The Avata 2 is here and DJI has fixed many of the issues with the first generation Avata while adding new features that benefit experienced pilots as well as those new to cinewhoops. Like the original Avata, the Avata 2 is a 3” cinewhoop design which means it is designed for cinematic FPV video with 3” props with ducts or prop guards to improve flight safety and durability.

The Fly More Combo bundles the Avata 2, Goggles 3, RC Motion 3, 3 x Flight Batteries, 2-way charging hub, spare set of props, pair of -2.00 D Lens, OTG cable, and a short USB C cable. For most, this combo is a great value and provides practically everything you need to start flying. DJI did omit an actual USB C charger but I imagine many have at least one USB C charger available, if not you will need to purchase one to charge the batteries, goggles, and RC. The included charging hub is a nice addition as it charges three batteries (sequentially), has a 2-way power share to function like a power bank, and the best part is the power accumulation mode. Using this mode you can take 2 or 3 low power state batteries and use this to accumulate power to one battery without need to plug in. This is great when out, forgetting to top off charge and you don’t have access to a charger.

After registering (weighs 377g, Remote ID compliant) and charging everything, I was ready to go on my first flight with the Avata 2. The first thing I noticed was how comfortable the Goggles 3 are over the previous design. The Goggles 3 now utilize a halo design, with the pressure mainly on your forehead instead of the bridge of your nose, the difference is night and day in terms of comfort. In addition, the Goggles 3 have an integrated battery design, similar to the Integra Goggles that were released after the original Avata. The Goggles 3 are also standalone, meaning you can fly the drone without your phone connected which is appreciated. The Goggles 3, like the Avata 2, support the latest O4 transmission, providing lower latency, improved throughput, and increased range. Inside the goggles, the Micro-OLED screens are sharp and clear after dialing in my adjustments with the new +2.00D to -6.00D diopter lens. If you need further accommodation DJI does include -2.00 D lens, though my prescription was within range. The FOV in Goggles could still be better relative to VR headsets, it is good for the FPV space. Also new is the ability to activate passthrough, though I found tapping to require more force than I expected and the external cameras FOV are very narrow and somewhat grainy.

While the original Avata was fun to fly with Motion RC, you were limited in your ability to control the drone. The RC Motion 3 has significantly improved upon the original motion RC adding new controls. The redesigned trigger allows reverse while the addition of the joystick enables control of elevation and horizontal movement of the drone while using the gyro function. These additions make flying it far more accurate and enjoyable. While a seasoned pilot would prefer a traditional RC such as the new but not included FPV Controller 3, the RC Motion 3 is easy for anyone to pick up and start flying while providing a truly unique experience to flying FPV. Another addition is the acro dial, which can be used to convert the joystick into acro “controls” to initiate automated maneuvers. Though these are great for newcomers, they are limited in their finesse and can only be performed in normal mode.

The original Avata had a few prominent issues for me; the SD card location inside the prop guard, it was a bit top heavy with the battery mounted above the pusher design props, and the aforementioned battery desired to be free from restrictions of the airframe, ejecting itself after a crash when possible. DJI addressed these issues and more on the new Avata 2. Thankfully, DJI upped the onboard storage to a very useable 46GB plus enabling quick transfer, allowing you to wirelessly transfer videos without needing to pull the SD card or plug in the drone. In addition, the SD card and USB port have been moved out of the ducts and on the side of the air frame, easily accessible. DJI refined the Avata 2 further with a new puller design, spacing the motors out slightly and positioning the battery in between the props instead of on top. DJI also redesigned the battery, with the connection interfacing inside the airframe similar to a Mavic or Mini, and improved clips making it far easier to install or remove the battery while providing secure retention. I have had a few crashes and so far not only has the Avata 2 faired well but I have yet to experience a battery ejection. The battery life has also been improved, with up to 23 minutes of flight time. I average 15 minutes per battery but that is usually in sport mode with fairly aggressive flying. . DJI also added additional position sensors in the rear, which improves stability and position hold making it so the Avata doesn’t float around as much. The new camera system has improved performance with a 1/1.3″ sensor capable of 12MP stills and 4K60 HDR video (EIS off). The Avata 2 shoots great footage, with a variety of shooting modes and full camera control. The new gimbal design has increased range while also not getting the ducts in the shot while looking down. HDR is also limited to certain modes but I did not see where to enable while shooting 4K30, it is possible DJI will make tweaks to their software to improve discoverability or I just missed it.

