Skydio will not respond to individuals or small/medium sized business regarding X2E. They are laser focused on landing military, law enforcement, and large scale enterprise programs (think 10+ drones). And, their pricing reflects it - if you want X2, battery, and Controller - you're looking at a minimum of $20k per unit- because you also have to pay for software. I've reached out to Skydio more than 10 times and they never respond to any of my inquiries regarding a purchase of one X2E unit. I get they want to focus on big contracts, but not even receiving an acknowledgment is less than poor service. Perhaps it costs too much money to send out an automated response acknowledging receipt of question and that they don't sell X2 to small businesses.
The S2 has the hardware needed for automated mapping applications, like house scan, bridge inspection, etc. You just need to purchase Enterprise Skills subscription to turn on that feature set - and based on GSA.gov, which normally have the lowest negotiated prices - it's gonna cost $2k/yr.
If automating inspections means more consistency and higher quality reports, then you could imagine picking up additional projects - and doing more, quicker because of the automation. In that case, the $2k/yr will more than pay for itself. This is where Skydio 2 will beat DJI, Autel, & Anafi.
I tried out the Anafi USA last week - and I cannot justify paying $7k for it - for many reasons. The 32x digital zoom has a wow factor that wears off after a couple of use cases - it's better to be up close and get a higher quality image than a blurry digitized zoomed image.
Biggest problem with Anafi USA is lack of a stable connection - just 100ft away from where I normally fly. DJI Ocusync 2.0 works great up to 1 mile. It's worth mentioning I'm surrounded by 3 cell towers within a 2 mi radius - and a regional airport is 4 mi away - and in a residential neighborhood with every house running wifi.
And the controller is simply garbage - too bad Skydio 2 borrowed parrot's controller, but at least Skydio 2 doesn't really need a controller because of its AI.
Lastly, it's important to keep in mind that Skydio is having trouble keeping up with S2 orders and X2 orders. Current lead time to get your hands on a new S2 is 6-9mo - realistically speaking. Given the high demand and low supply, it makes no business sense for Skydio to release S3 anytime soon. In my opinion, the S3 is at least 2 years out - 2023.
Think of Skydio as you would Tesla - both are software companies. The S2 has all the hardware you need now and in the future - it's got future proof tech/processors. They will introduce new improvements and functionalities through software updates over time.
And if you want more, like Enterprise Skills - the Tesla equivalent to Autopilot and Higher battery range - you can pay more for the software to unlock the full potential of your drone. It's a good business model from a company's perspective - one supply chain to keep costs low, quality high, and simply push out software.