Insta360 Luna Ultra: One-minute review

Despite being Insta360’s first vlogging camera with multiple Insta360 firsts, the Luna Ultra, overall, feels like a polished and bold product. Its triple chipset ably supports powerful features — especially the gimbal-stabilized 8K 30p video with 10-bit color depth and 4K 120p slow motion video recording, Log color profile, autonomous subject tracking autofocus and 32-bit float audio.

With dual 20mm f/1.8 and 60mm f/2.0 lenses, each with its own sensor, you truly are getting two cameras in one. And having enjoyed the Luna's ultra-wide and impressive 3x telephoto versatility for a month, it will be hard for me to go back to a single-lens compact vlogging camera.

The detachable remote module — which features the two-inch OLED touchscreen, main camera controls and built-in microphone — has, understandably, won many admirers. It's such a clever and well-implemented design feature that truly enhances the user experience, especially for solo vlogging.

Initially I had a few minor niggles navigating various camera settings, and it certainly paid dividends to spend time customizing the Luna Ultra to the way I like to shoot. It's also notably bulkier than DJI's Pocket 4 vlogging cameras, and pricier than single-lens alternatives.

Despite its infancy in this space, Insta360 has to its credit already produced crucial supporting accessories — including tripod and battery grips, plus the Insta360 Mic Pro wireless mic for top quality audio — meaning you can stick within the Insta360 ecosystem and enjoying the best possible user experience and compatibility, including full Bluetooth support.

Yes, DJI has been in the compact vlogging camera space for much longer and has refined its Pocket series with every iteration, but the Luna Ultra enters with a bang and is an impressive alternative.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: price and release date

• Full release on June 12 2026
• Available in black or white with prices starting at $769.99 / £649 / AU$1,229.99
• Multiple bundles to choose from, including the Creator Bundle

"We're not going to compete on price" is what Insta360's co-founder Max Richter told me at a pre-launch event for the Luna Ultra, the company's first vlogging camera and DJI Osmo Pocket series rival.

And the Luna Ultra is much pricier than previous Pocket cameras. However, those were single-lens models and, like DJI's most recent Pockets, the single-lens Pocket 4 and dual-lens Pocket 4P, the Luna comes in two varieties: the single-lens Pro and the dual-lens Ultra.

Prices for the Ultra start at $769.99 / £649 / AU$1,229.99. That’s a fair whack more than the latest single-lens models, but you are truly getting two cameras in one device.

Insta360 sent me the Creator Bundle to review, which includes multiple extras such as the Mic Pro transmitter and battery grip and costs $969.99 / £829 / AU$1,549.99. I expect the dual-lens Osmo Pocket 4P to cost less than the Luna Ultra, but it won't be available in the US because of the DJI ban.

Both Luna models are available in black or white versions, and in a further variety of bundles that cater for various use cases; Standard, Essential, Endurance, VLOG, POV and Creator.

• Price score: 4/5

Insta360 Luna Ultra specs

Insta360 Luna Ultra: design

• First compact vlogging camera to land with dual lenses, ahead of the Pocket 4P
• Similar design cues to the DJI Pocket series (but a little larger), with stick-like form factor and camera supported by a three-axis gimbal
• Unique detachable controller which includes a two-inch OLED screen and built-in mic

The Luna Ultra’s form factor is familiar — it's a bit like the compact, stick-like design of DJI’s Pocket series. DJI isn’t happy about it, by the way; it has filed a lawsuit accusing Insta360 of patent violations (which Insta360 has responded to with a countersuit).

However, there are some key design differences. Lunas are slightly larger than Pocket models. Not majorly so, but the difference is clear when you hold them side by side as I did (albeit the dual-lens Ultra alongside the single-lens Pocket 4).

In practice, I didn’t really feel that the Luna’s extra weight and size negatively affected its handling — it’s easy in the hand for on-the-go vlogging. If you want the absolute smallest option, however, DJI is your best best. Even the dual-lens Pocket 4P is smaller.

There’s a good reason why the Luna cameras are bigger, and that’s for a super clever and unique feature: a detachable remote control, which is a module that packs the camera's main controls and rotatable two-inch OLED screen. Simply squeeze the red buttons on either side of the Luna, and the module pulls away from the body.

The module has a 20m transmission range and operates exactly the same way as if it’s on the camera, with the touch display offering a remote view, and the main camera controls on hand, including gimbal, zoom and record. Transmission range is impacted by the surroundings — I found the feed froze inside 15 meters when other people passed in front of me in a busy urban space — but I could see it happening on the screen in my hand and could rectify the situation.

What’s really neat is that the module has a built-in microphone, so you can easily check your frame and present to the camera. It’s certainly better than using the on-camera mic, though a wireless mic such as Insta360’s own Mic Pro with its customizable E Ink display is an even better pick for audiophiles. The camera has direct Bluetooth support for this mic and Insta360’s Mic Air. The video below gives an idea of what the module is like to use remotely.

I really appreciated how much easier it was to frame my shots with the controller module in hand. There’s also smart subject tracking and autofocus (more on this in the performance section), meaning the camera can track you as you move around, within the gimbal’s range, keeping you or your subject centered in the frame. Controlling the Luna using the module and tracking is like having your own cameraperson filming you, provided you can find a secure surface to rest the camera on or a support to fix it to.

On that note, the Luna Ultra can stand freely on flat surfaces, while the battery grip, which extends battery life plus the physical height of the camera, features tiny flip-out tripod feet for extra stability.

The battery grip is larger than the regular tripod grip and extends the battery life of the camera, which was already impressive being rated at up to four hours of 1080p filming. Not bad for a 1,550mAh unit that can be recharged to 80% in just 23 minutes.

At first I had a few niggles with the handling of the Luna Ultra from how it comes straight from the box. Beyond finding it physically clunkier than the Pocket 4, I needed to change various settings to taste, such as its behavior when rotating the two-inch touchscreen.

Overall, however, I can't find much fault with the Luna Ultra's design, which is seriously impressive for a first generation product.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Performance

• Triple chipset, with 4nm and AI chips ensures smooth operation
• Smart subject tracking and autofocus, but it's not perfect
• Can get a little warm when using the most powerful features

The Luna Ultra is equipped with a triple chipset, comprising powerful 4nm and AI chips. As such, I never really experienced any performance issues, even shooting a lot of 8K video (though never for more than 10 minutes at a time).

The camera does get a little warm when using power-hungry features such as 8K video, and I did see a lag when switching from the 12x zoom back to 1x using the stepped zoom control on the touchscreen. However, those were my only issues.

In addition to regular 8K video, the Luna Ultra has a range of shooting modes, including; Slow Motion up to 240fps (in Full HD), Timelapse, TimeShift and Barrel Roll. I've included some slow motion clips in a sample video below.

Both Luna cameras accept a micro SD card up to 1TB, and include 47GB internal storage — less than DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 / 4P, which have more than double the capacity. I shot plenty of video clips and photos directly onto the internal memory, and still had plenty of space left over — the maximum 120Mbps bitrates of video files are fairly low and don't take up too much memory.

And there’s plenty more for audiophiles, namely a decent wind guard for the camera’s internal four-mic array, plus 32-bit float audio. This pro-level setting avoids clipping, and is ideal for unpredictable and noisy environments, but for simpler audio edits, the 24-bit setting is probably your best bet.

The quality of the detachable module's built-in mic impressed me, though for the clearest pickup it's pretty fussy about how close you hold it and the angle it's pointed in.

Subject tracking is impressively sticky, though I did find that it switches to a new subject a little more easily than the DJI Pocket 4. In one situation, I was walking with the camera tracking me when other people came between me and the camera and tracking stopped.

In another scenario as I held a product up to the camera for it to focus on, the camera focused back on my face in the background all too keenly when I came back into view. In such a scenario, I think DJI's tracking performs better.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Image and video quality

• Dual 20mm f/1.8 (1-inch sensor) and 60mm f/2.0 (1/1.3-inch sensor) cameras are effectively like having a decent zoom
• 8K 30p and 4K 120p video with color grading-friendly I-Log profile — a first for Insta360
• 9MP photos are decent enough, especially in RAW format, and can be upped to 37MP in UltraPhoto mode

The Luna Ultra ups the ante in this camera category with 8K video — double the resolution of the Osmo Pocket 4, which shoots in 4K. It’ll shoot 8K up to 30fps, complete with Dolby Vision (aka HDR) and I-Log color profile.

This is the first Insta360 camera with Log, a flat color profile that pros like to use to maximize the color grading potential and for the most dynamic range possible from their camera, which in this case is up to 14 stops.

DJI has billed the Pocket 4P as having 17 stops dynamic range with its new D-Log2 profile — I look forward to comparing the footage of both cameras to see which is better once I have my hands on the Pocket. 4P.

Insta360 thinks its night mode is superior to DJI, with its PureVideo mode boosting dynamic range in 4K 60p videos. That’s another comparison test I’m looking forward to conducting. From the shots I've taken at night in this mode, detail looks impressively sharp, though of course no match for the quality of daytime footage.

Insta360’s Leica partnership goes beyond the Luna’s Leica-branded lenses and into various Leica color profiles. If you like the simplicity of attractive color profiles with no need for color correction, then the Luna has some great alternatives to Log.

I was impressed with the 3x telephoto camera — provided the subject isn't too far away, it's possible to throw depth of field for punchy portraits. I'm talking upper body shots with notable shallow depth of field.

The zoom of that lens can be further extended with a 6x 'lossless' zoom, a term that suggests you shouldn't notice a drop in image quality — I certainly didn't. I can't say the same for the 12x digital zoom setting, which looks a little more pixelated on close inspection. Still, that 12x zoom is a handy addition should you really need to zoom closer.

Honestly, having enjoyed the variety of two lenses in such a small camera, and how impressive the quality of the telephoto camera is (the sensor is bigger than the main sensor in most smartphones), I know I'll struggle if I have to go back to a single-lens compact vlogging camera.

Video is, of course, the primary use for the Luna Ultra, but it shoots decent-quality 9MP photos too, in JPEG and RAW format, albeit with just eight-bit color depth. I've included a couple of scenarios below, taking JPEG and RAW (DNG format) photos simultaneously at night and in daylight, with the 1x and 3x lenses.

I haven't edited the RAWs so you can see the kind of processing that takes place for JPEGs. All the photos are 9MP, but there is also an UltraPhoto mode which quadruples resolution to 37MP.

Insta360 Luna Ultra photo gallery

• Image and video quality score: 5/5

Insta360 Luna Ultra: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Insta360 Luna Ultra?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Insta360 Luna Ultra: also consider

How I tested the Insta360 Luna Ultra

• Insta360 supplied me with the Luna Ultra Creator Bundle, which includes 2x grips, Mic Pro transmitter, soft carry case and more
• I tested the camera regularly for a month shooting day and night, mainly focusing on video content. I've tried the monitor in various configurations
• I was testing the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 simultaneously, and could draw comparisons

I had early access to the Luna Ultra Creator Bundle ahead of its launch, and tested the kit out over the following weeks before writing this review. During this review period, I also had the single-lens DJI Osmo Pocket 4, meaning I was able to make comparisons.

The camera shoots decent still photos with RAW format editing flexibility, but my main focus video performance. I've shot horizontal and vertical vlogging-style videos in the various resolutions and frame rates available in each format, and experimented with various color profiles.

I've made sure to try out all of the accessories supplied to me and the various configurations of the detachable monitor. I've checked the camera and detachable monitor's audio quality, and how easily and reliable it pairs with an Insta360 Mic Pro wireless mic.

• First reviewed: June 2026
• Read more about how we test

• Insta360 launched the Luna Ultra 8K vlogging camera on June 10
• DJI filed a lawsuit on the same day, claiming Luna had copied its DJI Pocket 3, only for Insta360 to file countersuits two days later
• Because of the ongoing DJI ban in the US, Insta360 could enjoy unrivaled availability there

No sooner has Insta360 unveiled its first vlogging cameras, the Luna Ultra and (upcoming) Luna Pro — which look set to enjoy unrivaled access to the US market because of the DJI ban — than DJI has filed an Insta360 lawsuit in the US, claiming they "blatantly copy" its Pocket 3.

For years, DJI has enjoyed near total dominance in the compact vlogging camera market with its hugely popular Osmo Pocket series, but now it faces two very real challenges: access to the US market, and the first serious-rival product.

DJI's latest and best vlogging camera, the Pocket 4, was launched in April this year, but the polished Pocket 3 successor is yet to make it to the US, given that DJI is on the FCC's 'Covered list', which currently affects any DJI products with a camera, not just its drones. So it's unlikely to hit US stores any time soon.

Meanwhile, Insta360 Luna cameras have made quite the impression. Despite being a first-generation product, the Luna Ultra is polished, and features a neat modular design that DJI Pocket cameras lack — check out my first impressions of the Luna Ultra, which I've been testing at length.

Now DJI is going straight for the jugular with its lawsuit, demanding that Luna cameras are banned. I've tested both cameras, and the user experience is very similar, but the crux of the situation is whether or not Luna cameras actually violate design and utility patents, as DJI claims in its lawsuit.

Insta360 has now filed two countersuits against DJI, related to "patents covering technology used in gimbal and 360-degree cameras". In a statement provided to TechRadar, Insta360 also defended its Luna cameras, saying "Luna Ultra is the result of years of independent R&D, not a response to any competitor's product."

The DJI / Insta360 rivalry just went up a notch

I spoke with Insta360 co-founder Max Richter at a pre-launch Luna event, and he told me the company was "not going to compete on price", but on premium and exclusive features. Specifically he was referring to the Luna's innovative removable remote, which features a 2-inch OLED screen, camera controls and built-in mic. Right now in the US, however, Insta360 doesn't need to rival DJI at all, because it has a clear field in that market.

But Insta360 faces a potential headache in the form of DJI's lawsuit. Petapixel reports that DJI has filed two patent lawsuits against Arashi Vision Inc. — which does business as Insta360 — covering two alleged violations of design patents and four utility patents.

The lawsuit claims that Luna cameras closely copy the design and features of the Osmo Pocket 3, claiming that “Insta360’s new Luna line of gimbal cameras, including but not limited to the Luna Ultra, supporting accessories, and the Insta360 mobile application (collectively, the “Accused Products”) blatantly copy DJI’s patented inventions wholesale.”

The suit adds: "From its silhouette to its feature set, the Accused Products mirror what DJI has spent the better part of a decade engineering and patenting for its innovative handheld gimbal camera systems.

"The visual similarity between the Accused Products and the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 design is striking. [As shown below,] the Accused Products share the same general proportions, the same gimbal-on-handle architecture, and the same component arrangement as DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3."

As for the four utility patents, DJI says that Insta360 Luna cameras and accessories "copy key features that make the DJI Osmo Pocket unique in the marketplace including DJI’s innovative subject-tracking technology, seamless gimbal-mode switching allowing the camera’s shooting direction to follow user movement of the handle, and a 'locked' mode to maintain a fixed shooting direction regardless of how the handle is moved."

DJI was clearly ready with this lawsuit, given that it was filed on the day the Insta360 Luna Ultra became officially available for purchase in leading US stores, including B&H Photo.

Many US-based vloggers will likely be watching the case with interest — they're already missing out on the excellent DJI Pocket 4, and they must be hoping that they won't also be denied the chance to buy Insta360's Luna cameras.

Now the rivalry has been raised another notch, with Insta360 filing its countersuit.

Insta360's response

In a statement provided to TechRadar, Insta360 founder and CEO JK Liu struck a defiant tone in his response to the DJI lawsuit and Insta360's countersuit, saying about the Luna cameras:

"Development began in 2020, with earlier Insta360 products including the ONE R, Link Series webcams, and Flow Series gimbals helping shape the technology and design direction behind Luna Ultra. DJI filing lawsuits on the same day we launched Luna Ultra speaks volumes — exposing their fear of competition from a highly competitive product."

Regarding the countersuit, the statements reads:

The company asserts that DJI infringed its patents relating to gimbal stabilization, gimbal directional control, camera smooth stabilization, telemetry overlay, and panoramic video stabilization. These technologies are incorporated into several major DJI products, including the Osmo Pocket series, Ronin/RS series, Osmo Mobile series, and Osmo 360.

Liu said, "We are fully committed to protecting our innovations and will take decisive action to defend our intellectual property from infringement."

• Insta360's Luna Ultra is a modular 8K compact vlogging camera
• It rivals the upcoming dual-lens DJI Pocket 4P
• The single-lens Luna Pro is yet to be fully unveiled

We now have the full picture of Insta360's first compact vlogging camera and DJI Pocket rival, after the Luna Ultra hit online stores yesterday (June 10), with prices starting at $769.99 / £649 / AU$1,229.99.

I've already shared my first impressions of the dual-lens 8K video camera, but Insta360 limited what could be shared ahead of its launch. Now all can be revealed — but you'll have to forgive the timing and nature of my coverage, because Insta360 hastily brought forward the launch from the previously-set embargo that I was working to.

I can now reveal that the Insta360 Luna Ultra packs two cameras which are stabilized by a 3-axis gimbal. The 1x main f/1.8 camera shoots 8K 30p video with Dolby Vision (HDR) and 4K 120fps slow motion, and features a 1-inch sensor (Insta360's largest yet, matching DJI) with 14 stops of dynamic range. (DJI has separately teased 17 stops dynamic for its upcoming Pocket 4P.)

The 3x telephoto f/2.0 camera works with a smaller but still decent-sized 1/1.3-inch sensor, and offers a 6x lossless zoom and up to a 12x digital zoom. I've tried both cameras extensively, and the telephoto camera is able to throw depth of field nicely for upper-body vlogging.

The Ultra is equipped with I-Log color profile — a feature pros demand for color grading flexibility, and another complete first for Insta360, plus Insta360's triple processing chips and latest AI subject tracking, which works pretty darn well.

I'll share more about the Luna Ultra's features in my upcoming in-depth review, but until then, let's look at how it handles compared to the Pocket 4.

Clearing up the Luna / Pocket 4 confusion

Insta360 is going hard with its first vlogging cameras, the single-lens Luna Pro and dual-lens Luna Ultra. The latter is available now, while the Pro's launch date is yet to be confirmed. Insta360 changed the Luna Ultra launch date several times due to a "rapidly changing competitive landscape," and it was eventually brought forward to a week earlier than the date I was working to. I've been testing the product for several weeks, and will publish my in-depth review as soon as I can.

DJI's latest single-lens vlogging camera was launched last month — check out my in-depth Pocket 4 review. It's no secret that the Pocket 4P is coming soon — DJI teased the dual-lens vlogging camera at Cannes Film Festival recently.

So, both brands will have single-lens and dual-lens vlogging cameras in their product lineups soon. But what we have right now is DJI's single-lens Pocket 4 and Insta 360's dual-lens Ultra, which makes direct comparisons tricky — it's like pitting a featherweight against a heavyweight in terms of versatility.

That being said, we know enough about the specs of all four cameras, and I've had enough time to get a feel for the design of the Luna Ultra and Pocket 4, to make some early impressions.