Most importantly flying the Avata 2 is a blast, it is currently my favorite to fly even though I don’t have the FPV controller 3 yet. The improvements and refinements make this one of the best ready to fly cinewhoop drones not just for someone familiar with Mavics, but anyone interested in cinematic FPV flying. Once you outgrow the motion RC, you can even move up to the FPV controller and hone your skills further. Unfortunately DJI is in limbo with talks of banning even their consumer products at the time of this review due to national security concerns, but hopefully legislators carve out provisions for the drone community as DJI has a unique offering for fans and those new to FPV alike. The Avata 2 provides such a great experience that it is hard to not recommend. It is easily one of the most beginner friendly FPV drones on the market, with the Fly More combo being the best value.

DJI continues to outdo themselves in the drone and especially the FPV drone world and the DJI Avata 2 is no exception. I have worked my way up from the DJI Mavic Air, Air 2, FPV, and now the Avata 2 and the Avata 2 has blown me away so far. Out of all the DJI drones I have worked with, the Avata 2 is easily the most robust, heavy duty, streamlined, but also drastically lighter in weight. As I was unboxing the Avata 2 I noticed that DJI has even drastically improved their packaging and the case the drone comes with. As a photographer I have always appreciated a nice gear bag, and I really appreciate the bag that came with my DJI Mavic Air 2, but the bag for the Avata 2 has blown me away, it comes already stocked with all the extra accessories and is organized for you so opening it all up and going through everything feels like christmas morning. Setting up this drone was very easy starting with just charging the goggles, controller, and three drone batteries in their docking station. The first charges took a while so do not expect to be able to fly this within minutes of taking it out of the box. Once charged the activation process was fairly simple, as an android user the app gave me some difficulties. My phone was blocking the download of the app that was needed to activate the drone, but I was able to use a different browser on my phone and got it downloaded, from there it was smooth sailing. As far as flying this drone, the joystick has been a harder learning curve than I was expecting. Since all of my previous drone flying experience was done with a two handed controller and all the controls have been the same across all models, all of a sudden having a one handed control/joystick has been different. I think I prefer the two handed controller and hopefully DJI offers that option in the future for operators that are used to this control method. I did enjoy the Head Tracking Mode though as that was new to me it was pretty easy to get the hang of. The battery life is satisfactory, especially compared to older models. This price point may seem a bit much but for all the accessories and spare pieces DJI includes in this Fly More Combo, it is worth it, there are really no other accessories or items you will need to buy and the fact that it all fits compactly in its case that I love is so nice. This drone will be great for both new drone pilots and also veteran drone pilots who are looking for something different. I am only giving 4 stars due to the joystick controller and not a standard controller option in the fly more kit.

