In the past few weeks, I've observed a lot of negativism on this forum. Likewise, I DO understand and appreciate the frustration that many of us have felt. To start 2017, many were led to believe that a new aircraft was in store for the year, but that didn't happen. Then, suddenly, new aircraft and parts weren't available. Hmmm. That's scary.
But, on the other hand, Autel has continued to support the XSP and it's owners up until this very minute. If you had a question about your aircraft, you could give them a call, and your calls have been answered with the quickness and courtesy that you have praised Autel so highly for in the past. If you were concerned about why there were no new parts available, you were free to call or write Autel, and, again, they would promptly and respectfully respond to you. But, instead, rather than taking the time to actually contact Autel, many of you took more time to speculate and imagine, and even predict the worst - that they were going out of business.
I am retired now. But before I retired, I owned my own business for many years. Likewise, my business was a very competitive business. If I didn't stay one step ahead of my competitors, they would move ahead of me. As things have transpired over the past month or two, it has been quite clear to me that 'something was in the works' at Autel, and that bankruptcy wasn't a part of it. If Autel wasn't planning on being around much longer, then they wouldn't have been efficiently doing warranty repairs, efficiently replacing batteries that had died prematurely, making a firmware update, answering their phones and emails quickly and efficiently, spending thousands of dollars to be right next door to DJI at CES, and so on. But, in fact, those things were happening; just as they have happened as long as we have all owned Autel aircraft. However, there is one respect in which they could have done better: They could have maintained a more adequate stock of replacement parts (which may have helped keep people from thinking that Autel was abandoning things.) But, I do agree with their decision to end sales of the XSP without warning - and I love and expect to keep flying my XPS! There have already been people on this forum who have complained that they never would have bought an XSP in the past months if they would have known that such a replacement was going to be produced. But, to those people, I must ask, "Where do you (the manufacturer) draw the line?" Whether it's a new cell phone, a new HDTV, or a new voice activated TV remote control, YOU, (the consumer) do not know the details about it until it actually exists and is for sale. (Preorders can now be made for the EVO). Even DJI did not talk about the Mavic until it actually existed and was/is for sale. There were surely a lot of people who purchased a DJI Phantom a month before the Mavic was announced and released. Sure, they were disappointed in that they would have rather had a Mavic. There were probably some who even trash-talked DJI. But, it didn't do any good. Anyone who thinks that Autel should have announced the EVO before it's release is simply not familiar with good competitive business practices. Sure, a manufacturer should, and can, pre-announce an upcoming and improved product. But to provide details on that product would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot; especially when they must complete with a dramatically larger company, such as DJI - who could take the ideas and, either match them or exceed them.
The trash-talk about lawsuits is unfortunate. A company such as Autel is not going to risk it's reputation and even it's money (that would be required to defend a lawsuit) by producing a product that will subject them to a lawsuit. And, threatening to enact a class-action lawsuit against a company because they have moved forward, and are now producing a new product, is simply unrealistic.
The frustration that many might feel because the XSP has been replaced with the EVO, and the circumstances around that change, are fully understandable. But, it is what it is, and it is a business decision that was done - TO INSURE THE FUTURE OF AUTEL. If they would not have developed such a (superior) product, THEN, you would have had reason to worry about their demise.
Too many people have done nothing but imagine the worst, trash-talk a company who has supported them in the past, better than any other drone company around. When Autel clearly and honestly told everyone that a new product was in the works, and it was clear that they were going to spend thousands of dollars to be in a booth, right next to DJI (at CES), there were still people who took to this forum, announcing, "They're going down!"
The electronics market is extremely competitive. Whether it be in 2-way radios, cell-phones, streaming devices, TV's, etc., competition is great. Many people who purchase Apple products have been conditioned and trained by Apple to abandon their present Apple device whenever a new Apple device is released. They even stand in lines to get a product that hasn't been tried and reviewed by the public yet. And, when their Apple product does have a problem, they still would go out and purchase another Apple product again. (That's good marketing by a company). The same is true for owners of some brands of automobiles. But, (apparently), when Autel tells their customers that a new product is being worked on and will be available in the future, their owners come on to the forums, predict their demise, trash-talk, and, if they can't find anything else to complain about, they complain because their XSP battery probably won't fit in the newer and better EVO. Autel could have done things better (such as keeping replacement parts in stock), but they could have also done worse. In this case, if you look at Autel with an open mind, you will suddenly notice that they have just released a new product that will be sending DJI back to the drawing board. Likewise, this will continue to occur (for both DJI and Autel) in the future. And, if you are worried that there might be a drone in the future that will make your present drone less attractive, then you should not purchase any brand of drone - because all manufacturers work by the same, very competitive practices.