Luna Ultra versus Pocket 4

This isn't a fair comparison — the Luna Ultra is a pricier model with dual-lens versatility that will rival the upcoming Pocket 4P. But it's Insta360's first foray into a vlogging camera market, which has been dominated by the DJI Pocket series for several years. In that respect, the Luna Ultra feels surprisingly polished.

The Pocket 4 is the smaller of the two, and the Pocket 4P will be smaller than the Luna cameras too. It's not a big difference in size, and the extra bulk of the Luna Ultra hardly effects its handling, plus it's to facilitate a unique, game-changing feature — a detachable 2-inch OLED screen.

The screen is part of a module which also includes the camera's main controls. It has up to a 20m transmission range, and can be used to view and control the camera, and of course to initiate recording.

Given that the Luna Ultra features advanced subject tracking, you effectively have an autonomous camera that can track you while you move, within the limits of the gimbal's range. The module also features a built-in microphone, which is super handy too for vlogging, even if you still might want a wireless mic like Insta360's 5 star-rated Mic Pro for the best quality audio.

This modular functionality is a bit like the Insta360 Go 3S and its Action Dock / DJI Nano action cams, and clearly an advantage over the Pocket 4. The Pocket 4 has its own tricks mind you, such as its magnetic LED light which directly attaches to and is powered by the camera.

Both cameras are compatible with useful accessories, such as wireless mics. Yes, DJI has had skin in the game for longer, and boasts a solid ecosystem, but Insta360 is hardly lacking either.

As for the single-lens and dual-lens varieties, the latter are indeed like having two cameras, and will set the benchmark for compact vlogging camera quality, potentially persuading new users over using their smartphones. They're much pricier than the single-lens varieties, though — as we now we know, having seen how much the Luna Ultra costs.

How do the two cameras sounds to you? Is the dual-lens version overkill, or what the format needed? Let me know in the comments below, and make sure you vote in the poll above — and check back in for my in-depth coverage, coming soon.

Insta360 invited me to a hands-on event for its upcoming Luna Pro and Luna Ultra vlogging cameras, during which time I had the opportunity to test the dual-lens Ultra version and speak with the 360 camera manufacturer's co-founder, Max Richter.

I quizzed Max on everything from branching out into a new market dominated by DJI, to what Insta360's competitive advantages are and how a surprising number of Insta360 fans are using their action cams for photography.

There's still a lot we don't know about the Luna cameras ahead of their full unveil, and I'm restricted with what I can share because of a staggered embargo. Nonetheless, my conversation with Max shed a little light on where the innovative camera manufacturer is heading.

Rivalling DJI

Insta360 and DJI are launching new action cameras and compact video cameras at breakneck speed, seemingly leaving the likes of GoPro behind when it comes to innovation, even if GoPro recently announced its trio of Mission 1 cameras.

The 360 camera space is very much dominated by Insta360, who commands almost 70% market share, despite DJI announcing its own Osmo 360, and GoPro, its Max 2.

And the same can be said for DJI and compact vlogging cameras — its Pocket series has sold by the bucketload for years, the latest model being the Pocket 4, with no obvious competition. That was, until the Luna.

I expect the vlogging camera market to be a tough nut to crack for Insta360, but I believe it has the necessary software to give it a go, and now, finally, the hardware with the new Luna Pro and Luna Ultra.

"Luna is a new space for us, because it's going to be the first time and we actually have a real vlogging tool on the market," Max tells me.

"It's going to be seriously considered by prosumers or professional creators. This market category is quite big already, right? But we think there's space that we bring some new things to it. A little bit of competition to it.

"At the same time, though, what we're not going to do is to compete on the price. It's definitely gonna compete more on the on the product itself. It's a higher-end solution. It's not price competition, we really want to compete on the product."

And how will Insta360 compete on product? For one, the Luna seemingly matches the latest DJI Pocket cameras, at least where headline features are concerned.

The single-lens Luna Pro rivals the Pocket 4, while the dual-lens Luna Ultra, which I am testing, squares up to the upcoming Pocket 4P.

Like DJI, both Luna cameras utilize a 1-inch sensor and 10-bit video recording, while the Ultra features a second 3x camera, as the Pocket 4P will. All these cameras are supported with 3-axis gimbal stabilization, too.

And while Insta360 is coming into this space years after DJI, it now has its five-star Mic Pro wireless mic to rival the DJI Mic 3. So far, the Shenzen-based pair looks evenly matched.

Purely matching DJI while not competing on price is clearly not going to cut it, though, especially for an unproven first-generation product. That's where the Luna's neat modular screen gives it the hardware edge.

I've tested the unique feature, and it is truly brilliant. The rotating touchscreen is part of a removable component which also includes the main camera controls; the zoom lever, gimbal joystick, and record button.

You can use the screen to view and control the camera remotely, complete with subject tracking, giving the impression of having a cameraperson. What's more, the unit is fitted with a microphone, meaning you can view, record, track subjects, and present to camera.

That's what 'competing on product' looks like, and this game-changing feature alone could be enough to tempt first-timers and DJI fans to switch.

Powering the hardware

Insta360 is coming into the space fresh, but behind the scenes, it has long made cutting-edge software the foundation of its camera tech, which is crucial, especially in the 360 camera space.

“The new generation of content creators want convenience, ease of use, simple sharing on TikTok, Instagram, and so on, and that’s where Insta360 excels due to the software excellence,” says Max.

"Software is the key reason why you choose our products. Not everybody has the time to go into the mobile app and edit their videos, reframe the moment — that’s an extra step in the workflow that a lot of people are not willing to spend time on. We think AI will ultimately be a solution to that.

“The software or AI can choose the best moment or the best shot, or even be trained to know what is your preference in terms of editing. It’s getting better and better. I recently used it [Insta360's app] for diving videos when I didn’t have time to do a lot of reframing, but it perfectly got me the right frame on the sharks and turtles and on myself, that I couldn’t have done better in this short amount of time.

"On the hardware side, you’re not able to iterate so fast, but on the software side, I think we can play out our advantage; we can move very fast.

"To be honest, I see camera technology going in this direction. In the future, it will be hard to differentiate yourself on the hardware side; you also need to invest in the software, because the software can also balance out a lot of the hardware deficiencies."

I've personally used Insta360's app for videos shot with its 360 cameras, such as the X5, and can testify how much it simplifies the editing process. The same software is being used for the Luna vlogging cameras and might just take out pain points for editing vlogging content.

Max talked up Insta360's software credentials, but in a way, he's also doing the Luna a disservice — my first impressions of the camera itself are very positive, and it's great to see some competition for the DJI Pocket series.

What is currently unknown is pricing — just how uncompetitive will the Luna be? We'll find out soon enough.

Action cams are primarily for video, but how do they fare for photography? It’s an area that leading manufacturers, such as Insta360 and DJI, have been exploring recently with a glut of quirky accessories.

Take the Photography Grip for the Insta360 X5. It transforms my favorite 360 degree action cam into a point-and-shoot — a use case that I wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise considered.

Or how about the optical viewfinder for the Insta360 Go 3S, which is now available in a Retro Bundle? This, again, changes its primary function as a tiny 4K camera into a waist-level stills shooter.

Third-parties are in on the act too — SmallRig makes a cage for the DJI Osmo Action 6, which significantly improves its handling for photography, and our reviewer Sam Kieldsen loved it.

I was curious about these accessories that turn some of the best action cams into point-and-shoots — are they simple novelties, or are they genuinely useful? How suited are action cams really for photography? I had to find out for myself...

Getting a grip

Photography with action cameras is certainly possible, but there’s no doubt that these types of cameras are primarily designed and equipped for video. However, the Insta360 X5 Photography Grip — which costs $49.99 / £47.99 / AU$87.99 and is available in black or white at Insta360's store — certainly improves the camera's handling for photography.

It fixes to the tripod mount on the camera's underside, and connects through the USB-C port — all you need to do is open the X5's USB-C door to 90-degrees and then pull the cover completely off (and find a safe place for it as you'll need it again for regular use!).

The X5's Photography Grip is comfy to hold and features a simple shutter release button. It aids shooting at awkward angles and framing elements such as leading lines, because it’s positioned away from the camera and gives an easy hold to frame shots in vertical and horizontal perspectives.

I especially enjoyed holding the camera vertically with the grip at the top. And given the X5 is fully waterproof (to 16ft / 5m), its lens can be submerged in water too — this very feature enables creative shot such as above and below water simultaneously with the lens half-submerged. (Given the USB-C door needs to be removed to attach the grip, however, you can’t fully submerge the camera with grip because that port is consequently exposed.)

Besides design, many action cameras actually have decent specs for photography; the Insta360 X5 is able to shoot 72MP stills that cover 360-degrees, or 36MP stills in a single lens mode, which was my primary concern with the grip.

Most action cameras have a wide-angle FOV, the X5 even more so. If you want telephoto shots, then action cams aren’t for you, period. However, for scenes that feature a point of interest close to the camera, they can offer truly dynamic perspectives. The X5 specifically has Ultra, Dewarp and Linear options — the latter corrects image distortions and was my top pick for everyday photography.

And the latest action cameras typically major on attractive color science, such as the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 with its Leica-inspired looks (for which there's an Xplorer Grip Pro kit like the one SmallRig makes for DJI, which costs $99 / £99 / AU$180). The X5's range of color profiles, however, are much more limited, but it can shoot in RAW format to make color grading easier after the event. I'd like to see more photography-first features added by a firmware update.

Action cameras are also small and discreet, making them somewhat suited to street photography. So, with its wide-angle perspective, waterproof design and small body, the X5 with grip can actually be a surprisingly powerful every day photography camera. That said, it needs to process photos faster too to be taken seriously as a stills camera.

A niche accessory worth trying?

The Insta360 X5 will still primarily be a video camera for me. The same can be said for the Insta360 Go 3S even with the cutesy optical viewfinder that comes in the new Retro Bundle (and which can be purchased separately if you already own the camera).

However, don’t write these cameras off for photography, especially action cams such as the Ace Pro 2 and DJI Osmo Action 6, which are better equipped for stills. If you want an altogether different use for your action camera, and enjoy shooting a wide perspective with the freedom of a small, lightweight and rugged build, you might just discover a new niche with the help of one of these accessories.

I’m not the only one trying action cameras specifically for photography, with these new accessories; photographer Geit Eero has demonstrated the Xplorer Grip Pro kit in action on Instagram (see above).

Peruse the links above for the best deals on the weird and wonderful world of action cam photography accessories — you might just find a new use for your action cam.

Would you use a GoPro, DJI or Insta360 action camera for photography? Do these accessories sway your thinking? Have your say in the poll and comments below.

Insta360 might be the dominant force in 360 cameras, but the brand just stepped out of its lane in a major way — and muscled into DJI territory — with its first vlogging camera, the Luna.

The Luna rivals DJI’s unique Pocket series of gimbal-stabilized 4K vlogging cameras. With no obvious competition, the DJI range has sold by the bucket-load for years. But with Insta360 adding its own unique features, could DJI see some proper competition at last?

I’ve been testing the Luna ahead of its official launch, and while I can’t share everything I know about the Luna yet, nor any sample footage I've taken, there are a few details I can reveal. First up, Luna comes in two varieties, the single-lens Luna Pro and the dual-lens Luna Ultra, which are clearly set to rival the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 and the recently teased / soon-to-be launched Pocket 4P respectively. Both Luna versions are available in black or white colorways, and the pricing is yet to be confirmed.

I’ve been using the dual-lens Ultra version which, like the Pro version, features a 1x main wide-angle f/1.8 lens and 1-inch sensor — that’s the largest sensor in an Insta360 yet, and matches DJI — but also adds a 3x telephoto camera.

Users can punch in with that telephoto camera for a 6x lossless zoom — meaning that there should be no obvious degradation in image quality — and up to 12x with a digital zoom, a total of five zoom steps.

We don’t have concrete details of the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P yet, but from the early teasers it seems as though DJI is taking the same dual-lens approach as the Luna Ultra, so the rivalry is about to get real. Who gets there first with a world-first dual-lens vlogging camera, we’ll have to wait and see.

Naturally, the Luna cameras are supported with 3-axis gimbal stabilization like the Pocket cameras. In another first for Insta360, they offer 10-bit color depth and an I-Log color profile, again matching the specs of the DJI Pocket (though which one has the better-looking footage is another matter).

All of the above suggests that Insta360 is ready to go toe-to-toe with DJI, but that’s not even the most exciting part about the Luna.

The feature that DJI wishes it had

The Luna has a modular design party trick that DJI wishes it had: a multi-function removable screen, and it’s brilliant. You simply press in buttons on either side of the screen to release it from the camera body, and then you can see what the camera is seeing remotely, complete with the record, zoom and joystick controls.

Here’s where things get really clever — the Luna’s removable screen features a built-in microphone, so you can use it to remotely view yourself, compose the shot, and present to camera.

What’s more, the Luna features subject tracking. With a double tap on the screen of your intended subject, the camera will then track them, keeping them centered in the frame as they move about.

Pair those features — a removable screen with microphone and subject tracking — and you truly can be a one-person show, gaining the impression of a cameraperson tracking you as you walk around the scene (though of course you will need to find a suitable surface to rest the camera body on or mount it to a support).

The removable screen is such a neat feature, especially for solo creators, but also when you’re traveling with friends or family and would like to take selfies.

What makes the Luna even more compelling as a DJI Pocket alternative is that Insta360 has recently launched new accessories, including the recent Mic Pro wireless mic (see above), which we awarded a maximum 5 out of 5 rating in our review. These excellent accessories mean that you don’t need to mix and match brands to get top quality video and audio — Insta360 now has its own complete ecosystem for vlogging.

Yes, DJI has been making vlogging cameras for longer than Insta360 and I expect it to continue dominating the space for some time — reports suggest the Pocket 4 took a huge 72.5% of total video camera sales in Japan last month, despite it being launched in the third week of the month — in the same way that DJI launched its own Osmo 360 to rival Insta360, but Insta360 still has almost 70% total market share. However, the Luna might just do things differently enough to persuade first timers or DJI fans to switch.

I’m excited to share more Luna details with you when the full embargo lifts. But what do you make of the features I have been able to share — game-changer or gimmick? How does the Luna look compared to the Pocket 4? Have your say in the comments below.

This week was a big one for software as we got official (and unofficial) teases for the next iteration of Android and iOS.

We also heard that the seemingly ill-fated Trump Phone might actually be coming after all, though we wouldn't be surprised if it gets delayed again by the time you're reading this.

Before you catch up with this week’s tech news, why not test yourself on last week’s seven biggest tech stories to see how well you were paying attention? Take the quiz below.

7. The Trump phone has landed?

Last week, we highlighted reports that the Trump Phone looked to have cemented itself in the vaporware category — with its new terms of service suggesting that a device may never actually ship, and that preorders don’t guarantee you a product. That now seems to have changed as the company announced "Phones start shipping this week!!!”

Now, until devices are in the hands of the people who bought one you’ll forgive us for remaining skeptical — the device’s release date has been shifted a few times now, and some people with preorders have been told shipping deadlines previously that have then been missed.

We write ICYMI on Friday, so it’s very possible that by the time you read this on Saturday morning, the Trump phone situation will have shifted yet again, but hopefully, this is the end of the Trump Phone saga. Though we can’t shake the feeling, this might merely be the close of act one.

• Read the full story: The long-promised Trump Mobile Phone is slated to arrive in consumers' hands this week

6. Philips made TV immersion cheaper

Smart lighting doesn’t just come with added convenience; it can also be a home entertainment immersion booster with gadgets like the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K — though if you’re after something more budget-friendly, Philips just debuted a non-Hue sync box.

The Philips Smart Lighting HDMI Sync Box 2.1 comes in two sizes — one for 55 to 65-inch TVs, and one for 75 to 85-inch TVs — and, instead of working with the HUE system, it integrates with WiZ-branded tech.

At under half the launch cost, this lightning solution could be perfect for the more budget-conscious amongst you who still want the immersion factor offered by TV sync tech once it starts rolling out in June.

• Read the full-story: Sync your lights with your TV for a lot less cash

5. Claude cracked a crypto wallet

A Bitcoin owner who believed he had permanently lost access to nearly $400,000 worth of cryptocurrency says Anthropic’s Claude AI helped recover the funds after more than a decade. The user had originally bought 5 Bitcoin when the cryptocurrency was worth around $250 each, but later changed the wallet password while in college and forgot it. After years of failed attempts — including trying trillions of password combinations — the owner uploaded files from an old computer into Claude as a final attempt.

It was able to locate an older wallet backup file that existed before the password change happened. Combined with an old mnemonic phrase the user had recently rediscovered, the recovered wallet file finally allowed access to the Bitcoin again.

• Read the full story: Claude AI helped a Bitcoin owner recover nearly $400,000

4. The Insta 360 Go 3S went Retro

This week, we saw the wackiest camera kit of 2026 so far: a Retro bundle of the Go 3S.

The action cam is ideal for when you need something tiny — it can slot in just about any small space, much easier than its rivals — but this kit makes it resemble an old Polaroid. You’ll get a viewfinder dock to help you compose shots (it doubles as a selfie mirror), but no LCD screen.

If you want a more modern feel and easier composition, the camera can still be paired with a smartphone via the Insta360 app.

The Go 3S Retro Bundle costs $300 / £279 / AU$470 for the 64GB version or $320 / £299 / AU$500 for the 128GB version. The latter feels like the obvious pick — you'll want as much internal storage as you can get because there's no card slot.

• Read the full-story: Insta360 reveals one of the wackiest camera kits for 2026

3. Ninja’s Slushi got twice as nice

What’s better than one Ninja Slushi? How about two side-by-side so that you can make dual-flavored, multicolored iced drinks at home? This week, Ninja released the Slushi Twist, which makes two different types of slush at the same time, then dispenses them in an attractive swirled pattern. Having two freezing chambers means it has a much larger capacity than the original Slushi, making it perfect for parties.

The Slushi Twist is on sale now in the US for $399.99, and although we don’t have international release dates yet, I’m sure it won’t be too long before it’s available worldwide. It certainly proved popular, and the first batch of stock sold out within hours. Don’t worry, though, you can sign up on Ninja’s website to be notified when more arrive.

• Read the full-story: Ninja doubles the freezing fun with the new Ninja Slushi Twist

2. iOS 27 was teased

Siri 2.0 has been a long (long!) time coming, but Apple’s revamped voice assistant finally looks set to debut in iOS 27 – and this week, we got a better idea of what it might actually look like.

According to Bloomberg’s resident Apple tipster Mark Gurman, Siri 2.0 will largely live within the Dynamic Island and display transparent results cards in response to your queries. If you need to go deeper into a query, you’ll be able to swipe that results card to bring up an iMessage-like chat interface, and there will also be a dedicated Siri app, where you can access your conversation history or upload images and documents.

Other rumored iOS 27 features include an updated, AI-powered Spotlight Search tool and a redesigned Image Playground app, so it sounds like Apple could finally be about to take its seat at the AI table.

• Read the full-story: Siri 2.0 could arrive with iOS 27

1. Android 17 was showcased

Just a week before Google I/O kicks off, the Android team dedicated an entire show to debuting new features set to drop with Android 17, a boatload of Gemini integrations, and an entirely new platform.