This thing is sold, above all else, as “immersive.” "Fly from the cockpit" and so on... Made me envision something like VR, maybe even a oculus-like feel you’re hoping for. 155°, okay, well maybe an IMAX-type thing, at least a little “roller-coaster” effect… but nope. Maybe the “state of the art” isn’t there yet, but this was supposed to be upping the game to that point, at least that’s what I got out of the advertising. Even the first person I showed it to, they were like “oh, that new VR drone.” - So I know it’s not just me. I thought it would at least feel like flying - kind of.
There’s nothing much in the headset, in my opinion, beyond a regular screen on a remote that is enlarged to be a virtual giant screen in the headset – That’s what’s there, practically a square screen. No wrap around like immersive or something. It’s an enlarged view of the screen that would be on your controller anyway, maybe a little wider or something but certainly no “wow” effect wider. An advantage is that it does enable you to look up and down and to the sides etc. a lot quicker than with joysticks and scrollwheels on a remote. Still, this thing, for me, was like offering a wish of mine for a while to come true: To feel like I was flying. So, this review is for others who have that wish as well, thinking this was going to deliver on that. To emphasize, this was my interpretation of the advertisements that there would be some type of flying feeling, and I think others will assume the same, due to the primary selling point: “Immersiveness” – It is my opinion that they shouldn’t have gone all-in on such a pointed advertising highlight if the product wasn’t going to fully deliver on it. You will probably get something like a flying feel if you haven’t flown a drone before, though; I just don’t think there’s much beyond that, such as beyond the mini 3/4 with controller, for example. I remember my first drone experience, I felt that “up, up, and away” feeling just looking at the screen, the closest to flying while staying on the ground that I’d felt. That was just messing around with a friend’s mini 2 for the first time. Then I wanted one, obvsly, but I wasn’t sure if I’d wreck it etc, so didn’t want to spend a lot and so I got a mini v1 refurb off ebay for cheap, and it worked just fine for the purpose, I was going crazy with it, taking it everywhere, making all these even-today-standards very nice vids, synchronized to music and everything. Then, the v3 mini came out. I'd had my getting-used-to-things phase with the v1, and was beyond impressed, so dropped like $1500 on the v3, got the flymore combo and then 3 more batteries so I could like go all day, start charging and those would be charged by the time I got done with the other batteries, everywhere I was “The drone guy” – people always like “oh you’ve got the drone again, big surprise… lol” but that’s what I’ve been all about. I love it. That was good. I still scour ebay for cheap v1’s and bought a couple for others (xmas etc) so they can check it out too, and if they wreck it then not that big of a deal.. some like it, some don’t care too much, but whatever, I just think this drone “era” is super awesome – albeit just for entertainment in my case, I’d love to figure out some way to actually use these for a side-job or something, not really time for that, but I’d encourage anyone to follow up it if that’s something they’re thinking about and have the time to do it. Anyway, back to this avata 2. Actually it was the most depressing thing for me in a while. This is what was supposed to do it for me, I’d been sold on the “immersiveness” of the advertisements, I think I was probably the first to get one.. minutes after the launch event I was picking one up at the best buy that luckily had one right then, so excited, such high hopes. I tried it out hard, though, setup was a little bit hassle-ish, it didn't recognize the QR code I guess bc I had DJI fly app already, then you plug in the headset via the cord converter to your phone (shown in a pic), then after connecting to your phone it doesn't recognize the avata 2 bc the app isn't updated with it yet, then you just retry scanning the QR code in the box again with your phone and it then prompts for an app update on the phone and it all goes/updates the headset and other components after that (that's the sequence that worked for me, anyway; it updates a few things, so be sure the handheld remote and drone are all on/charged bc it will go through all of them updating stuff); no big deal overall, then started the first flight after the in-headset tutorial of controls etc., in the beginner (super-slow) mode that it starts you flying in by default. It was super simple with the on-screen instructions (I was actually hoping the “square/flat” screen during those instructions was only for that moment, and it would switch to some sort of immersive thing with at least a little IMAX feel or something when flying.. but didn’t; it maybe got a little bigger, but in-all was like a virtual movie theater screen in there.. showing what the drone camera was pointing at); anyway, the controls were easy and I was disengaging the beginner mode in no time, on to the normal and sport modes, zipping across ponds, across fields like a floating rocket-propelled motorcycle, then up, up, and over the trees like a crazy hawk, skimming the edges of the leaves, then up higher, then around and down, all the cool stuff. But here's the thing.. it was the same cool stuff that a regular drone does, albeit it was more “nimble” (you can sort of dive-bomb, spin out of it and then zip between some trees, and spring out the other side doing acrobatic maneuvers like a crazy stunt pilot), it just never gave any feeling beyond just watching a video of doing that stuff.. there’s no “in the plane/cockpit” type feeling. Other notes: I did get out of range for a min.. it goes about the same distance as the mini v3 (which is the latest-model-other-thing that I have) and a battery seems to last about as long: 20 mins or so depending on activity, you can sort of tell when you’re getting out of range bc the screen gets pixelated and you get the typical warning of red range-signal bars like you would normally on a controller/phone interface; however, when it gets out of range here, and finally disconnects, the screen just goes “black” – and you realize you want to see something, but the world’s blind/dark at that moment bc you’re in a headset; whereas when using a typical drone with a controller you don’t freak out so much bc you can at least look up an around where you are. With this, you’re stuck debating in that moment if you should rip the thing off your head or what.. you just need to remember where the return-to-home button is (luckily I’d memorized it pretty well during the tutorial), it’s not like you can “look” for the button to hit very easily bc you’re strapped in to a blinding (literally) head set.. you can activate a see-though action by pressing another thing (that you may or may not remember how to do), then you could see the controller, but in the heat of the moment you're like just trying to save stuff… but then some screen indicators came back a few seconds later, said “failsafe mode” or something; anyway, hold the home button and then a couple seconds later it gets back in range and stuff starts popping back up on the view. It does return pretty low it seems, though, can probably set it to 100m or so, but out of the box I had to raise it up a bit, I forgot what it went to but was something around 60m for the stage 1/ascend on the return-to-home (just be ready to raise it up manually if needed). And be sure to start/launch from a clearing straight up, so that you don’t have to worry about anything if you need to land it via only return-to-home; in my experience, it never landed more than about 5 feet away from where it started (a good thing), so if you have cleared about a 10ft landing zone around where you take off, then should be good bc especially those first few times you might get into some “situations” where you just want to hit the return-to-home and get that thing off of your head. To sum up, it’s a decent drone, is more nimble and has a bigger screen (virtually) – albeit (to me – this is my review – I am okay to say what it made me feel like)… it is un/non-immersive. It’s not a significant new feeling beyond the awesome feeling of a regular drone. You can get close to obstacles, even run into stuff (I didn’t “crash” into anything, but did get right up on things/touching) so that’s a plus. It’s good for like “racing” type actions, you could make a race track cutting around obstacles, trees, something like that. I don’t have any disagreements in saying that, for FPV drones, this probably is like the best one. But, in summary, it doesn’t make you feel like you’re flying .. like at all really, in my case anyway. Regarding rating: it would be 5 if “blown away” (what I was expecting), 4 if it was pretty good but had some obvious improvements they could have made but almost chose not to, in order to leave room for a new version or something. 3 stars if it would have done what it said, in an average manner but in a middle-of the pack average sense with some lazy flaws, like a tv that flickers sometimes but you just put up with it and don’t want to bother with returning it… bc it at least still shows the tv shows enough for you to be able to deal with it. 2 stars is for this thing just being a massive disappointment for me and not doing what it said -in my opinion. It ain’t cheap, but whatever, even if free, it just didn’t deliver on what I was expecting out of it. The other DJI stuff (in my case, the v1 and v3 mini's) has over-delivered, this under-delivered. High standards deserves high expectations. I am simply giving that. As a result, I returned the item and give Two stars.

