DJI Spark Portable Quadcopter Drone Expired

Start with the Mavic. It's 10x the drone for 2x the price.

I've had spark since launch. No issues if you do preflight checks (latest firmware, Good compass, Good gps, battery fully seated, etc)
I fly it from backyard up to about a mile away without issue using a remote. Will go a bit further away in open areas but again battery affects flight time and you should save 30%ish battery to get it back home from far distances.

12-13 min avg battery is biggest CON. Also without remote it's basically a hyper powered selfie stick.

I enjoy it but want a mavic now of course. But I don't flynit enough to justify a grand on mavic fly more kit.

I think it's a good starter drone to get your feet wet and see if you wanna make bigger investments later. It's fun in sport mode and provides good video quality for non pros

Internet is flooded with comparisons between Mavic and Spark. Why would DJI create yet another product if it had to target the same customer segments? Yes, both are different types of drones, and it purely depends on what your needs and use cases are. I have Spark fly more combo bought for $610 and this fits most of my needs. Being discrete and super small are the major ones. Mavic is small but not when its unfolded. When I fly Spark in park, people get curious about it. When my friend does the same with his Mavic, many try to stay away from it as they do get scared. Video quality is another major point of discussion. Well, I personally find 1080p good enough for sharing with friends and family. Check out Spark sample videos available on Vimeo. Do NOT do YouTube as it does heavy compression. 4K is good but then editing 4K video is also a bit pain.

Spark has opened a new dimension in terms of portability. Last week, I went on a hiking trail on a hill. Could not find a proper level surface to launch my spark. Did palm launch, connected to my phone and took some amazing dronie and helix quick shots. Numerous such palm launch use cases like when you are kayaking, from your apartment patio on 15th floor. I doubt such use cases are possible with any other drone available on market today. Palm launch is amazing. Yes, Spark had initial glitches but after number of firmware upgrades things are working smoothly.

One major plus that Mavic has over Spark is, battery life. On Spark, I could get max 15 mins on single battery. Roughly 10 mins less than what you would get on Mavic. So, you need extra batteries and FLy more combo has 2 included. Means, around 30 mins of flying time included in the price I paid $610. Still, I wish Spark had a little more flying time.

All in all, the 10X drone is not true for every customer out there. One needs to understand his/her own needs/use cases first, before deciding between Mavic and Spark. And, that's why DJI has two "different" products, targeted to two different types customers. Mavic is not one drone fits all product. Neither Spark.

Disclaimer: I own Spark and you may find some bias in my above comment. Also, I could afford Mavic and I did my research before picking up Spark. For me, it was like $400 savings over Mavic. So, take your time doing plenty of research, instead of simply going by 10X and 2X statements.