In terms of Android 17 is set to bring a lot, including a new take on curbing screen time and easing phone addiction called Pause Point. Rather than just locking you out of an app, it might show photos or suggest a breathing exercise. There's also an easy way to film screen recordings with your own talking head in the corner, which might be really handy for content creators.

Gemini Intelligence is set to make AI even more useful and helpful across a whole barrage of tasks, and honestly, it sounds pretty close to what Apple promised with Apple Intelligence. This new suite of AI functionality that's integrated at the system level of the OS will also be found on forthcoming Googlebooks. Essentially, these new laptops run a combination of Android and ChromeOS. And while this is a ton, it's likely we'll hear even more about it at Google I/O.

• Read the full-story: 7 best Android 17 upgrades announced at The Android Show

• Insta360 reveals the Go 3S 'Retro Bundle' for its 4K thumb-sized action cam
• The bundle includes a new optical viewfinder and comes in two colorways
• It costs $300 / £279 / AU$470 (64GB) or $320 / £299 / AU$500 (128GB)

Insta360 has revealed one of the wackiest camera kits for 2026 — a ‘Retro Bundle’ edition of its thumb-sized 4K camera, the Go 3S.

We rate the original as the best ‘small’ 4K action camera — it's truly tiny and can slot into spaces no other camera can, or be rigged up to athletes and so on for a first-person POV of the action.

But unlike the original, which comes with a dock with flip up LCD display for composing images and remote control, the retro version feels more like a Polaroid.

You get the 4K camera, which also shoots 12MP stills, in one of two colorways, with a matching optical viewfinder dock instead.

The waist-level viewfinder mirrors the view in front for composing shots, is fully optical, and doubles up as a selfie mirror.

And if it wasn't obvious from the pictures, the camera itself has no screen, just a single button. That's right, this is a 4K digital video camera with no screen whatsoever, just the button — that's as retro as digital video cameras get.

A single press of the camera's button initiates video recording, a double tap takes a photo and so on, but if you need more control, that's where Insta360's app comes in.

The camera can still be paired with a smartphone through the Insta360 app, through which users can remotely control the camera.

And it's still the same Go 3S, with it's unique tiny body and video/photo skills, just wrapped in a different skin that's sure to appeal to analog lovers — call this the Polaroid-like video camera!

Insta360 sells a leather case for the retro bundle, which has a different aesthetic and feels like an odd match, but it looks good in its own right — you can see it in the gallery above.

The Go 3S Retro Bundle costs $300 / £279 / AU$470 for the 64GB version or $320 / £299 / AU$500 for the 128GB version. The latter feels like the obvious pick — you'll want as much internal storage as you can get because there's no card slot.

If you already own the Go 3S and like the sound of retro viewfinder, the viewfinder part can be purchased separately for $48 / £46 / AU$80, which is great to see.

What do you think, is this the kind of camera that appeals to you? Have your say in our poll above or in the comments below!

• We've got another glimpse of the Insta360 Luna Ultra
• It looks like it will offer a removable remote control unit
• The official launch of the camera doesn't seem to be far off

We know that the Insta360 Luna Ultra is on the way, as it was officially teased back in February – though details on the vlogging camera remain scarce. A new leak has given us a good look at the device and some of its specs, and revealed one of its smartest features.

The leak comes courtesy of Notebookcheck, and shows off the packaging of the camera as well as a couple of hands-on photos. We can see the device in both white and black, and it seems there will just be one Luna Ultra model (so no standard Luna).

There are two key details we can glean from these images: the incoming camera does offer a dual-lens setup, and will indeed support video up to a resolution of 8K, both of which had already been expected or leaked.

As for the main party trick, it's a detachable remote control model, which you can disconnect from the camera and use wirelessly — so you'll be able to manage recording and see what's in the frame without actually being right behind the device.

Insta360 vs DJI

That detachable module might just help the Insta360 Luna Ultra stand out from the recently launched DJI Osmo Pocket 4, which we've reviewed here. The DJI camera is an impressive bit of kit, but it does top out at 4K video recording.

What's on the way from Insta360 would up that to 8K, as well as giving you the ability to put the camera down in one spot and then control it from anywhere — a feature that's also been specifically mentioned by well-known tipster Igor Bogdanov.

There's still a lot we don't know about the Insta360 Luna Ultra though, including the all-important price point, so it's too early to make judgments yet. For reference, the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 starts at £429 / AU$749 (and isn't available in the US).

According to Notebookcheck, reviewers already have their Insta360 Luna Ultra units to test, so we should hear more about it soon. Meanwhile, the reveal of a Pro version of the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 is also rumored to be imminent.

As someone who records vlogging content using smartphones, there's a glaring issue that's difficult to overcome; the selfie camera is the easiest option, as you can properly frame your shot using the screen, but that's usually the worst camera on your phone, while the best camera is around the back.

Quality matters to me so, a lot of the time, I flip the phone around and just guess my framing. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't — but so far, the solutions I have tried are far from ideal.

The idea that has previously made the most sense to me is a monitor that can mount to the rear of your phone to give you a preview of what you're recording. I've tried a few different versions, and SmallRig's attempt impressed me the most, but it's still a pain to use.

It connects to your phone wirelessly, which is a nice idea, but this wireless connection introduces latency, and it gets worse the longer you record for. It also lacks touchscreen controls, the screen isn't particularly bright, and the battery life isn't too impressive, either. It's still useful, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

Thankfully Insta360 has just stepped into the frame with its own solution, the Snap Selfie Screen, and it seems like it might address all of these issues. I've been testing it out for the past week to see how it stacks up.

Meet the Insta360 Snap Selfie Screen

The Insta360 Snap Selfie Screen has the same goal as the other models I've tried, but it does a few things differently. Firstly, it's a wired solution, powered by the phone, with no internal battery. As a result, it's able to be much slimmer and lighter, which makes it easier to bring with you.

Insta360's products have always impressed me with their thoughtful design touches, and the Snap Selfie Screen is made with the same attention to detail. It comes with a built-in screen cover to prevent scratches during transportation, and it flips around to cover your phone screen and prevent accidental touches when the Snap is in use.

The cable is permanently attached, but it has a built-in magnet that snaps to the screen cover and stops it from flopping around in your bag. It's not something that's strictly necessary, but it makes for a more polished experience. Insta360 is good at that.

As for how it works, it couldn't be easier. You attach the USB-C cable to your phone, a pop-up appears asking if you want to cast your display, you choose "Cast" and off you go.

The Snap Selfie Screen has MagSafe-compatible magnets inside, and if you have an iPhone, or an Android with a compatible case, you just slap it on the back of your device. If not, Insta360 includes a stick-on adapter ring in the box.

The Snap Selfie Screen has a touchscreen display, and if you're on Android, it'll just work instantly. On iPhone, you have to go to accessibility settings and enable "Zoom" to get it to function. It seems like a bit of an awkward workaround, but hey, it works.

What it's like to use

The best thing about the Insta360 Snap Selfie Screen is that it's convenient. You can set up to record yourself in a matter of seconds, and you can control everything from the monitor, rather than having to flip around to the main screen whenever you need to change a setting.

By contrast, with a wireless monitor, you need to set up a screen cast, which can be fiddly and varies from brand to brand. You'll also be contending with latency, and with an iPhone, the latency is so bad at 4K that it's basically unusable.

There are no such issues with Insta360's latest offering, but there is something you should be aware of. Not all phones support display output over USB-C, so you'll need to check carefully if it'll work with your phone before ordering.

I'm not just talking about budget phones, either. You'd be surprised how many premium handsets lack the feature. Vivo's X300 FE, despite being a brand-new flagship-series release, is not compatible, for instance.

The screen-covering flap is a great addition that helps with usability. There's a special area that blocks touch inputs, and so long as you train yourself to keep your fingers in that spot, it makes one-handed vlogging much more comfortable.

I can't help but wish this flap was removable, though. It's permanently affixed, and while it magnetically keeps itself closed when the screen isn't in use, it can flop around annoyingly if you aren't holding it in the intended fashion. It makes using phone clamps a little fiddly, too. Nothing some scissors can't fix, I suppose.

The Insta360 Snap Selfie Screen is easily the brightest selfie monitor I have tried, and that makes a massive difference when you're shooting outdoors. It's also the only one I've seen with the option of a built-in fill-light.

If you choose the pricier of the two models (which is the version I'm testing), you'll get a diffused LED border that surrounds the display, plus two buttons for controlling the color temperature and brightness level.

I'm not the biggest fan of on-camera lighting, so I haven't found myself turning it on very often, but it'll almost certainly look more flattering than the built-in LED flash on your phone. Plus, if you find yourself needing to vlog in a really dark location, it could save the day.

Should you buy one?

While I haven't been shy about the shortcomings of selfie screens like this, the truth is, I use them all the time. Being able to use the larger sensors on the rear of your phone makes such a dramatic difference to the quality of your videos. Until more manufacturers start putting screens on the back of phones (or dramatically improve the quality of selfie cams), accessories like these are a necessity for any mobile creator.

The Insta360 Snap Selfie Screen, while not flawless, is by far the best implementation I have come across. It walks all over my previous favorite from SmallRig, and it'll be staying in my kit bag for the foreseeable future.

It's more convenient, it's brighter, it's easier to use, and it's the most thoughtfully designed. Plus, it's not significantly more expensive than any of its competition. If you're in the market for a selfie screen, the Insta360 Snap is now the obvious choice.

• An intriguing new Insta360 camera has just leaked
• It looks like a traditional Micro Four Thirds mirrorless model
• The camera has been spotted once before

Just days after GoPro introduced a new action camera with a Micro Four Thirds lens mount — making it compatible with hundreds of external lenses — a new camera from Insta360 has leaked that promises to keep the Micro Four Thirds trend going.

The leak comes from Reddit (via 4/3 Rumors), and we get a decent look at the design of the device. There's no viewfinder here, but Insta360 seems to have kept everything relatively compact, and we get the white finish that Insta360 is keen on for its cameras.

We have actually seen a leak for this camera before, back in January when Insta360 CEO Jingkang Liu posted a mysterious shot to social media: it showed this camera in action, with the rear screen on display while a photo was being framed.

That previous leak pointed to 20MP photo capture and a fixed or interchangeable f/1.8 lens, but it now seems a Micro Four Thirds mount could be on board. The software interface looks to be similar to the one we're already familiar with from the Insta360 Ace Pro action camera.

Either 'hideous' or 'fresh'

A new M43 camera, from insta360. The rumor turns out to be real. from r/M43

While plenty of questions remain around this camera — such as whether the mount will come with autofocus and aperture control for existing MFT lenses — it's likely to be welcomed by those who have been missing new models in this specific category.

Reactions online have been somewhat mixed, with various commentators describing it as "hideous", "fresh", and "infinitely more useful... than whatever GoPro just released". Another more positive reaction was "this is amazing for mft [Micro Four Thirds]", with the argument being that it could fill a gap left by both OM System and Panasonic in the system for a truly compact mirrorless camera. We're going to reserve judgment until it's actually been made official.

Given Insta360's track record, this is likely to be beginner-friendly, while also trying to do enough to tempt the more professional crowd as well. Vloggers will no doubt be interested, as they will in the upcoming Insta360 Luna that's already been previewed.

With Micro Four Thirds camera launches few and far between in recent years, it's interesting that both GoPro and Insta360 are now investing in the technology again — but we'll have to wait and see what the demand for these models is like.

• Expect the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 on April 16
• The vlogging camera has been long rumored
• Insta360 is also launching the Luna soon

The build-up to the launch of the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 has been a long and busy one, but we now have an official date for the unveiling of the vlogging camera — while further leaks appear for a rival device from Insta360.

DJI has posted a teaser clip to social media that tells us the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 will launch on Thursday, April 16. The reveal begins at 12pm GMT, which works out as 4am PT / 7am ET / 9pm AEST in Australia, so get your calendars marked accordingly.

The camera isn't mentioned by name, but we do get a pretty good glimpse of it, with the tagline "the world in my pocket". In Japanese, the tagline translates as "the world expands", which may hint at expanded camera sensor capabilities.

As Notebookcheck points out, that hints at a wider native focal length on the new camera, together with support for the Open Gate standard, as offered by the iPhone 17 Pro — it means more of the sensor area can be used for filming.

DJI vs Insta360

The official announcement hasn't stopped the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 leaks from appearing. Regular tipster Igor Bogdanov (via Notebookcheck) has posted more renders of the camera ahead of time, showing its tweaked design—with two extra console buttons.

Among the other upgrades that have been tipped are improvements to the 1-inch sensor that allow in more light and improve photo and video quality, and an additional camera a potential possibility for a Pro version of the device.

However, DJI might immediately have some competition for its new camera. Again we're indebted to Igor Bogdanov for the leak, this time for the Insta360 Luna: it's described as a "more interesting" version of what DJI is about to unveil.

The Insta360 Luna is official, sort of, having already been announced — but we don't know exactly when it's going to go on sale, or any of the specs we can expect. For consumers though, more choice and more competition is most definitely welcome.

• Two new Insta360 cameras have been spotted
• These models have been teased by the Insta360 CEO
• There's plenty of speculation over what they could be

We have Insta360 to thank for some of the best action cameras in the business – as well as several other innovative gadgets – and it looks very much like we've got a couple more cameras from the company to look forward to in the near future.

Insta360 CEO Jingkang Liu has taken to Chinese social media site Weibo (via PetaPixel) to share a teaser image, alongside the caption "go to a new focal segment". That sounds like an upcoming camera to us.

As pointed out by The New Camera, there are actually two unknown cameras in this picture: the camera that we can see being used to frame a photo, and a second camera that's visible through the viewfinder of the first one.

We're well used to rumors and teases and hints for Insta360 products at this stage, but this is a sort of hybrid combination of an official unveiling and a product leak that we don't often see, and we're rather intrigued as to what it could be pointing to.

Camera spotting

The first camera in this image – the one that's being used to frame and take a photo – looks unlike anything Insta360 currently makes. PetaPixel speculates that it might be a compact, fixed-lens camera along the lines of a Canon PowerShot.

We can see some controls around the side of the viewfinder, which include buttons for toggling between video and photo modes, and a playback button for reviewing videos and photos captured by whatever camera this is.

As for the second camera that the first mystery camera is taking a picture of, The New Camera suggests this is a pocket vlogging camera along the lines of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 (with the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 waiting in the wings).

That latter camera is probably closer to being launched – perhaps as early as February or March – whereas the compact digital camera may still be in the prototype stage. It seems that it won't be too long before we have more Insta360 cameras to enjoy.

• Leaptic teases a new action camera for CES 2026
• It could rival the DJI Osmo Nano
• The teaser indicates the 'AI' camera will shoot 8K video

DJI and Insta360 could have a new rival on their hands, after a new Chinese company called Leaptic teased a modular action camera that will be unveiled at CES this week.

The teaser on X (formerly Twitter) reveals the silhouette of the '8K AI tiny action camera', and it looks a lot like the profile of the modular DJI Osmo Nano.

Like the Insta360 Go 3S before it, the Osmo Nano is a truly tiny thumb-sized action cam which can fit in tight spaces for creative angles and worn as a body camera, but being modular it also attaches magnetically to a pod with a screen for a traditional action camera design.

Leaptic's offering appears to have a strikingly similar design to the Osmo Nano, but we know precious little else about it other than will shoot video at a higher 8K resolution.

Another post shared on Instagram in September 2025 seemingly reveals Leaptic's AI action camera, if indeed this is the same camera, calling it a 'next-gen AI action camera redefining sports filmmaking', armed with a 'disruptive end-to-end AI concept'.

It says the camera will weigh just 35g, is equipped with voice control, plus it features what sounds like 'AI' subject and action detection and auto editing to speed workflow.

This all sounds intriguing, and with CES kicking off tomorrow on January 6, we'll soon have more concrete detail about the tiny 8K action camera from the horse's mouth, and if indeed it has what it takes to break into this competitive space.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

Welcome to another In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) round-up, which we do every week to make sure you're fully caught up with all the big stories that have been breaking in the world of technology over the last seven days.

It's been a bumper week this week – as it is every week – and we've seen an important upgrade for ChatGPT, a new retro film camera from Kodak, an update on the US ban for DJI, a tease about the 'future of wearables' from Garmin, and more besides.

Of course, it's peak time for the Black Friday deals as well, so you'll find links to a pile of discounts and deals further down this page (or head here for the best UK deals too). If you're in the market for a new piece of tech, now might be the perfect time to pick it up. But first, here are the rest of the week's biggest stories...

7. Kodak gave us a gloriously retro 35mm film camera

Say hello to the Snapic A1, a new 35mm film camera from Kodak that offers multiple exposure shooting, a 25mm three-element glass lens, a maximum aperture of f/9.5, and manual focus, all wrapped up in a plastic build with a retro aesthetic.

The camera tips the scales at a mere 117 grams, comes in two colors (Rhino Grey and Ivory White), and costs $99 (that's around £75 / AU$150), with a neck strap and pouch included. Given the sample photos provided, we're cautiously optimistic about performance, too.

• Read more: Kodak reveals affordable 35mm film camera that's a glorious blast from the past

6. Garmin teased the ‘future of wearables’

What is Garmin working on? One of the company's official social media pages posted and then pulled a teaser for a new device, promising the 'future of wearables' – and there's been plenty of speculation online about what the teaser could be referring to.

Based on the brief glimpse we get in the teaser image, it looks as though the upcoming device could be a slim smartwatch rather than the Whoop competitor Garmin is rumored to be working on – but we won't know for sure until Garmin makes it official.

• Read more: Garmin just teased a new device it's calling the 'future of wearables' – and it's coming soon

5. ChatGPT got a voice mode upgrade

The voice mode inside ChatGPT now works much more seamlessly with the text mode, so you can switch between them more easily. We've already given the new interface a whirl, and came away impressed by how much it improves the user experience of the AI bot.

We've got all the details you need to know about the newly revised and improved voice mode, including how to switch back to the old interface, and exactly what the differences are if you're signed up for one of the ChatGPT subscription plans, compared to free users.

• Read more: ChatGPT's voice mode just got a major upgrade – here are 5 things you need to know

4. Insta360’s all-seeing drone got a launch date

Insta360 has a new 360-degree drone called the Antigravity A1, which should make for some spectacular in-flight views, and some fantastic subsequent photos and videos. The drone was actually announced in August, but now we have an on-sale date too.

You'll be able to place your order for the Antigravity A1 on Thursday, December 4 – and it's going to be available worldwide, so you should be able to get hold of one. In the meantime, DJI is strongly rumored to be working on its own 360-degree drone device.

• Read more: Forget DJI – Insta360's exciting Antigravity drone just got an on-sale date and it's soon

3. OpenAI’s first gadget took a step closer to reality

It's no longer a secret that OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, in partnership with ex-Apple design chief Jony Ive, are working on a device that will let you carry ChatGPT around with you at all times – but we're still waiting to find out what it looks like and what it'll cost.

Those questions remain unanswered, but we do know the gadget is getting closer to a launch. Altman has now gone on the record saying the device should feel like a "cabin by a lake" compared to an iPhone – whatever that means – and will be launching within the next couple of years.

