so my air 2s got damaged a few months back (whole other story, windy day, lesson learned) and while i was waiting on a repair quote i borrowed my buddy's autel evo lite+ for a couple weekends. figured id share some thoughts because i feel like autel doesnt get talked about enough on here and most of the discourse is just dji dji dji.

the camera on the evo lite+ genuinely surprised me. the variable aperture is nice and the colors out of the camera felt a little warmer than what i was used to from the air 2s, not necessarily better just different, needed some getting used to. the app though ? skylink i think ? felt clunky compared to dji fly. not broken, just not as polished. took me a bit to find settings i would have found instantly on dji.

obstacle avoidance felt less confident? hard to explain but i trusted the air 2s sensors more, the autel felt like it would get a bit closer to things before stopping. range was fine, never really pushed it far enough to notice a difference. build quality felt solid, no complaints there.

would i switch? probably not just because the ecosystem and resale stuff keeps me on dji but i think autel deserves more credit than it gets. if someone is nervous about dji's data stuff for work reasons the evo lite+ is a genuinely capable alternative not just a consolation prize

the app thing is real and its been the sticking point for a lot of people who try autel. the hardware has always been competitive but autel just cant seem to close the gap on software experience. glad you gave it a fair shot though, too many people dismiss it without actually flying one.

yeah the data privacy argument for autel is something i hear from a lot of people doing commercial or government adjacent work. makes sense in that context. for your average weekend flyer its probably not a real concern but companies and agencies taking it seriously is valid. anyway curious what the repair quote ended up being for the air 2s if you dont mind sharing, i had a close call last month and im a little worried about what that might cost me if something actually happened