TLDR - The Avata 2 is a whole new thing for this “normal” DJI drone user. Coming from a Mini 2, and currently also have a Mini 3 Pro, the FPV is taking some getting used to, but I was getting shots I would have never even tried to get with either of my old units within my 2nd flight. FPV mode REALLY lets you see where the drone is heading and what it's seeing to frame stuff up, all while being an absolute blast! (If you’re an FPV drone enthusiast,do yourself a favor and at least start with the FPV Remote Controller 3, but if you’re a normal drone user or new drone user, the motion controller will get it done for you!)

Pro’s - It’s fast/way more responsive than the fastest mode with my mini 3 pro, and I haven’t even been able to test manual mode yet. (did order the controller!) The video is quite good, seems to be the same sensor as my mini 3 pro, so 4K stuff looks stellar. It’s easy to fly for this millennial, even with my faded hand/eye coordination vs my teens into my early 20s. (The motion controller is way better/easier to use than something like a Wii-mote) The size is smaller than expected originally; my Mini 3 Pro has a larger footprint when opened/unfolded. The included case is very nice, I had the DJI case for both my Mini 2 and the mini 3 pro case, and this one seems even higher end, and obviously larger. Having built in memory is always a plus (and decently sizable at that), as I have been out to take some shots and forgotten my microSD in my laptop at home, but now I usually have a couple extras anyways. The headset is very customizable and comfortable. I have an extra large head, and I can still fit it, albeit right near the max of its adjustability. The diopter adjustment and pad angle really allow for a large range of head sizes and shapes to be accommodated as well. I really like the fact that it has a fan built in for condensation, considering I am an extremely sweaty person, and turning up the setting for higher fan speed really does move enough air to keep your sight clear. (your forehead still may be adhered to the top pad, but that's to be expected) The screen/view in the headset is quite good, plenty bright, and easy to navigate using the motion controller.

Con’s - not the worst con, but the battery life isn’t the best, I’m seeing/expecting usually about 15ish minutes per battery if recording and moving the entire time. My experience has only been limited to sport though, and normal may give you a couple extra minutes, and manual will most definitely drop that time considerably. The headset isn’t the most comfortable for me personally, but it’s fine for the time that the batteries last. Having to plug my phone into the headset is a pain, I wish it could all be done over wifi/hotspot. The top bundled kit should come with the FPV Controller 3 imo. (I don’t fault them for locking manual mode to only that controller though, as it seems to be an easy way for a beginner to wreck their drone)