• Read more: Sam Altman says his new AI device should feel like a 'cabin by a lake' – not an iPhone

2. DJI warned us about its imminent US ban

Time is rapidly running out for DJI to avoid having new products banned in the US – not because any security audit has found it to be a threat to US national security, but because no security audit at all has taken place, with a December 23 deadline fast approaching.

DJI has now posted a full update on the current situation for its users, and is asking for their help to avoid a ban. Find out what the ban will mean for DJI if it eventually comes into force, and that will happen to the products you've already bought after that date.

• Read more: DJI explains what its looming US ban means for your drones – and says time is quickly running out

1. We hand-picked the best Black Friday deals

We take Black Friday deals hunting very seriously here at TechRadar, and our team of experts has been hard at work looking across the biggest retailers on the web for the holiday season discounts that you should be taking advantage of across this week.

We're not just looking for the most significant discounts out there – though that's part of it – but we're also picking out the best gadgets and products on the market, and finding them at the lowest prices. You can be sure that all of these deals are worth your while.

• Read more: The best Black Friday deals in the US and the best Black Friday deals in the UK

• Insta360 gave gold keycaps worth $45,000 each to top employees
• More than fifty gold keycaps have been handed out since 2019
• Employees once received gold bars, coins, and stickers as celebration gifts

Popular webcam manufacturer Insta360 has turned workplace rewards into a spectacle with another bumper round of present-giving.

The Shenzhen-based imaging firm recently handed out gold keycaps valued at up to $45,000 each to select employees during China’s ‘Programmer’s Day.’

The move marks the continuation of a tradition that began four years ago, and has seen more than fifty such prizes awarded.

A gold-plated workplace tradition

As the price of gold has risen, so has the value of the gifts, turning each year’s celebration into a talking point across China’s tech industry.

What might sound like a marketing stunt has actually evolved into part of what observers now call an established gold culture within the company.

Past celebrations included a 50-gram pure gold bar given to a competition winner and a gold coin presented to a newly married employee couple.

Even interns received gold stickers during the firm’s tenth anniversary in July 2025.

The pattern has earned Insta360 the local nickname “gold factory,” a title that blurs admiration with disbelief, and founder Liu Jingkang insists the symbolism is intentional, not excessive.

He says each golden keycap represents the idea that every keystroke “turns the stone into gold,” linking the reward to creative effort and innovation.

Liu believes gold conveys reliability and stability, traits he considers essential in both employees and technology.

Yet, for outsiders, the line between genuine appreciation and calculated branding appears increasingly thin.

Lavish gestures like these can spark loyalty but also invite scrutiny over whether such displays distract from the company’s long-term business focus.

Away from the glamour of precious metal, Insta360’s real strength lies in imaging technology.

Its Insta360 Link is one of the best webcams for content creators with strong performance in video conferencing and online collaboration environments.

The company continues to push updates with AI-enhanced features that improve user experience for both professionals and hobbyists.

However, despite these technological strides, its gold-heavy corporate image now risks overshadowing the very innovation that made it successful.

Via Toms's Hardware

• Insta360 reveals new accessories for its flagship Ace Pro 2 action camera
• Among them are a photographer's grip and a clip-on instant printer
• New lenses and in-camera Leica color profiles are added too

Insta360 just gave its flagship Ace Pro 2 action camera a major boost with a range of new accessories, including a photographer's grip, three lenses for different looks, and the bizarre crossover we didn't know we needed (and probably don't) – a clip-on instant printer. You can see the full setup in the image above.

Some of the new accessories feel sensible, such as the new cinematic, ultra-wide, and close-up lenses. Taking a page out of GoPro's book with its Hero 13 Black Lens Mods – a feature that I labeled the 'future of action camera design', users will be able to get anamorphic-style clips with the cinematic lens, and focus closer with the close-up lens. I can already feel GoPro's ire.

And then there's the Xplorer Grip Pro – a case with an integrated battery and ergonomic grip (see below). It's the type of accessory that Chinese phone brands have been delivering in recent years to improve the handling of their phones for photography, such as the excellent Xiaomi 15 Ultra photography kit.

Clearly, Insta360 wants the Ace Pro 2 to be a photographer's tool as well as an 8K action cam, and for users wanting a comprehensive action camera, it kind of makes sense.

The peculiar addition, however, has to be the clip-on Pocket Printer, which Insta360 says is the 'first made for an action camera–delivers instant, memorable keepsakes from any moment'. It prints 3-inch auto-laminated photos (54 × 82mm, with a 54 × 72mm printable area) using dye-sublimation technology, which Insta360 says 'matches the vibrant footage from Ace Pro 2' and are waterproof, dustproof, and fade-resistant.

I don't typically associate action cams with photography at all, let alone making instant prints from them on the go. This accessory I'm filing under 'don't knock it till you try it'.

Overkill or genius?

Between GoPro, DJI, and Insta360's latest flagship action cameras, I believe the Hero Black 13's swappable lenses to be the most exciting path for action cams, more so than the Ace Pro 2's 8K video skills. However, now you can get both with the Insta360 model, thanks to the three new lenses – each one directly inspired by (or imitating) GoPro.

I wouldn't necessarily think of using the Ace Pro 2 for photography, because its strength is undeniably video. However, the handling of the camera for photography would indeed improve with the new grip, while new Leica color profiles will no doubt assist in getting a strong look straight out of the camera, ready for print.

The printer, on the other hand – well, the jury is out on that one. I like the Instax Mini Link printers for on-the-go printing, but I wouldn't bring those into outdoor adventure moments.

There are now a number of Ace Pro 2 bundles available with these new accessories; the XPlorer Pro Bundle adds the new grip and additional battery and costs $519.99. The Flash Print bundle further adds the Pocket Printer, a Flip Screen Hood, and Classic Leather Case for $579.99 / £545 / A$1,049. The Ultimate Videography Bundle also adds the three new lenses and costs $739.99 / £725 / A$1,359. There are other bundles just with one of the lenses if you don't want all three, and all bundles are available immediately at launch, from November 12.

What do you think? Is the Ace Pro 2 with all these new accessories the ultimate action camera setup? Let me know in the comments below.

Gone are the days when GoPro fully ruled the roost on the action camera scene. In the last few years, we’ve seen new models launched for people who want to capture not only extreme sports, but their travels, friends, families, and everyday lives.

There are three main players locked into the contest these days. GoPro, Insta360, and DJI aren’t just competing on hardware, but also on their accompanying phone apps, software features, AI-powered editing, and innovative form factors.

Insta360 is a brand that's intent on empowering users to capture unique content that was previously impossible, making the process accessible to boot with its intuitive Insta360 app and quick-editing features.

DJI is the more serious toolmaker for creators demanding quality and a pro workflow. The Osmo Nano is designed to work seamlessly with its microphones, but the DJI Mimo app is also designed to remove the complexity from editing footage.

The Insta360 Go Ultra and DJI Osmo Nano were released on August 21 and September 23 respectively. They’re the two companies’ latest compact action cameras, and each gives you an impressive 4K/60fps video, and weighs just over 50g.

The big draw here is their versatile designs. Both products are made up of a smaller magnetic camera that attaches to a bigger dock with a touchscreen for remote control and playback. The cameras are near identical in weight, but where the Go Ultra looks squarer and thinner, the Osmo Nano is longer and fatter.

There’s so much more inside (and out) to differentiate these cameras, but you need to go beyond the specs sheet. I’ve fully reviewed both cameras in the real world (read my in-depth verdicts on both in my DJI Osmo Nano review and Insta360 Go Ultra review) by running, hiking, playing around at home and using a host of accessories to improve the camera’s experience.

In this article, I'll share what I’ve learned to help you decide between the two compact and fully wearable content creation machines.

1. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Design and ruggedness

• Both cameras are waterproof to 10m
• Both cameras weigh around 52g
• Osmo Nano weighs 124g (with dock), G0 Ultra weighs 161g (with pod)

Each camera's design can be broken down into two components. The DJI Osmo Nano has a oblong camera unit on top that attaches to a 'Multifunctional Vision Dock' (catchy, and from now on I’ll just call it the dock) underneath with two clips and a magnet. The camera itself can be taken off and mounted magnetically on surfaces and accessories like hat clips and lanyards. The dock, with its OLED HD touchscreen, gives you remote control, scene display, charging, and file transfer.

The Insta360 Go Ultra also has a modular, two-part system: a standalone square camera and the 'Action Pod' (which I’ll call the pod), which join together with strong magnets. The pod has a larger flip-up touchscreen, and for this reason it's like a mirrorless camera interface or mini vlogging camera. In full form, it's not much smaller than a conventional action camera, so I think you need to be taking advantage of the standalone cam regularly to justify choosing it.

Both cameras are impressively portable and wearable, and there’s no noticeable difference between their solo weight (52g/53g); however, Osmo’s vision dock adds another 72g, and the GO Ultra’s action pod is an extra 108g, tripling the full heft of the combo, although I could still fit the Go Ultra in my jacket or jeans pocket.

What about ruggedness? Both cameras are operable down to 33ft / 10m), and both the Osmo Nano's dock and the Go Ultra's pod are IPX4 rated, meaning they're only protected from splashes. There's nothing in it from a specs point of view. I like that both models also have lens protectors, and if you crack or scratch these, you've only got the small cost of a replacement rather than having to buy a whole new camera.

What I love about comparing cameras and writing reviews is how the tech specs can fall away when you use a product in real life. For me, the Osmo Nano fell short of the Insta360 in its combo form – I found it was top-heavy enough to fall over on uneven surfaces. The Go Ultra, by contrast, is sturdy enough to stay upright on wonky walls, tree trunks and more for creative angles, and you can pull out the screen slightly to act as a clever tripod support.

Things are reversed when you use the cameras on their own. The Osmo Nano will stand upright or on its side, due to its thicker cuboid shape, while the Go Ultra has to be held, worn or mounted.

• Design winner: Draw

2. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Performance and usability

• Osmo Nano has built-in storage; Go Ultra relies solely on a microSD card
• Osmo Nano has a 1.9-inch touchscreen; 360 Go Ultra screen is 2.5 inches
• The Nano camera lasts longer; the Go Ultra charges more quickly

The Osmo Nano is available with either 64GB or 128GB of built-in storage, which can be supplemented with a microSD card, while the Go Ultra relies solely on a microSD card. The Osmo Nano can take up to a 1TB card, where the Go Ultra supports cards all the way up to 2TB – perfect for creators who might be away from a computer for some time, or folks shooting a lot of content in one go. While this means you can shoot with the Osmo Nano straight out of the box, it's worth noting that the microSD card is in the dock rather than the camera itself.

The Osmo Nano has a 1.96-inch touchscreen, while the Go Ultra’s is 25% bigger at 2.5 inches. Personally, I love the extra real estate the latter gives you for framing shots and checking playback without having to revert to your phone screen, and I found the Nano's screen hard to read at times. Of course, this doesn't matter as much if you're mainly using the apps to see a live feed of what you're filming.

The Osmo Nano has a physical record button on both the dock and the camera, and you can enable gestures like taps and voice commands to start shooting hands-free. The Insta360 Go Ultra also uses gestures, such as a thumbs-up, and your voice to start recording, or you can control both from their respective apps. I my testing these features were reliable on both cameras, with the gestures being particularly useful in loud environments like a busy city center. The Nano's button itself was a little noisy to press down, even if it is more convenient when you're holding and carrying it around.

When it comes to battery performance, it's a nuanced picture. The Osmo Nano camera lasted considerably longer (I got 85 minutes at 1080p/24fps) than the Go Ultra (around an hour). But the Go Ultra charges significantly faster (12 minutes to 80%) than the Osmo Nano (20 minutes) – my test results here aligned closely with DJI's and Insta360's claims. Realistically, both of these are lightning quick to charge, but if you’ve run out of juice at a key moment, the Go Ultra will get you shooting again just that bit quicker; it just might not last as long in the first place.

Lastly, usability. The Insta360 Go Ultra is designed for all levels, but it's particularly user-friendly for beginners. As soon as you power up the camera, on-screen tips introduce you to buttons and explain how to perform tasks like starting a recording or taking a photo with QuickCapture. These walkthroughs got me up and running quickly, whereas the DJI Osmo – despite having fewer in-camera filters and modes – took longer and left me less confident.

• Performance and usability winner: Insta360 Go Ultra

3. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Image quality

• Insta360 Go Ultra has bigger 1/1.28-inch CMOS sensor, shoots 50MP photos
• DJI Osmo Nano has 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, shoots 35MP photos

Both the Insta360 Go Ultra and DJI Osmo nano cameras have strong AI-powered software and stabilization, but the Go Ultra's slightly larger sensor, higher photo resolution, and higher bitrate (180mbps over 120mbps) give it the advantage on paper when it comes to measuring photo and video quality. Of course, real-life performance isn't always an accurate reflection of the tech specs.

I tested both cameras in bright light and used their respective modes in low light to see how the contrast, dynamic range and sheer resolution compared. Comparing footage straight out of the camera, in Auto Mode, and on as similar settings as I could choose, the Osmo Nano captured slightly darker clips. I noticed the Go Ultra would automatically expose the same to be lighter, especially in the sky, but render faces accurately, where the Osmo might be duller. This may be down to the fact that Go Ultra footage is skewed towards people and less editing, whereas the Osmo Nano's footage is designed to be edited more carefully.

I found both cameras equally good at adapting to changing light conditions. When I was walking from a tunnel into daylight, my skin was well exposed compared to the darker background – happy news for vloggers. Using each night mode offered usable results, but I think the Osmo Nano slightly wins here on dynamic range (see my video clips below).

Across the board, I found colors were captured accurately, too, although both cameras allow you to change white balance manually. Walking and running shots were both equally stable handheld, and with the camera worn on a pendant.

The Osmo Nano offers advanced shooters and color graders the option of 8-bit and 10-bit color (with four times the information) as well as DJI's D-Log M Profile to max out the dynamic range and preserve detail in bright and dark areas. For editors who might want to match video from the Osmo Nano to footage from other cameras (on bigger projects), this is a big advantage. Overall, though, for social media users and amateurs like me who just want accurate, stable video straight out of the camera, there's not much between the two.

• Image-quality winner: Draw

4. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Sound quality

• Osmo Nano has two built-in mics, Go Ultra offers Voice Enhancement
• Osmo Nano records in 48kHz, 32 bits, AAC, Go Ultra records in 48kHz, 16 bits, AAC
• Both cameras are compatible with first-party wireless mics

The Insta360 GO Ultra records audio at 48 kHz and 32-bit bit depth in AAC format. There are four audio modes, including Auto Wind Noise Reduction with two strength settings, Stereo recording and Voice Enhancement – the latter working well for at-home vlogs and clips to camera. The DJI Osmo Nano records audio at 48 kHz with a 16-bit bit depth in AAC format, and it has two built-in microphones for stereo recording.

In theory, the Go Ultra's higher bit depth should give more dynamic range and better audio quality. In practice, I found both cameras recorded pretty clear, crisp speech indoors (and outside, when there was no wind).

I tried all the wind-reduction modes in the video below. You'll hear that both cameras could reduce the wind noise, but this also muffled other background sounds in the environment on the highest setting. I think the DJI Osmo Nano just pips ahead for clarity.

If you're looking to record high-quality audio (rather than recording clips just to put music over them for social reels), I'd recommend pairing these cameras with an external mic. The Go Ultra pairs with Bluetooth headphones like AirPods Pro 2 and even the DJI Mic Mini and Mic 2 (as well as Insta360's own version).

The Osmo Nano can connect directly to up to two DJI Mic transmitters without a separate receiver, making it easier if you're a creator who already uses the DJI ecosystem.

• Sound-quality winner: DJI Osmo Nano

5. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Apps

• Both cameras have mobile and desktop apps with rich editing tools
• Insta360 mobile app has slightly better AI-assisted editing results

These cameras are ideal for capturing unique first-person views and immersive angles. But taking the footage is only half the story; the other half is how they can turn clips into a compelling watch for your viewers. DJI and Insta360 both have free smartphone apps for viewing and recording live footage, reviewing your clips, and then editing them. How you do this on each camera is a slightly different.

Insta360 has built a reputation for easy AI-assisted content creation, and the colorful Insta360 app reflects this. There’s an Explore tab with fun tutorials for inspiration on using your camera, an album to view your clips, and the all-important Edit tab. Feed it a few clips, select Auto Edit, and it’ll generate a polished video of highlights complete with transitions, music, and highlights. I found a few effects a bit cheesy, but overall, the results are brilliant if you want a quick shareable video in minutes – Instagram Reels, for example. There are manual controls to create refined results if you have more time to play.

DJI’s Mimo app is pitched at the brand’s existing pro audience. Visually, the app has a lot more black and gray, but the layout is similar to Insta360 at the bottom of the screen. A One-Tap Edit option analyzes clips to deliver simple videos, which are very usable and take little time to export in different formats. The manual editing tools feel a touch more advanced, with options like Color Recovery to fine-tune your grading.

Both apps are intuitive, but the DJI Mimo has a slightly steeper learning curve for newbies. Its focus on a technical manual workflow is better for users who want post-production control, rather than an app that takes over the hard work for you. Insta360’s AI-driven editing has the edge for beginners and users who are time-poor.

• Companion apps winner: Draw

DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Early verdict

I’ve fully reviewed the DJI Osmo Nano and Insta360 Go Ultra in the past few months, so each camera's perks and pitfalls are fresh in my mind. It would be easy to say that both cameras are great at what they do and are bound to please most action amateurs. But that's not a very helpful conclusion if you're still totally torn. While there's not much between these devices on balance, for a true recommendation, I'd ask how you shoot, and what you want from a modular action cam.

The DJI Osmo Nano is a tough camera to beat on the image-quality front, but Insta360's mobile app is slightly better when it comes to AI-powered auto-editing (and it has a bigger pool of accessories to choose from). I can’t deny that the Osmo Nano's built-in storage is helpful, but I never found it difficult to link the Go Ultra to my phone to edit content remotely (or quickly pop the microSD in my computer).

Although the DJI Osmo Nano and Insta360 Go Ultra are both relatively easy to use out of the box, the Go Ultra leads the way with tutorials and on-screen pop-ups to guide you when accessing menus, modes and filters for the first time. I can see beginners learning a lot from these walkthroughs.

To me, the Osmo Nano is a more serious action camera that streamlines functionality and has a smaller footprint in your bag. DJI's renowned image stabilization impresses as ever, and kept all my footage shake-free and level on runs, cycles, drives and more.

In its modular format, the Go Ultra acts like more of a friendly 'point-and-shoot' device, and even if you’re not experienced at shooting or making videos, it gives you confidence that the AI tools will help to create polished content without a deep dive into technical settings. The Osmo Nano’s integrated dock is convenient, but I think it sacrifices small size for ease of use – especially when tapping the screen to select settings.

As always, choosing between these two action-oriented cameras comes down to the needs of the creator. The DJI Osmo Nano is better for serious hobbyists or pros who want better (but there’s not much in it) image quality and post-production flexibility. The 10-bit D-Log M color profile and streamlined audio integration make it better for creators who already have a well-established workflow, especially if they already have DJI microphones and the app.

