smoother but the difference wasn't statistically significant.
The iPad Mini 2 was definitely and noticeably the slowest, with an average latency of 297ms. I could tell the difference almost immediately. The latency range was 196-439ms. I put this down to the slower A7 processor used by this device - the iPhone 6 has an A8 inside.
The video quality was otherwise identical between the three devices.
All else being equal, my favorite is the Nvidia Shield, which I picked up refurbished from Tiger Direct for just $230. Comparing the Android with iOS versions of the DJI Pilot app:
- The maps on the Android version are much more up to date than on the iOS version which seem to be years old.
- The iOS app has a simulator. It isn't very useful, and no doubt the Android version will have one soon too anyway.
- The iOS app feels a bit more polished than the Android app. But the good news is, because Android apps are editable, there are more likely to be custom mods available for it.
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