I loved using the Insta360 Go Ultra during testing. It's pricier than the Osmo Nano, but it’s a fantastic camera for a wide range of users, including families, as well as hobbyist creators who want a more friendly user experience. Its AI-driven software makes it an incredibly versatile and forgiving camera for capturing and sharing moments almost instantly.

You'll also notice how much cheaper the Osmo Nano is compared to the Go Ultra. It's really aggressive pricing on DJI's part. If there's not enough between the two cameras in terms of their capabilities and ease of use, then the final say could come down to pricing, in which case the Osmo Nano clearly wins.

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DJI has dominated the drone space for years with the best consumer drones for just about every type of user, experience level and price point. However, a startup brand called Antigravity has created something DJI hasn’t but must wish it had – the world’s first 360 drone.

I flew the new Antigravity A1 drone on two separate occasions ahead of its launch, and the piloting experience felt truly immersive if a little tame, while the aerial videos it can make are totally unique and dynamic.

Incubated by DJI rival Insta360, the Antigravity A1 shoots 8K video with complete 360-degree coverage and weighs less than 250g, which puts it in the restriction-free weight category. In a nutshell, it’s a flying Insta360 X5 – and that’s huge.

I’ve already experienced what the X5 – which tops of our list of the best handheld 360 cameras – is capable of, namely the cool video effects you can easily create using the Insta360 Studio app. And it’s these same skills, but with aerial capture thrown into the mix, which make the Antigravity drone so exciting.

What's 360 flight like?

In a word, immersive. And more specifically to the Antigravity A1 – extremely easy.

To fully experience the Antigravity A1 360 drone you’ll want the accompanying Vision Goggles – which are in themselves an impressive bit of tech – plus the Motion Controller. That's the recommended bundle, which you can see pictured above.

The drone itself looks like any other beginner quadcopter, save for its front-facing sensors and twin cameras – one of which faces directly up, the other directly down.

The profile of the drone, plus the positioning of its propellors and cameras, are intentional, being designed in such a way as to (with the help of smart algorithms) provide a complete 360 view without the drone and its propellors in the shot – impressive stuff.

It's no exaggeration to say that flying the A1 is child's play. Overcome the disorientation caused by wearing the goggles as the drone takes to the sky, and you'll quickly get to grips with the Motion controller, and how to use it to control the drone's altitude and flight path.

Use the joystick to point the little '+' symbol to where you want to fly and the drone adjusts its path. Motion also works – point the controller up to ascend, extend it sideways to turn, and so on. It's not quite FPV flight thrills, especially given the drone's modest top speeds, but it is a fine introduction to drone piloting.

The manual input for flight moves would be a whole lot slicker with twin controllers, and more thrilling with a genuine FPV mode (fully manual) – we're told both of those features are in the pipeline.

What's essentially new is the ability to independently control flight, viewing and recording at the same time – they aren't linked, as is the case with all other types of drones.

The view through the goggles is smooth and crisp, and being able to look all around as opposed to just to the front feels like an entirely new drone flight experience – you can hover the drone and take the time looking around to really soak in the view. I can totally see this 360 drone being used for immersive tourism, allowing the user to experience places from aerial perspectives.

Your spotter can see the view too – one of the goggle's eyes has an Apple Vision Pro-like outward-facing screen which displays what the drone is seeing (see image gallery, below).

You won't be able to keep up with fast-moving action – the A1's top horizontal speed is a modest 16m/s in its sports mode, or 10m/s and under in any other setting and for ascent / descent. This doesn't feel like the drone for newbies wanting to pick up flight skills and enjoy the thrills – it's more of a controlled, beginner-friendly piloting experience, complete with level 5 wind resistance.

The A1 is fitted with all the safety tech you'd hope for, including object sensing, GPS / Galileo / BeiDou positioning, plus return to home. Its auto landing gear is super-cute too, extending from the drone as you approach the ground for a secure landing and to protect lens on the drone's underside.

A new kind of aerial filmmaking – for better and for worse

I'm used to flying capable DJI drones and filming what the drone's front-facing camera sees. You're conscious that if the action exits the shot, you lose it, or, that if your piloting skills are a little rough round the edges, that'll be evident in the footage.

There are no such concerns with the Antigravity A1. You don't even need to see the action, just get close to it, because 360 cameras see all around so you can shoot first, frame later.

It took me a while to treat the A1 differently in the way that I flew it, because I'm so used to keeping the action in the shot. But not needing to do that transformed the experience as a pilot, for better and for worse.

On the plus side, the videos I made felt slicker and smoother, thanks to editing. The downside is that flight is much less involved, in that you don't need the skills to track subjects, frame the shots or pull of flight moves – you just need to get close enough, and the editing software will do the rest.

If you want easy, the A1 is it, but if you want the thrills and spills, FPV drones like the DJI Avata 2 are more for you.

Editing – where the magic happens

It's possible to create high-octane aerial footage from this slow and steady drone, by harnessing the power of the Insta360 Studio editing suite to process its 360-degree 8K video footage.

Provided you're in the right place, footage can be reframed to focus in on the action and track subjects – in my test case some speedy cars on a race track – and transformed with popular effects such as 'tiny planet'.

Mimicking FPV-like rolls give the impression of extreme flight skills from what in reality is a drone flying in a straight line, while rapid horizon-to-sky flip transitions work a treat for transporting the viewer from one location to another.

Yes, it's the editing suite where the magic really happens, rather than being down to your piloting skills, and clips can be exported in any popular aspect ratio, such as social media-ready vertical aspect. Much of the time you are in effect 'cheating' with these video effects, but the results look amazing, and the possibilities are truly exciting.

So it's a home run for Antigravity, then?

Not quite. Immersive as the drone is with its complete 360 view seen through its high-quality headset, the actual flight experience is a little tame for anyone other than beginners. Given the A1's modest top speeds, this isn't an experience for the thrill seekers in the way FPV flight can be.

While official pricing has yet to be confirmed, the experience won't come cheap either. You've got the drone itself, packing 360 camera tech – that's twin sensors and lenses, which is twice as much hardware as a beginner drone like the DJI Mini 4K.

Add in the headset, which is an impressive bit of gear, plus the motion controller, and the price effectively doubles again. Antigravity is absolutely right to include all of those components, and to pitch this for beginners in the sub-250g category, but the A1 is likely to be an expensive toy.

Still, there's no other drone that can do what the Antigravity does... yet. I expect DJI to respond fast, especially now that it's got skin in the 360 camera game with the Osmo 360. It won't let a rival enjoy all of the spoils for long, especially when the results look this good.

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• I've spent hundreds of hours testing drones, and the Potensic Atom 2 is easily the best DJI alternative I've flown

In all my years of life, the thought of adding a webcam to my computer hadn’t once occurred to me. I’ve always just stuck with my built-in laptop camera and hoped for the best, and in fairness, that’s usually done an OK job for video calls.

But recently I reviewed the Insta360 Link 2C, and after integrating it into my setup, I could never ever go back to my standalone laptop cam. If you're somebody who takes a lot of video calls, streams video, creates content, or teaches online, I’d argue a webcam is an absolute must-have.

So, what exactly makes an external webcam so special? Here are 3 improvements the Insta 360 Link 2C has made to my work life; the key benefits to acquiring one of the best webcams.

1. Massively improved picture quality

A lot of laptop webcams lack the higher resolution picture quality that you can get with a top quality external option. My 1080p Windows Surface camera, for example, has nothing on the 4K quality of the Insta360 Link 2C.

Sure, you won't see premium 4K video with every video calling platforms, but if you’re a content creator or you simply want a top-tier look, 4K support is going to be a game-changer. If you take a video on the Link 2C, for example, you can get up to 4K 30fps quality – though models like the Elgato Facecam Pro can even offer 4K 60fps recording.

When switching between my Insta360 webcam and my built-in laptop camera, the former was so much better at highlighting finer details – aspects like individual hair strands, facial hairs, and markings on my face, for instance. So, if you want to show yourself in the best possible light, grabbing a 4K webcam could make a huge difference.

2. Better tracking and framing

I also really appreciate my Insta360 Link 2C's ability to track my movements and keep my face centered during any video call. The Link 2C makes use of auto-framing and AI tracking technology, which is ideal if, like me, you’re a fidgety person or moving around a large space.

What’s more, the Link 2C makes use of gesture controls, which enhance the quality of tracking. For instance, you can make an L shape with your hand and move it up or down to zoom in or out respectively. On top of that, you can hold your palm up to the webcam, which then frames the shot to your face – pretty useful!

But wait…I’m not done yet, because the Link 2C makes use of enhanced Phase Detection Auto Focus, which seamlessly captures details of objects you hold up.

Finally, there’s a whiteboard mode, which keeps anything on which you’re writing squared and in focus. If you need to be animated and use props on camera, say for online tutoring, that kind of functionality is transformative.

3. Detailed filters and customizability

Finally, I want to shine a light on the high levels of customizability you can unlock with a great webcam like the Insta360 Link 2C.

If you tap into the Insta360 Link Controller software, you can play around with a variety of picture settings including contrast, exposure, and white balance (all that good stuff). In addition, you can activate a number of filters, including blur, bokeh, and even makeup.

All of these options are most welcome if you want to optimize your picture for low-lit rooms, say, or if you want more granular control over your appearance on-screen. Luckily, a lot of other webcams offer this degree of personalization – even cheaper alternatives like the Obsbot Meet SE.

So, do you own a webcam? I’d love to hear how it’s made a difference to your setup, and which models you’ve enjoyed using, so make sure to get chatting in the comments.

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This week DJI and Insta360 had a Freaky Friday situation as they announced a 360 camera and a drone respectively, tech the other is usually known for.

We also heard that OpenAI is scared of its next AI, and the UK faced the Online Saftey Act.

You can catch up on these stories and more in this week's catch up of the seven biggest tech news stories.

7. We Found My Skechers

This week, Skechers debuted the new Find My Skechers. They look like your run-of-the-mill sneakers on the outside, but hidden in each heel is a cutout that’s perfect for an Apple AirTag.

This Bluetooth tracker can then be used to help you keep track of your child if you’re out in an unfamiliar place, or help you locate any lost shoes, whether they were misplaced while out and about or while getting ready in the mad rush to get to school.

Though when we polled parents, the reactions were mixed. Predominantly because the target age range – toddlers and young children – outgrow their shoes every six months to a year. At their cheapest, Find My Sketchers cost $52 a pop, which is a lot to regularly shell out.

• Read more: These new sneakers have a secret AirTags compartment

6. The UK faced the Online Safety Act

This week Britain was hit by the latest provisions of the Online Safety Act, introducing age verification measures designed to help prevent young people accessing age inappropriate content. However the new requirements have frustrated many adults.

A petition to repeal the UK Online Safety Act garnered over 450,000 signatures in just a few days, and some have tried all sorts of workarounds including attempting to game the system with Death Stranding’s photo mode.

Most people are onboard with the idea behind the rules, but aren’t keen on needing to share their ID with websites – especially foreign websites – as they’re worried their data might be mishandled. Despite the concerns, the Government has said it won't be repealing the measures.

• Read more: Over 450,000 Brits want to repeal the UK Online Safety Act

5. Google Home's crisis got worse

Last week, we reported on a growing number of complaints about Google Home devices, with the smart home gadgets failing to deal with commands properly or throwing up other bugs.

This week, it seems the problem got worse, with many reporting their voice controls for smart lights were now completely broken and not working at all.

The situation has gotten so bad that US law firm Kaplan Gore has announced it has "begun investigating a possible class action" against Google because so many users are now reporting broken functionality, despite most of these devices having worked fine in the past.

• Read more: Google Home devices are continuing to break

4. DJI Osmo 360 landed

The 360 camera space has been dominated by Insta360 for years, but it finally has some proper competition following the arrival of the DJI Osmo 360. What's more, they could soon be joined by the GoPro Max 2, which was recently teased by GoPro.

Considering it's DJI's first foray into the market, the Osmo 360 impresses straight off the bat, delivering what DJI says are several industry firsts, the most notable of which are its twin 1-inch sensors with 8K video recording up to 50fps. Those sensors are effectively twice the size of the Insta360 X5's, our current favorite 360 camera, and should give DJI's model the upper hand for image quality, especially with richer 10-bit color depth.

Based on specs, the Osmo 360 has the edge over the X5, but it's real-world use that matters the most, and the X5 is our favorite model for a reason. It has stellar battery life, and its lenses can be replaced in the event of damage. We are currently conducting our hands-on versus of the two models, and it's making for a titanic battle.

• Read more: Can DJI's first 360 camera dethrone the X5?

3. Insta360 revealed the world’s first 360 drone

DJI isn’t used to having competition in the skies, but this week, its first serious rival for years flew into town. The undisputed king of 360 cameras, Insta360, has announced its new Antigravity platform, which will soon give us the first drone with a 360-degree camera.

Okay, but what’s the benefit of a flying, all-seeing camera? The main one is that, in theory, you won’t need to worry about perfectly shooting aerial videos as you fly, because you’ll be able to reframe them later. We’re looking forward to experiencing that in person when the Antigravity drone fully launches later this month.

• Read more: Has DJI just met its match? Insta360 unveils Antigravity – the world’s first 360 drone

2. ChatGPT helped us study

ChatGPT has added a new feature called Study mode to its paid-for and free accounts that turns the famous chatbot into an unpaid study tutor for your kids. Parents often panic about ChatGPT being used by their children to avoid actually learning anything, but Study mode is different. It’s pretty safe for kids to use because it teaches them how to arrive at the answer, rather than just giving them the answer. It’s more of an interactive back-and-forth chat about the question being posed, which encourages them to learn as they go.

Of course, you don’t need to let your kids have all the fun with it. You can use Study mode yourself to learn any new subject. Having the ability to turn ChatGPT into a proper tutor is pretty handy, so whatever it is you want to learn – whether that’s a new language or how to code – now you’ve got the perfect excuse to get started.

• Read more: OpenAI added Study mode to ChatGPT, even for free accounts

1. OpenAI was scared by its AI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed details about his company's testing of GPT-5 (the next-gen brain for ChatGPT) by saying he got scared by the AI, and comparing it to The Manhattan Project.

The over-the-top analogy might evoke some level of keen scientific minds coming to a major breakthrough, but his other comments made OpenAI seem either reckless or incompetent.

Even if he's exaggerating, we don't know if either of those descriptions should be attached to the kind of company that might decide how next-gen AI power is deployed.

• Read more: OpenAI's CEO says he's scared of GPT-5

• Antigravity is incubated by Insta360
• A world-first 360 drone with 'immersive flight' is set for August launch
• It'll shoot 8K video and weigh less than 250g

Insta360 and DJI are entering each other's worlds this week, with Insta360 today unveiling Antigravity – a 360-degree drone years in the making – and DJI set to launch its first 360 camera on July 31. Pass me the popcorn.

Antigravity's philosophy is simple: 360 immersive flight with the world's first 360 drone. And the project has a leg up given that it is incubated by Insta360 – the world's leading 360 camera maker.

Details are thin on the ground; we know the upcoming drone will introduce 'several world-firsts in drone design', that it is set for an August launch; that it'll shoot 8K video; and that it will weigh less than 250g, which makes it accessible to beginner and expert pilots alike.

If the first 360 drone is effectively a flying Insta360 X5, then we're in for a treat, especially with the dynamic videos that could be created using 360-degree footage, in addition to the new kind of flying experience.

Antigravity's two-page press release is filled with lofty promises. "Incubated by Insta360 in collaboration with third parties, Antigravity develops powerful 360 drones that are immersive, creator-ready, and easy for anyone to fly – whether capturing family moments, weekend adventures, or creative projects," the press release reads.

"Its mission is to make drone flight more inclusive, expressive, and fun. By combining 360 capture with intuitive control systems, Antigravity is pioneering a new category of aerial exploration and storytelling."

Leaked prototype

Antigravity's press release centers on its brand vision, with little by way of product info. However, we've seemingly caught a first glimpse of the upcoming drone in a leaked video shared by Insta360 tipster @Quadro_News on X (formerly Twitter).

We don't yet know the name of the new drone that is "set to revolutionize the industry", but the 360 drone prototype appears to have twin cameras for complete 360-degree coverage – one that faces directly up, the other directly down.

There's also twin sensors on the front of the drone, which are presumably for object sensing – that's a handy flight safety feature.

We don't yet know if or how the upcoming 360 drone will shoot 360 footage without the propellors in the shot, nor how the drone will be controlled beyond what Antigravity calls "intuitive control systems" – that could mean any or all of a mobile app, remote controller or headset.

A propellor-less view will be crucial to the whole experience – and looking at the tall design that we've seen in prototypes, it could allow for that. Still, all will be revealed in the coming weeks, as the new Antigravity drone will be unveiled in August.

It's certainly an altogether different kind of drone to what you'll find in DJI's portfolio, and potentially one of the biggest shake ups in the drone market for years. I reckon combining 360 camera and drone worlds into a single product makes total sense, if carried out effectively.

Antigravity wants to "own" the 360 drone space. If its first product is a success, I'd expect a ticking clock on that ownership – especially with DJI's track record and how it's about to enter the 360 camera space.

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• This unique bi-copter drone could actually disrupt DJI's drone dominance – and now we know its tempting price tag
• DJI Flip review: a new breed of beginner drone

• A new packaging leak for the DJI Osmo 360 has revealed its potential specs
• The leak suggests it will shoot 8K/30p video and offer 10-bit color depth
• It could also cost slightly less than the Insta360 X5

This year's battle of the 360 cameras is heating up nicely – and a new leak for one of the main contenders, the DJI Osmo 360, has just given us a solid glimpse of how it might compare to the class-leading Insta360 X5.

The packaging leak, first shared by the reliable Quadro_News on X (below), shows what appears to be the final retail packaging for DJI's debut 360 camera. And that box handily includes a list of Osmo 360 specs, which appear (on paper, at least) to be slightly better than the current top dog in our guide to the best 360 cameras.

Despite the size of this leak, one of the most important specs – sensor size – remains unclear. The back of the box says the Osmo 360 is capable of "1-inch 360 imaging." But further down, the small print says "when capturing 360 content, Osmo 360's CMOS sensor features an imaging area equivalent to that of a 1-inch CMOS sensor."

Precisely what this means isn't yet clear. Previous leaks have suggested that the Osmo 360 could have square sensors, which might explain DJI's "equivalent to" language for the imaging area. Either way, we'll likely have to wait for the official launch to get confirmation.

The rest of the leaked specs compare well to the Insta360 X5 (see table below). The Osmo 360 will seemingly be capable of 10-bit color depth – if so, it could offer greater editing flexibility than its Insta360 rival.

There's also the promise of 120MP stills and a claimed battery life that looks strong when you consider it's quoted for 8K/30p video shooting.

How about price? As @JasperEllens noted separately on X, the leaked Osmo 360 box was seen in an Australian store, so its pricing (starting at AU$759 for the standard bundle) is for that region. Exactly how that will convert for the US and UK remains to be seen, but in theory it compares well to the Insta360 X5.

The X5 starts at $550 / £520 for its standard bundle, which doesn't include accessories like an extra battery, charging case, selfie stick, or lens guards that all come in the Essentials bundle. If we use the Osmo 360's Australian pricing as a guide, it should start at somewhere around the $500 / £500 mark.

How do the Osmo 360 and X5 compare?

There's obviously a lot more to 360 cameras than just their specs. Software is particularly important to the experience, as editing is essential when you need to turn 360-degree videos into traditional 'flat' ones.

But based on the leaked specs and pricing, DJI certainly seems to be entering the 360 space competitively. That isn't surprising – Insta360 has dominated 360 cameras for years ,and its latest fifth-generation flagship is excellent, so the Osmo 360 will need to be a strong start for DJI.

If it does edge out the Insta360 X5 in some areas (10-bit recording, stronger low-light performance) for a slightly lower price tag, that'll be good news for anyone who's looking to buy a 360 camera. And potentially bad news for GoPro, whose Max 2 is now imminent.

Insta360 certainly seems to be on the defensive, recently launching a big, battery-boosting firmware update for its flagship camera, alongside some new accessories and a new BMW Motorrad Edition of the X5 for motorcyclists. Let the 360 camera battle commence.

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• Leaked image shows a rounded square design and a large lens
• Hints at a wireless charging dock but no modular design
• Suggests Insta360 is soon to release its next action camera

Insta360’s next action camera model might just have surfaced. And if the leaked image is accurate, the camera maker could be plotting a serious design shake-up.

Rumored to be the Go 4, the new camera doesn’t look like an obvious successor to the Go 3S, which we rate as the best modular action camera. In fact, it doesn’t look like any Insta360 camera I’ve used before.

Shared by @Quadro_News – a usually reliable source – the leaked photo shows a miniature camera with a rounded square design and a large lens dominating one corner.

Crucially, the product pictured in the leak is comprised of a single unit. Unlike the Go 3S, there’s no obvious separation between camera and screen block.

I’ve used both the Insta360 Go 3 and Go 3S. What impressed me about them was their modular design. Each is a tiny, thumb-sized camera which you can wear magnetically or slot into the Action Pod, for proper GoPro-style framing with the flip-up screen. They are an effective hybrid solution for creators who shoot first-person content: lightweight and discreet by default, with the option of deeper control when needed.

But with this new design, it looks like Insta360 is heading in a different direction. One without an Action Pod.

No more modular?

A closer inspection of the leak reveals details that raise further questions. There’s a visible indicator light, plus what looks like a front-facing audio grille. There’s also a smaller circle, which could be another light or possibly a sensor. A diagram posted along with the image hints at capacitive touch control on the front of the unit.

Interestingly, the camera in the image is held above what appears to be a dock. There’s speculation that this could be a wireless charging station, though whether it’s a consumer accessory or a development rig isn’t clear.

What we can’t see anywhere is the back of the camera. That begs a bigger question: is there a screen at all?

There’s a world in which Insta360 could be developing an all-in-one camera that strips things back even further than the Go 3S. That might sound like a step in the wrong direction, but there’s logic here. The Insta360 Go series is all about lightweight, wearable cameras for social creators. If this new model keeps things ultra-portable while improving audio, touch control and battery life, it could offer a more streamlined, potentially more affordable solution.

That could well appeal to POV creators who rarely use the screen block and are happy to rely on smartphone app connectivity for framing or editing after the fact. It’s also worth noting that the Action Pod supplied with previous versions wasn’t waterproof. By adopting an integrated design, Insta360 could be favoring durability and portability over total control.

Another factor at play here is the DJI Osmo Nano, itself a dinky, modular camera targeting the same audience. Rumored for a July launch, that device seems to pick up where the Osmo Action 2 left off, with a small camera unit that attaches magnetically to clothing and can pair with an optional screen module. The potential twist is that DJI appears to be embracing modularity just as Insta360 may be phasing it out.

Don’t count Insta360 out just yet, though. It’s possible this new design is part of an alternative line entirely – not the Go 4, but a different wearable camera aimed at filling a new niche. Or it might be a prototype of the Go 4 that simply doesn’t show the modular elements. Until we see the full picture, we won’t know whether the Action Pod is in or out.

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if an official launch is imminent. The leak shows a device that looks pretty far along in the development process. And with the Go 3S launched back in June 2023, it’s about due an update given Insta360's recent prolificacy. If the DJI Osmo Nano does hit shelves in July, along with DJI's first-ever 360 camera, expect Insta360 to respond quickly.

Until then, all we can do is speculate. But one thing’s clear: both DJI and Insta360 are in the fight for the wearable camera crown. Watch this space.

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• Insta360 has released a new teaser for a launch event on April 22
• It has the tagline "all day, all night, all angles" and hints at a new 360 camera
• Recent leaks suggest it's preparing to launch the Insta360 X5

Insta360 has long topped our guide to the best 360 cameras – and a new teaser suggests it's preparing to launch a new flagship model. Fortunately, some recent leaks have also given us an idea of what to expect, with a successor to last year's Insta360 X4 looking highly likely.

The X4 was only launched a year ago in April 2024, but a promo image for Insta360's event on April 22 suggests it'll be replaced next week. The image (below), which has the tagline "all day, all night, all angles", shows the reflection of a camera that very much looks like an X4.

We've also recently seen some leaks that point to the arrival of an Insta360 X5 on April 22. The reliable @Quadro_Newshas posted two leaked images for an X5, and the 360 camera also appears to have been prematurely posted in an ad in the Best Buy app.

So what can we expect from the Insta360 X5? The leaks so far don't give much away, other than hinting at a mild redesign of the pill-shaped camera and potentially a bigger battery to boost its recording times.

Insta360's teaser video is also light on details, mainly focusing on some of the impressive creative video effects that are the series' hallmark. Our Insta360 X4 review also gave the current model five stars, suggesting that there's little room for improvement.

But with Insta360 looking to extend its lead over GoPro (which still hasn't launched its GoPro Max 2) and DJI, which is tipped to be launching a DJI Osmo 360 camera this year, there are definitely some new features it could squeeze into its flagship camera.

So, here are five things we'd like to see from the rumored Insta360 X5...

Insta360 X5: what I'd like to see

1. Better low-light performance

Like most 360 cameras, one of the Insta360 X4's biggest weaknesses is low-light performance. It's still very much a day-time camera, but Insta360's teaser – with the tagline "all day, all night, all angles" – suggests its new model could improve this.

The low-light weakness comes from a combination of sensor size and processing. Our X4 review noted that, while low-light images look "fairly clean" after being processed with Insta360's mobile and desktop editors, they were also "a little smudgy as a result of noise reduction".

Hopefully, a combination of improved processing and a larger sensor (see below) will make the rumored X5 a more versatile camera that can be confidently used outside of bright daylight.

2. Larger sensors

The challenge for 360 cameras is that they need to house two image sensors, while remaining pocketable and travel-friendly. The Insta360 X4 combines two 1/2-inch sensors, which are decent but still something of a bottleneck on image quality – hence the inclusion of an HDR video option to improve detail in highlights and shadows.

While I'm not expecting the X5 to go quite as far as the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition and jump to a 1-inch sensor, it'd be nice to see it upgraded to 1/1.3-inch sensors (the same size as the ones we recently saw on the Insta360 Ace Pro 2).

That would help improve dynamic range, low-light shooting and straight-out-of-camera image quality. It could also help the X5 match the incoming DJI Osmo 360, which has been rumored to be going straight in with 1/1.3-inch sensors.

It sounds like some long-awaited competition in the 360 camera space could be good news for us…

3. Better heat dissipation

While not a big issue in most recording modes, we did find that the X4 has a propensity to get warm quickly – particularly in those demanding high-resolution video modes.

The obvious way to prevent this is to avoid shooting static, long-form 8K videos, but it'd be good to see the rumored X5 take a step forward in heat management.

This is less of an issue when shooting action, as there's some natural airflow to cool the camera down in those scenarios – but a reduction in overheating during stationary recording would again make for a more versatile 360 camera.

4. Replaceable lenses

We don't have many qualms about the Insta360 X4's build quality. Our review called it "superb" in this department and the camera is fully waterproof to 33ft / 10m, with all of its ports rubber-sealed and some handy color-coding inside the catch letting you quickly check to make sure everything's locked.

But one upgrade that would be useful is user-replaceable lenses. While it's possible to do this with third-party kits, it certainly isn't straightforward and sending your camera in for repair is usually the best bet for deep scratches.

It'd be good to see the rumored X5 offer something like GoPro's swappable lenses system. That may be difficult to achieve on a 360 camera, even if it is hinted at in Insta360's teaser video, where a workman smashes the camera with a hammer.

5. The same price tag

The Insta360 X4 isn't exactly cheap at $499/ £499 / AU$879, but it is probably the most fun camera you can buy for that money. We also thought that was a fair price at the time of the X4's launch, because it was only a 10% markup from the X2 – a camera that launched back in 2022.

Because Insta360 is based in China, there's a danger that the recent US tariffs could meddle with this pricing. But we're hoping that isn't the case and that the X5 (if it does indeed launch on April 22) comes in at a similar price to its predecessor, outside of the US at least.

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• Leaked pictures show Insta360 Flow 2 Pro packaging
• The Flow Pro was only launched a few months ago
• This would be Insta360's next iPhone gimbal

Our Insta360 Flow Pro review is barely three months old, but Insta360 already looks set to launch a successor, the Flow 2 Pro. Well, that's if leaked pictures shared by @Quadro_News on X (formerly Twitter) are anything to go by.

In the leaked pictures (see below), we see what appears to be the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro packaging, with all four sides of the box showing the key features of the gimbal and action camera specialist's upcoming phone gimbal.

Like the Flow Pro, it looks like the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro is billed as an 'AI Tracking Stabilizer', with AI-powered tracking capabilities. It is also a foldable gimbal with built-in tripod, selfie stick, magnetic clamp and one-step rapid deploy.

It also appears to be armed with three-axis stabilization, infinite 360-degree pan tracking, Apple Dockkit tracking, and 10-hour battery life. Going from the packaging alone, which is all we have to go on, it looks like little has changed, but this is Insta360 we're talking about.

So what exactly is new?

We already rate the Insta Flow Pro as the best phone gimbal for iPhone, thanks to its world's first Apple subject-tracking tech. However, that gimbal was only launched a few months ago, so what could a second iteration bring to the table, coming so soon?

All we have to go by is the Flow 2 Pro packaging pictures which highlights key specs and features, all of which appear to practically be the same as before. So what's new? Seemingly not much. That said, Insta360's gimbal and action camera departments are moving faster than most, and so there could still be exciting developments in its latest gimbal, if these pictures are indeed authentic.

One feature of note is an AI Module Editing Suite, which could offer next-level video editing based on your tracked subjects – but we simply don't know about this yet. If indeed a new Flow 2 Pro is boxed and ready to go, we won't have long to find out.

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Insta360's Ace Pro was the first 8K action camera to market, and just under a year later it has a successor, the Ace Pro 2, which is a rounded upgrade ready to take on the GoPro Hero 13 Black and DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro.

You can learn how each model compares in our Hero 13 Black vs Action 5 Pro vs Ace Pro 2 piece – it's a tasty battle to claim the best action camera title. Truth is, each one has its own take on the format and will appeal to different kinds of people, with Insta360 doubling down on high-resolution 8K video as its selling point, together with what it says is the first dual chip in an action camera, designed to improve performance.

Impressive as the original Ace Pro sounded, certain features were in reality a little light, whereas the Ace Pro 2 adds the necessary substance. Its 8K video still feels a little gimmicky given how many caveats it comes with, but active HDR and PureVideo (low light) modes are now available in 4K up to 60fps and feel polished, especially now Insta360 has introduced I-Log color profile for discerning editors in some 4K modes.

There's more to the Ace Pro 2 than its improved video recording chops too. It's tougher than the Ace Pro, with a better flip screen, lengthier battery life, improved waterproofing and a new design to hold a lens guard just like its rivals. It also has improved audio recording and a wind guard. The sum of those parts impresses and you can learn more about Insta360's latest action camera in our Ace Pro 2 review.

The Insta360 Ace Pro 2 costs $399.99 / £389.99 / AU$689.99 for the standard bundle, or it's $419.99 / £409.99 / AU$719.99 for the dual battery bundle – that's pretty much in line with GoPro and a little pricier than DJI.

Has the Ace Pro series come of age?

Being the only camera of its kind to shoot 8K video was one thing, but the Ace Pro lacked many of the advanced features found in GoPro and DJI rivals. Insta360 has looked to rectify this with the Ace Pro 2, which feels much more polished than the first-gen model.

Chief among those improvements is its dual chips, about which Insta360 says: "the Ace Pro 2 is the first action camera with a dedicated Pro Imaging Chip that handles image processing and noise reduction, while a separate 5nm AI Chip handles further image processing and overall camera performance, providing a smooth, seamless user experience."

That's paired with a revised 1/1.3-inch sensor that delivers 8K video up to 30fps, a 4K 120fps slow-motion mode, a 2x 'Clarity Zoom', plus up to 13.5 stops of dynamic range. The dedicated low light 'PureVideo' mode has been upgraded to reduce noise even further, too, together with that improved 60fps frame rate.

Leica is in on the action, providing its expertise for exclusive color profiles, plus in creating a Summarit lens with 157-degree field of view, wider than its rivals.

Other refinements include the larger, brighter and higher-resolution 2.5-inch flip up screen – that's another calling card of the Ace Pro series although that does result in a bulkier camera – improved 39ft / 12m waterproofing plus neat gesture control, with the ability to pause and resume recording.

There are too many features to sensibly cover in this news piece. If you'd like to discover more do check out our Ace Pro 2 review, where you can also see how its dual chips have improved low light performance in our sample footage. Ultimately, its 8K video is still limited, but so many of its other modes are much improved, with better overall image quality thanks in part to its powerful dual chips. GoPro and DJI now have a serious rival on their hands.

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We've seen both the GoPro Hero 13 Black and the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro launch in recent weeks, but there's always room for another action camera – and new leaks suggest the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Per well-known tipster @Quadro_News, the successor to the Insta360 Ace Pro will offer a 50MP 1/1.3-inch main sensor (up from a 48MP 1/1.3-inch one), and 10 meters or 33 feet of water resistance (which is the same as the current model).

In addition, it's apparently going to offer 1.5 meters or five feet of shock resistance, and will be able to operate between -4F and 113F (-20C and 45C). It's also set to be a little thicker than the current model, which we're hoping means improved battery life.

Indeed, better battery life was mentioned in an earlier leak that also talked about an 8K video resolution, matching the Insta360 Ace Pro, and enhanced AI processing thanks to an extra AI chip. Add all of that up and we're potentially looking at one of the best action cameras on the market.

And a price cut to boot?

So how much is this flagship 2024 action camera going to cost you? Well, @Quadro_News has details on that too, suggesting the device will launch for $399.99 in the US – that's actually less than the $449.99 the Insta360 Ace Pro originally cost.

International pricing isn't mentioned in this leak, but the 2023 model went on sale for £429.99 in the UK and AU$729 in Australia, so hopefully we'll be getting a price reduction across the other markets where the camera is sold as well.

We should point out that the Insta360 Ace Pro can now be picked up for significantly less than its original price if you shop around online, but it would still be a welcome change to see a new gadget with a cheaper launch price than the one it's replacing.

It's not clear when the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 might see the light of day – but considering that we're seeing a steady stream of rumors about the camera now, and the fact that the current camera launched in November 2023, we shouldn't have much longer to wait.

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It appears that the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 could soon be in our hands if leaked pictures of the product's packaging (see below), as well as an open box with the action camera inside, are anything to go by.

An upcoming Ace Pro 2 would come hot off the heels of the GoPro Hero 13 Black and DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro and upgrade Insta360's 8K Ace Pro, which is still only a year old. And those leaked Ace Pro 2 pictures reveal more details about the would-be GoPro and DJI rival.

Chief among the details revealed is that the Ace Pro 2 will be an '8K AI-Powered Action Cam'. That video resolution is nothing new – the Ace Pro is already capable of shooting 8K 30fps video, specs that are also pictured on the packaging. However, what's new is the added emphasis on computational smarts this time around.

Battery life has also seemingly been revealed, with the screen on the camera showing up to 3 hours of record time. That would be a serious step up from the 100-minute record time of the Ace Pro and sits somewhere between the improved performance of the Hero 13 Black (2.5 hours) and the Osmo Action 5 Pro (4 hours), the current leading action cameras.

We can also see an obvious design tweak with a pronounced microphone underneath the camera's lens – meaning there could be improved in-camera audio quality.

A previous Ace Pro 2 leak seemingly showed the camera in the hand with slightly different markings, including 'dual AI chip'. This marking is not on the newer photos; though the second-gen model could still have dual AI chips. We don't know what purpose they would serve, but with that AI-Powered tagline it seems like a fair bet that the Ace Pro 2 will heavily rely on AI-smarts.

There also appears to be complete markings on the lens now, which suggests it'll be the same Leica Super Summarit-A lens with maximum f/2.6 aperture as before.

However, the same source that leaked the product packaging has shared a video on Youtube (see below) and in it suggests the Ace Pro 2 will have closer minimum focusing – a boon for vloggers – though of course we can't verify this. The leaker also shares the Ace Pro 2 will have a built-in wind muff and better low light image quality.

Three's company

The action camera market, once dominated by GoPro, now has two other serious players; DJI and Insta360, meaning competition has never been hotter.

What's even better for consumer choice is that each brand is forging its own unique path; GoPro with its interchangeable Lens Mods and enhanced 5.3K video, DJI with its leading low light performance and tougher build, and now Insta360 appears to be doubling down on its high resolution 8K video and AI-smarts.

The Ace Pro series is also the only one of the three leading models to feature a flip-up selfie screen, though that does also mean it is the biggest and heaviest of the three.

Insta360 already has an excellent track record in the action camera space, with its industry-leading 360-degree camera, the X4, plus its tiny and versatile Go 3S. There's no word on a potential Ace Pro 2 release date, but it looks set to complete Insta360's lineup nicely and has colored us excited.

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Buying a new action camera this year is going to be a tricky decision, judging by the latest leaks. Not only have we just seen the launch of two new GoPro cameras, a DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro is also en route – and a new leak has suggested that Insta360 could even overshadow them both.

Thanks to PhotoRumors, we now have our first image of what appears to be the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, a successor to the already very powerful Insta360 Ace Pro. Considering we described the latter as an "absolute monster" and one of the best action cameras so far, it could be worth the wait.

The leak doesn't reveal a huge amount about the new Ace Pro 2's specs. Like before, it'll seemingly shoot 8K video (possibly at a higher 30fps frame-rate than the previous 24fps maximum), but this time will get a "dual AI chip" rather than the current model's single one.

The Ace Pro 2 will also apparently continue Insta360 and Leica's partnership with a Super Summarit-A lens, although there are no markings on the casing in the leaked image – so we can't tell if this still has an f/2.6 aperture, or is a brighter lens for better low-light performance.

We'll have to wait for the official launch for more details, but we can expect the Ace Pro 2 to again be weighty (both physically and in price). The original model was 17% heavier than the Hero 12 Black and cost $449.99 / £429 / AU$729 at launch. 

We should find out how the new GoPro Hero 13 Black and base Hero models compare to Insta360's incoming rival during GoPro's launch today at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm BST / 11pm AEST. 

Refined power?

Our Insta360 Ace Pro review was pretty complementary about the action cam – so much so that it currently sits third in our list of the best action cameras.

While that unique 8K resolution is more of a party trick than truly useful for most people, we still rate the Ace Pro as the best premium action camera around. It has tons of magnetic mounting options, and its handy 2.4-inch flip screen is great for vlogging and reviewing footage.

It isn't perfect, though, with no option to shoot in log format (for color grading afterward), while the 'AI' chip was mainly used for noise reduction, rather than clever computational tricks.

Still, if Insta360 manages to fine-tune the original version, it could again be a tempting option if you don't mind its size and price – and might put a downer on GoPro and DJI's imminent launch parties.

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Insta360 just delivered what many fans of its Go series of tiny action cams wanted the most: 4K video. In short, its latest model, the Go 3S, is the world's smallest 4K camera. It updates the outgoing Go 3 (which is limited to 2.7K video) with a bump in resolution for video and photos, crucially without any notable size or weight increase. 

My in-depth Insta360 Go 3S review is already live, and I've found it great fun to use. It enables you to capture unique POVs thanks to its tiny size and clever magnetic mount – you can put the fully best waterproof camera in places simply not possible with a phone or bulkier action camera alternatives like the DJI Osmo Action 4. 

You can attach the Go 3S to a magnetic surface, a pet's collar, a hat, your clothes or to smooth surfaces like a windscreen with one of the included accessories (see below) – there are almost endless possibilities for users of all ages. 

The tiny Go 3S is an action camera with a difference, and versatility is the name of the game. It weighs just 1.38oz / 39.1g as a standalone camera, but can be purchased as a bundle with an Action Pod for $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$719.99 (64GB) or $429.99 / £369.99 / AU$769.99 (128GB). Pair the two elements together and you have a GoPro-style action camera, although the pod isn't fully waterproof.

There are a few minor improvements over the Go 3, plus new features: it has double the waterproof rating, up to 33ft / 10m, improved slow-motion video now up to 200fps, and gesture control, which is handy for noisy environments when voice control is less likely to work. 

It's also equipped with Apple Find My, which makes sense given how small the Go 3S is, while the Garmin / Coros stats overlay on videos makes the Go 3S one of the best cameras for runners, cyclists and rowers, to name a few activities. 

Otherwise, there's not a lot else that's new in the Go 3S – you can find out more in our review and in our Go 3S versus Go 3 article. And that's okay with me – increasing the video resolution from 2.7K to 4K, and photos from 6.6MP to 12MP, has a positive knock-on effect for various shooting modes. 

For example, more pixels makes the FreeFrame video mode extra useful. FreeFrame allows you to select your aspect ratio after shooting, and is a particularly handy option for people who share videos on multiple platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. More pixels ultimately gives you greater editing power for a single video clip.

And the Action Pod remains a useful element, being a decent flip-up touchscreen on which to compose your shots, and it even works remotely with the Go 3S removed.

Given that the width and height of the Go 3S is identical to the Go 3, it's compatible with the same accessories, including the Action Pod. Those looking to upgrade from the Go 3 who already have the Action Pod can save some money by buying the Go 3S on its own, from $239.99 / £209.99 / AU$429.99.

The Go 3S isn't without compromises: its image quality doesn't quite compare to that from the best action cams like the GoPro Hero 12 Black, while battery life is inferior. However, it'll enable you to get creative shots that just wouldn't be possible with another camera. 

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It’s official, the Insta360 GO 3S is here, barely a year after the arrival of the Insta360 GO 3.

Like the original set up, there are two ‘elements’ at play: notably a thumb-sized camera unit and an excitingly named Action Pod docking station to sit it in. The latter handily provides a small-ish touchscreen plus a means of charging the device via USB-C port. 

If you already own the Action Pod that came with a purchase of the existing GO 3, you’ll be pleased to learn the exact same Pod can be used with the newer GO 3S. Conveniently the devices share the same form factor, albeit at a very slightly different, higher weight for the newer iteration of the performance boosted camera unit.

So should you get up and ‘GO’ with the new 3S iteration? Or is the existing ‘3’ still the magic number?

Insta360 Go 3S vs Insta360 Go 3: Price and availability

• Insta360 GO 3S Standard Bundle: $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$719.99 (64GB); $429.99 / £369.99 / AU$769.99 (128GB); Standalone $239.99 / £209.99 / AU$429.99 (64GB); $269.99 / £229.99 / AU$479.99 (128GB)
• Insta360 GO 3: $379.99 / £379.99 / AU$659 (32GB); $399.99 / £399.99 / AU$699 (64GB); $429.99 / £429.99 / AU$739 (128GB)
• Insta360 GO 3S Action Pod: $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$269.99

Announced a year after its predecessor, the new Insta360 Go 3S looks like fair value compared with the current Go 3. The previous model started out with a price of $379.99 / £379.99 / AU$659 for the lowest capacity 32GB unit, though bundled accessories included a magnetic lanyard, hat clip, tripod mount and adhesive plate, for whichever capacity was chosen. 

By contrast we can now get in on the action with a standalone 64GB Insta360 GO S –  ‘standalone’ meaning no Action Pod or accessories, which will appeal to those considering a straight upgrade – for what sounds like a very reasonable $239.99 / £209.99 / AU$429.99. The 128GB version of the latest iteration is also so close in price to the 64GB offering that, for the cost of a couple of takeaway pizzas, going for the higher capacity GO 3S feels like a no brainer here. 

Unlike the existing Insta360 Go 3, there is no lower 32GB capacity being offered this time around with the Go 3S model, undoubtedly as a result of video resolution being upped from 2.7K on the Go 3 – itself an improvement on the 2.7K of its own forebear – to a more data hungry 4K on the Go 3S. 

It seems from the off that if you don’t already own the Go 3 or indeed a GoPro, then opting for the Insta360 Go 3S if seeking a very small, very portable action camera as a smartphone alternative is the sensible choice. 

We’re getting some very welcome tweaks on the newer model that, while in themselves feel like an evolution rather than revolution, nevertheless come at a price that will make newer converts believe they’re achieving decent value for money.

Insta360 Go 3S vs Insta360 Go 3: Design and handling

• Insta360 Go 3S: 1.38oz / 39.1g, compatible with existing Action Pod
• Insta360 Go 3: 1.25oz / 35.5g, compatible with Action Pod

Taking the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach, the latest Insta360 Go 3S comes in the same choice of Arctic White or Midnight Black livery as its Insta360 Go 3 predecessor. 

Likewise maintaining the same thumb-sized form factor, it once again features a magnetic body that weighs just 1.38oz / 39.1g, compared to its forebear’s ever so slightly lighter 1.25oz / 35.5g. Both weigh about a tenth of a typical point and shoot digital camera, enabling this device to be worn about the person for hands-free, first person point-of-view shooting. 

As with the last model, the claim is that the Go 3S is so light we can clip it to a shirt, hat, helmet or bag and essentially forget it’s there. 

This also allows for a more discreet fly-on-the-wall shooting style, as well as avoiding the need to carry around a bulky camera if we’re out sightseeing all day.

Being magnetic, either the Go 3 or Go 3S can be usefully stuck to any metal surface such as pipes and fridges, to provide a unique angle on the action.

As noted, both core camera units can be placed in the same Action Pod docking device that, in being unchanged since the Go 3, itself weighs a mere 96.3g. The advantage here is that there’s the provision of a flip-out 2.2-inch touchscreen, plus, thanks to Wi-Fi control, the Pod can be used as a remote viewfinder when the camera element isn’t even docked, which is handy for previewing images. The Pod further provides a means via the core camera unit is charged thanks to built-in USB type C connectivity. 

Charging time is exactly the same for either Go 3 or Go 3S at 65 minutes to achieve a fully charged battery. And as both new and old camera and the existing Action Pod feature the same magnetic mounting mechanism, the same accessories can be used with both.

Further falling under the heading of ‘handling’ there’s the fact that the newer Go 3S is now compatible with the Apple Find My, providing added security and peace of mind should it ever get misplaced. An Easy Switch mechanism now allows for camera orientation to be swapped on the fly. A simple twist of the camera effects a rapid change from horizontal to vertical shooting, or vice versa.

For those who like to get wet there’s the opportunity here to use the Go 3S' camera element, not Action Pod dock, to a watery depth of an extended 33ft or 10m. This is an improvement on the maximum 16ft / 5m of the existing Go 3.

Insta360 Go 3S vs Insta360 Go 3: Sensor and image quality

• Insta360 GO 3S: 4K video, 12Mp photos, slightly wider lens
• Insta360 GO 3: 2.7K video, 6.6MP photos

We’re told that the Insta360 Go 3S is ‘mightier’ than last year’s Insta360 Go 3, which translates as the new cam on the block boasting an enhanced chip with 50% more CPU computing power. 

In terms of the images delivered, the newer model comes with a slightly wider angle lens but it’s in the area of video performance where we feel the newer Go 3S will stand out. This is thanks to resolution being ramped up to 4K at a smooth 30 frames per second, to go with the provision of a couple of slow motion recording options at lower resolution settings, now up to 200fps in 1080p.

Otherwise several core features have stayed exactly the same. These include a light sensitivity range still stretching from ISO100 to a so-so ISO3200, so we’re envisaging there won’t be much of an improvement, if at all, on the Go 3S when it comes to shooting in lower light conditions. Shutter speed, exposure, white balance and audio modes likewise remain unchanged from model to model.

Insta360 Go 3S vs Insta360 Go 3: Autofocus and performance

• Insta360 Go 3S: Interval recording, Gesture control, auto aspect ratio. MegaView field of view, more dynamic range in video, up to 200fps
• Insta360 Go 3: Pre-recording, Up to 100fps, only 2.7K video

Whereas the earlier Insta360 Go 3 offered video users a choice of pre-recording and loop recording, the latest just as tiny Go 3S iteration adds a new interval video option for even more automated hands-free operation. 

Interval video now allows users to set how often the camera should record along with the duration of each recording, and, much like a trail camera, the device will automatically power on and shoot a series of clips as designated. 

In tandem with the Go 3S’s new Instant Preview app, only available for iOS only, users can receive notifications to their smartphone when shooting has finished, thereby allowing them to open and start editing the clip with a screen tap. Furthermore, for the laziest of content creators there’s an Auto Edit function in the app that lets AI automatically do all the hard work of editing clips into a single longer video. Alternatively we can opt to stick with manual editing if preferred.

AI further comes into play when using the Insta360 Go 3S via AI Gesture Control. As it sounds, if the camera is positioned out of reach then hand gestures – no guffawing at the back – can be used for starting or ending recording, or to instruct the device to take a photo. 

But we believe the biggest change under the hood with the GO 3S is the hike in video resolution to an industry standard 4K at a cinematic 30fps. It’s claimed that users will notice their footage is sharper and crisper straight out of the device compared with the Go 3’s performance.

The Go 3S’ image quality is claimed to have been taken up a further notch via the inclusion of ‘MegaView FOV’, said to provide a more ‘realistic’ representation of scene and subject, with less distortion and cleaner, straighter edges to the image.

The Insta360 Go 3S is further claimed as being Dolby Vision Ready, thanks to new HDR – High Dynamic Range – technology that provides imagery with not only greater dynamism but also enhanced detail with it.

Want slow motion video? The Go 3S offers a couple of options via shooting at up to 200fps at a high definition 1080P, or at 100fps at 2.7K, which is the maximum resolution offered by its Go 3 forebear. 

Otherwise it’s 4K at 30fps, as already detailed on the newer model. In terms of stills resolution, this has been quietly upped from 6MP in DNG format on the Go 3 to 12MP equivalent on the GO 3S; though in the days of consumer cameras that can shoot 100MP, albeit for a substantial price hike, the Insta360’s latest offering feels adequate rather than anything to write home about. At least smaller file sizes are more social media friendly.

Insta360 Go 3S vs Insta360 Go 3: Image stabilization, battery life & additional features

• Insta360 Go 3S: 100% charged within 65 minutes via Action Pod, 140 minutes run time
• Insta360 Go 3: 100% charged within 65 minutes, 170 minutes run time

Although both devices when paired with the Action Pod can be 100% charged within just over one hour, the newer Insta360 Go 3S offers a shorter 140 minutes run time, whether we’re talking the 64GB or 128GB version, compared with the previous Go 3’s more generous 170 minutes. 

To enable smooth and level video capture on the Go 3S we’re gifted Insta360’s ‘FlowState’ stabilisation and Horizon Lock function, which means we can have fun attaching the camera to our dog’s collar, or simply get steadier, more usable footage when recording on the move. Both models however feature the same six-axis gyroscope at their core.

For accessory fans there are several new additions and upgrades that you’ll receive if choosing the ‘Standard’ bundle option with the Go 3S. These include a magnetic pendant to which the camera can obviously be attached. It’s claimed this provides improved heat dissipation enabling it to be worn more comfortably. It’s suggested this should make for an easy means of children achieving a POV style recording. 

Further accessories this time around include a pivoting stand for even more creative and convenient shooting angles, while the latest iteration of this accessory can cope with slightly curved surfaces. Also curved is a newly designed lens guard, while an all-new Quick Reader allows for footage to be backed up to microSD card, even while the camera is being charged.

Which one should I buy?

If you don’t own either of these miniscule action cameras then opting for the Insta360 Go 3S with its improved 4K video capture and redesigned accessory bundles to suit a range of price points feels like a no brainer. Plus, those who already own a Go 3 have a chance to save a little by opting for the standalone camera unit, as the existing Action Pod docking device will work with both devices. 

That said the differences here don’t feel massive enough to have us chucking the plain old Go 3 in the bin and ordering a Go 3S with a sense of urgency. The Insta360 Go 3S very much feels like evolution as opposed to revolution. You can find out more in our full review of the latest model. 

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The best 360 cameras can help you capture unique shots that aren't possible with any other camera, including your phone – and now some Insta360 leaks (plus an official launch event) suggest we could soon get an 8K successor to our favorite all-rounder, the Insta360 One X3.

Insta360 has announced on its blog that it's hosting an event in New York City on April 16 at 9am EDT (2pm BST / 11pm AEST). The event's tagline is 'The 8K era is here – our next camera' and you can watch the trailer below.

The announcement doesn't give much else away, but some new leaks from the ever-reliable @Quadro_News on X (formerly Twitter) have filled in some of the gaps. The images suggest an Insta360 One X4 is en route with a slightly bigger design and some useful spec upgrades.

According to @Quadro_News, the One X4 will be able to shoot 360-degree video in 8K/30p or 5.7K/60p resolution. That would be a very helpful upgrade on the One X3, which topped out at 5.7K/30p, as it'd give you more resolution for punching into the best part of the frame.

If the leaks are accurate, the One X4 could also get a larger capacity battery (2,290mAh, up from 1,800mAh) and retain the handy tripod mount on the base of the camera. One other detail from the leaks is that the One X4 should have a similar price to its predecessor, apparently around $530 (around £425 / AU$820). 

The One X3 landed for $449/ £459 / AU$799 in September 2022, but is now available for much less than that. If the Insta360 One X3 continues to be available for those lower prices, the question for many could be whether the current model offers better value than its successor – that's something we'll be able to answer for sure if the One X4 does indeed launch in a few days.

Should you wait for the GoPro Max 2?

Insta360 has dominated 360 cameras for the past few years, but last year GoPro said that a GoPro Max 2 (or at least a successor to the Max) was finally "in the works". It's been tumbleweed since then, so we still don't know when GoPro's rival to the One X3 (or rumored X4) might land.

Insta360 has been steadily refining its 360-degree cameras and software since the original One landed back in 2017, so that could give it an advantage. The One X4's rumored 8K resolution would also be a big bonus, as one of the disadvantages of cropping into the footage of 360 cameras is a drop in image quality.

But while Insta360's Studio desktop and mobile software has improved a lot and now serves up a pretty user-friendly experience, editing your 360-degree videos can still be time-consuming. The benefit of 360 cameras is capturing everything around you so you don't miss the action, but the flipside is having to then direct the camera in post-production towards those highlights.

It yet isn't clear if GoPro has made any strides towards fixing this for the Max 2 (if that's what it'll be called), but some GoPro patent applications in 2022 described a processor that has a "context component" that's capable of analyzing a scene and automatically adjust the "viewing window" and final framing of the video accordingly.

Patents applications don't give us any real conclusions, but it'll certainly be interesting to see what 360 camera innovations GoPro can produce given it's been almost five years since the original Max. As it stands, Insta360 remains the king of 360 cameras, and the rumored One X4 is an exciting new option, so we'll definitely be tuning into Insta360's launch on April 16.

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Two-minute review

The Insta360 Ace Pro is Insta360’s first out and out wide-angle action camera – and the brand has absolutely nailed it, creating one of the best action cameras to market. Insta360 isn't new to this field though, with a range of 360-degree cameras that includes the low-light champion the Insta360 One R 1-inch, plus mobile gimbals.

The Ace Pro rivals the likes of the GoPro Hero 12 Black and the DJI Action 4, but it is the first of its kind to offer 8K video. Take that, GoPro and DJI. You also get 48MP stills – both of which are probably larger than most people will need. However, the quality of the output is generally great, with the HDR Photo mode particularly good at capturing detail in highlights. 

The highest resolution 8K video is available at 24fps only, so there's definitely room for higher frame rates to be added in future versions of this camera. However, slow motion 4K video is possible up to 120fps.

Insta360 is a long-time partner of Leica, which has engineered the Ace Pro's 1/1.3-inch sensor, and this partnership seems to be paying off. The sensor, backed by the camera's AI-boosted chip, does a great job of capturing excellent video and photo quality, even under more demanding lighting scenarios such as low light and highlights. 

The magnetic mounting system and wide range of mounts makes this camera a highly versatile option for all types of creatives. The multi mount is particularly useful, enabling the camera to be mounted on a tripod or carried around on a selfie-stick, and Insta360 provides mounts that would work with all types of action sports, including cycling, diving, and surfing. 

I really enjoyed the camera, from the excellent build quality to the impressive output of the video and photo. Insta360 has made a great camera, and it’s hard to see what it can improve on in future releases – perhaps slow motion 8K recording? 

It's a pricier alternative to the Hero 12 Black and the Action 4, but there are a number of specs that make the Ace Pro stand out and justify the higher price. The first is the 8K recording functionality. To achieve this inside such a small camera body is to push the boundaries of what was previously possible.

The 1/1.3-inch sensor is another spec that's worth noting. This is bigger than the Hero 12 Black's sensor and the same size as the Action 4's, although not as big as the Osmo Pocket 3. 

There's also a 2.4-inch flip screen that is the largest available on the market, compared to 2.25-inch for the Action 4 and 2.27-inch for the Hero 12 Black. The screens of those cameras are fixed, too, while the Ace Pro's can flip up for selfies.

Overall, Insta360 has done a breathtaking job of pushing the boundaries of what it's possible to pack into a small-form action camera.

Insta360 Ace Pro: release date and price

• Available to buy now for $449.99 / £429 / AU$729
• Mounts available from $14.99 / £15.99 / AU$29
• Cheaper 'Ace' version of the camera costs $379 / £359.99 / $AU609

The Insta360 Ace Pro is available now, with the lowest-priced Standard Combo package costing $449.99 / £429 / AU$729, which is a little pricier than the GoPro Hero 12 Black, which retails at $400 / £400 / AU$650, or the Hero 11 Black at $350 / £350 / AU$579.

To extend your mounting options you can get the Standard Mount for $14.99 / £15.99 / AU$29, and the Vertical-Horizontal Mount for $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$39.

To get waterproofing down to 16m rather than the standard 10m you can buy the Dive Case for $59.99 / £59.99 / AU$109.

An extra battery to extend shooting times costs $34.99 / £35.99 / AU$65, and if you're needing to charge your batteries quickly then the Fast Charge Hub is a great option, and costs $49.99 / £51.99 / AU$89.

The Insta360 Ace Pro doesn't come with GPS as standard, but if you pair it with the GPS Preview Remote you can track your location. The remote can be worn on your wrist or mounted on your bike, for example. It costs $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$269.

If you want a cheaper alternative to the Pro version there's an Insta360 Ace which retails at $379 / £359.99 / $AU609.

• Price score: 4/5

Insta360 Ace Pro: design

• Easy magnetic mount
• Versatile multi mount
• 2.4-inch flip screen for selfies

The Ace Pro is really nicely engineered, from quality materials. As soon as you take it out the box you can tell that it's both heavier and bigger than other cameras on the market, such as the Hero 12 Black. It weighs in at 179.8g, compared to 154g for the Hero 12 Black and 145g for the Action 4.

The benefit of this is that it feels more substantial in the hand, while still feeling very much like an action camera. It also allows for much better heat dissipation, something that is the single biggest problem facing action camera designers. If you want a smaller Insta360 camera the brand does offer smaller consumer alternatives. 

One area where the Ace Pro diverges from other action cameras, in a good way, is in the implementation of its screens. I find DJI and GoPro screens often a little unresponsive, and their front screens never seem to deliver what's required when shooting in selfie-mode. The Ace Pro, on the other hand, includes a fantastic 2.4-inch rear flip screen that hinges from the top. The screen is big and responsive, and the hinge is perfectly engineered, enabling the screen to perch securely at any angle. I love it.

In terms of mounting, you have a plethora of options available to you. The camera itself has a magnetic plate at the base to allow for a super-quick snapping of the camera onto different mounts. It follows the Action 4 in this regard, and has left behind the Hero 12 Black, which will hopefully introduce this functionality next time round. Action cameras have to be versatile, and quick to get up and running, and the magnetic mount on the Insta360 Ace Pro enables exactly that.

The standard mount is ideal for cycling, for either mounting the camera onto a helmet or handlebars. It’s lightweight, and includes a quarter-inch screw hole. There's also a quick-release mount, which hooks into the camera and is removable using the quick-release buttons. Unfortunately, I found that the camera didn’t hook into the prongs first time every time, and at times it took a little fiddling to ensure that both prongs were clicked in, which isn't ideal.

The multi mount is a stroke of genius though, serving a whole host of different shooting scenarios. It can serve as a standard tripod, as a selfie-stick of sorts, or just as something to carry the camera around with when you're shooting on the go.

Insta360 has also included a really nice front display, which isn't a touchscreen but updates you on some of the key settings. It’s a nice feature, but I couldn’t really find a use case for it; if I was shooting in selfie mode then I had the settings displayed on the flipped screen anyway.

I personally found the record button too hard to press, which made it difficult to begin recording or take a photo without dislodging the location of the camera in my hand and introducing a wobble into the start of the video. A more responsive button would easily overcome this. 

The camera contains all the ports you would expect, including a USB-C port, microSD slot, and a battery cavity. These are all behind flaps which I found a little fiddly to open and close. The flap to the power port/microSD port also only just opens wide enough to allow the power cable in, while the microSD port is also right next to the power cable, which makes it tricky to remove or insert the SD card while charging.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Ace Pro: features and performance

• Excellent FlowState stabilization and Horizon Lock
• Decent waterproofing up to 33ft / 10m
• Handy voice and gesture controls

The Insta360 Ace Pro has been co-engineered with Leica, which means it has a great sensor – it's actually the same size sensor as in the Osmo Action 4 at 1/1.3-inches, and is bigger than the Hero 12 Black's. It does, however, fall short of the new 1-inch sensor in the DJI Osmo Pocket 3; given this camera's larger camera body, I wonder if this bigger sensor will be introduced in a future Ace Pro camera.

The 1/1.3-inch sensor alongside the f/2.6 aperture facilitates impressive low-light performance – more about that later. The 5nm AI chip enables a strong level of noise reduction, which is perfect in those night-time scenes where you can’t get rid of all the noise in-camera. The AI on the chip also means it better handles the opposite extreme, where there are bright light sources in the shot, something that's difficult for any camera to handle, let alone a small action camera. 

The stabilization in the camera centers around FlowState and Horizon Lock, features that are well implemented in pretty much all other action cameras. FlowState, Insta360’s proprietary algorithm, is tried and tested on its other cameras and works well. Horizon Lock does exactly that, and is ideally suited to when the camera is rotated a lot through the shot. 

The video resolution allows for up to 8K at 24 frames per second. This is an industry-leading resolution, with the Hero 12 Black topping out at 5.3K and the Action 4 at 4K. Not many users will need 8K in this type of camera, or have the display to watch it on, but if it's something that's important to your workflow then the Insta360 Ace Pro delivers. 

The camera contains a neat little feature, although not unique, called ‘Photo Grab’, which enables the capturing of 12MP photos mid-video. We’ll look at the quality of the video and photo from this camera later.

The camera is waterproof down to 10m, which will be sufficient for most cases, but if you find yourself shooting at a greater depth the dive case that's available separately allows you to use the camera to depths of to 16m. 

One feature I particularly love is the gesture control. With a simple raising of the palm the camera will start recording video, after a three-second countdown so you can get set up. And if you show the 'peace' sign a photo will be taken after three seconds. I like these types of features, as they minimize the interaction required with the actual camera. 

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Ace Pro: image and video quality

• Max photo resolution: 48MP (8064 x 6048)
• Video: 8K 24fps / 4K 120fps / 1080 240fps
• Active HDR

The results produced by the Insta360 Ace Pro are noticeably impressive. Where do we start? How about low-light performance? This is where so many action cameras, over the years, have tripped up. If the lighting conditions are ideal then it's no problem, but creators don’t want to be limited by their tech. 

The image quality across all resolutions is really nice including the 8K option. Colors are represented with clarity and vibrancy giving a punchy image that pops off the screen. Low-lighting conditions are also handled well, with only a small amount of noise noticeable during testing. The AI-boosted chip helps to clear away more of the noise that can’t be removed by the 1/1.3-inch sensor, and this low-light performance is replicated across video and photo. 

The other scenarios these types of cameras often struggle with is highlights. The Ace Pro contains HDR technology when shooting video, and also includes a separate HDR photo mode. The Active HDR in video mode delivers fairly good results, although there is still some detail lost, especially in the highlights. 

The HDR photo mode on the other hand does a much better job of capturing those details. When taking a photo of an overcast sky, for example, the image had definition in the clouds, where the video captured turned the sky completely white. 

Color replication across all modes is excellent, with little to no correction required to replicate real-life colors. GoPro and DJI cameras often struggle with this, so I was pleased to see the Insta360 Ace Pro doing such a good job. This color replication is also noticeable with faces and skin tones which, again, are captured accurately. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t log capture functionality like the GP-Log in the GoPro Hero 12 Black. This limits your color-editing options in post, and it would be a fantastic additional feature to really take this camera to the next level. 

• Image and video quality score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Insta360 Ace Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Insta360 Ace Pro: Also consider

Testing scorecard

How I tested the Insta360 Ace Pro

I used the Insta360 Ace Pro as both an action camera and a vlogging camera. Taking it out and about enabled me to properly test all of its features, including its video and photo quality as well as its stabilization. 

Taking the Ace Pro out on my bike provided a great opportunity to see how the camera would cope working at speed and under changing lighting conditions.

Having tested other action cameras I was able to make informed comparisons between the Ace Pro and other popular models.

First reviewed November 2023

The action camera market is not a two-horse race between GoPro and DJI – Insta360 is a big player too, especially with its latest offering, the Ace Pro. We've already had a decent time with the 8K shooter, and you can read more in our hands-on Insta360 Ace Pro review. It has some unrivaled features that potentially make it one of the best action cameras ever made.

Of course, it's the 8K video recording that takes center stage – that's something neither the GoPro Hero 12 Black or DJI Osmo Action 4 can do, but there's more to the Ace Pro than high-resolution video. 

It has what is essentially the same 1/1.3-inch sensor as the Osmo Action 4, which is larger than the Hero 12 Black's, and shoots 48MP stills in JPEG or DNG raw format. If you don't need 8K video – which will be made available via a firmware update on release – then the 4K video feature set is very solid, shooting up to 120fps. 

Insta360 has also utilized AI neural networks to denoise video footage to deliver clean, low-light videos in a 'PureVideo' mode, and has an Active HDR video mode for when the light is good. You also get Insta360's FlowState stabilization for smooth footage and 360-degree horizon lock a la GoPro that keeps your video levels no matter what action is taking place.

Then there's its brilliant design. Unlike its rivals, the physically larger and heavier Ace Pro has a bigger touchscreen and it flips up for selfie shots. When out and about shooting video and photos, the easier view from any angle is particularly handy, whether you're vlogging or shooting sports. 

There's also some neat AI-assisted video assist tools, like gesture control to activate photo and video record modes with a timer, plus video edit tools that can pick out the best parts of your clips for you. You also have the choice between quick release magnetic mounts like the Osmo Action 4, plus the standard mount like GoPro onto the likes or handlebars and helmets. The camera is also waterproof up to 10m.

Analysis: Advantage Insta360?

On paper, and as our hands-on review reveals, the Insta360 Ace Pro is one of the best action cameras available, even without its 8K video recording being available ahead of announcement. It combines much of what we love about the Hero 12 Black and Osmo Action 4 into a single package, adding its own unique features, too. 

Surely we have the world's best action camera on our hands, then? Well, yes and no. There's a balance between quality and quantity with a small sensor as used in these action cameras. The Insta360 packs a lot of pixels and at the time of writing there's no option for Log color profile like the in Hero 12 Black, so there's a limit to the edits you can make to color. 

Video quality is really good, but shooting even with the HDR video mode we noticed a disparity between photo and video quality, with photos visibly packing more detail. We expect most users to primarily use a camera like this for video, after all. 

Improvements may come in the future via firmware updates, and we'll look into running comparisons between the best action cameras, plus of course really test out that 8K feature. For now, Insta360 really has shaken things up with the Ace Pro – it really is an excellent action camera. 

You might also like

• The DJI Osmo Action 4 has convinced me that action cams beat mirrorless for vacations
• GoPro Hero 12 Black review: edging closer to perfection
• Best action cameras guide
  

The Insta360 Flow is official, taking on DJI’s OM series and going after smartphone vloggers who want to smooth out their handheld footage or capture hands-free content.

Positioned as the world’s most advanced AI-tracking smartphone stabilizer, the Insta360 Flow works in conjunction with its smartphone app, available for iOS or Android, to combine 3-axis hardware stabilization with smart software features like subject tracking.

The Insta360 Flow itself looks similar to the DJI OM 6, consisting of a grip with a joystick, and a flip-out arm that holds the phone, and then extends to create a modest selfie stick for a wider shot and more shooting versatility in general.

In its Creator Kit, the gimbal also packs a USB-C LED light that plugs into the Insta360 Flow to brighten up scenes, and when it isn’t plugged in, you can connect your phone to the USB-C port on the Flow's arm for on-the-go power from the onboard 2900mAh battery.

What’s novel about the Flow is the rotating dial around the buttons that toggles zoom, and the touch-sensitive interaction around the joystick to switch between stabilization modes. Its design is also standout, featuring a combination of white plastic and a transparent section along its arm for some Nothing Phone (1) type see-through style.

Insta360 also promises live tracking in apps like FaceTime on iOS, and live streaming to services like Facebook and YouTube, as well as 360-degree photo capture and time-lapse features.

Priced at $159 / £145 / AU$239, the Insta360 Flow matches DJI’s OM 6 pricing, making it one of the most premium smartphone gimbals around. For anyone after a more complete system, Insta360 has also launched a creator kit, which combines the gimbal with a USB-C light, a soft-touch Grip Cover, a Type-C to lightning cable, and a carry bag, and can be had for $209 / £199 / AU $319.

Analysis: All-in-one pocketable camera person

After spending a day with the Flow, and having used the DJI OM-series in the past, Insta360’s inclusion of an extending set of tripod legs within its mobile gimbal is a stroke of genius. 

This makes it an all-in-one camera person in your pocket without the need to piece together multiple elements for it to be self-standing. And if you need a more stable, wide base, there’s also a tripod thread so you can easily mount it.

The inclusion of a cold shoe mount also means you can capture with upgraded audio, so whether you want to hook up a DJI Mic or Rode Wireless Go 2, your smartphone’s mediocre mics won’t hold your vlogs back.

You can see the gimbal in action in Insta360's video above, and check back for our full review in the coming weeks. And if you're not sold on the Flow, or just want to see what other mobile gimbals are out there before picking one up, check out our guide to the best phone gimbal out now.

Action camera brand Insta360 is entering new territory as it’s set to reveal what appears to be a new smartphone gimbal on March 29.

The 20-second teaser video doesn’t reveal a whole lot, but there are a few clues that we can use to paint a picture. For starters, the device will sport a small screen on the handle and some kind of folding mechanism for easier storage. Smartphones will sit on the gimbal via a magnetic clasp. In between the handle and clasp, it looks like there is a control panel with a wheel for changing various shooting modes on the side. The trailer zooms past this portion so it’s hard to tell what it has exactly.

Arguably the most revealing aspect of the teaser, though, is those shooting modes. Each one is represented by an acronym, and although Insta360 doesn’t directly say what they represent, we have a pretty good idea.  “F” is for Follow Mode giving full freedom of control to move the gimbal however you want. “PF” for Pan Follow Mode locking the gimbal to a horizontal plane. And Auto Mode to automatically track a subject. But what confuses us the most is the fourth one, FPV Mode (presumably meaning First-Person View).

Edge above the competition

Other reports make the argument FPV Mode could mean the gimbal has the ability to connect to the camera of an external device, namely a drone, and see that view through a smartphone. Drones like the DJI FPV have the ability to connect their camera to the DJI Goggles 2 headset giving people an “immersive flying experience”. Insta360 doesn’t sell any drones itself so it’s possible the company will offer third-party support instead. 

Assuming that this is the case, this would give the gimbal a unique edge over the competition by being more flexible. To have the same experience with DJI, you have to purchase the company's FPV drone and Goggles 2. Outside of some special online sale, you’re looking at over $1500 in equipment. Being able to see a drone’s viewpoint on a smartphone through a gimbal sounds like an interesting prospect.

But at the end of the day, we don’t know for sure. We’ll just have to wait until Insta360’s event on the 29th to get the full story. In the meantime, be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the best drones for 2023 across different budgets. 

There was a time when 360-degree cameras seemed like a gimmick that'd never catch on; poor image quality and limited software were just two of the reasons why they seemed destined for fad status. But thanks to the likes of Insta360, the best 360 cameras are now some of the most versatile cameras you can buy. And if you've just received or bought one, you may be wondering how to get the best from it.

We've put together this guide to help you do just that. The key advantage of 360 cameras – being able to 'reframe' your videos during editing after they've been shot – is now pretty accessible and intuitive, thanks to the software and apps available from Insta360 and GoPro. 'Reframing' means choosing a video's camera angle or field of view after you've got back home.

But something that's less clear is how to maximize the image quality produced by these little cameras. Our tips below are a handy starter pack for anyone who's new to 360-degree cameras. Covering all the basics from how to hold a 360 camera to the best times to shoot, they also include more advanced pointers like plug-ins you can use to get more fluid movement in your videos.

While 360-degree video image quality isn’t quite as high as the best action cameras, these cameras do open up lots of creative and fun possibilities that aren't available anywhere else, even smartphones. And there are many ways you can make sure your 360 footage is the best it can be at the point of capture. Here's how to do exactly that...

1. Shoot on bright sunny days

Just like phone cameras, drones and action cameras, 360-degree cameras have small sensors. This means the video they capture always looks much more vibrant when shot on bright and sunny days. You can, of course, shoot around golden hour for softer and warmer light that will look fantastic, but shooting on dull overcast days will often result in lackluster video footage.

This goes against the grain of what you might call ‘standard’ video and photography, where softer light around golden hour is often preferable. But you have to play to the strengths of the kit you’re using – and for 360-degree cameras, that means brighter conditions are best. This is often ideal, because it’s more likely that you’ll use a 360 cameras on days out or holidays when the weather is typically good.

One of the challenges in these conditions is moving between bright light and shadow, which can play havoc with exposure if you’re shooting in manual mode. Shooting in manual mode is generally recommended for video, but there are downsides for 360 cameras. For example, when you expose for direct sun the shadows will clip, while exposing for shadows and highlights can see the mid-tones blow out and lose detail.

If you find yourself moving between darker and brighter areas or the light is changeable, it’s best to set exposure to 'Auto' to allow the camera to adjust accordingly and maintain correct exposure. Some cameras will also allow you to lock the white balance when shooting in Auto – if this is possible with your camera, it'll ensure color balance remains consistent despite shutter speed and sometimes ISO changing.

2. Change the default settings

Shooting in manual mode is usually the best option for video because it maintains consistency by having all settings locked. This avoids changes in shutter speed, ISO and white balance. That said, if you're moving through light and dark areas, 'auto exposure' with the white balance locked (if possible) is also a workable option.

One way to get a quick link to the correct settings for the conditions is to set the camera to Auto and then to Manual, which for most cameras keeps the Auto settings in place. Just make sure that ISO is set to 100, white balance to Daylight or 5500K, and that shutter speed is ideally double the frame-rate of the video.

For instance, if you're shooting at 30fps, the ideal shutter speed is 1/60 sec. The slight problem here is that few 360-degree cameras have ND (neutral density) filters to achieve the correct shutter speed for capturing natural movement, so in reality you’ll often have to shoot at a slightly faster shutter speed.

It's also best to make sure that video is set to the highest resolution possible. For example, for the Insta360 RS camera and 360 Lens we used above, that's 5.7K. Other important settings to change from the defaults are the Color Profile, Sharpening and Stabilization. 

Set the Color Profile to Standard rather than Vivid for more natural colors, and Sharpness to Low, because High and even Standard settings apply too much sharpening that degrades image quality. Some cameras only apply stabilization in-camera, while others apply it in the camera editing software, so it’s safest to turn this on in-camera to be sure it’s applied.

3. Walk smoothly with bent knees

Electronic image stabilization (EIS) in modern action cameras and 360-degree cameras is nothing short of incredible these days. Jerky movements can be ironed out perfectly, but one thing that can’t always be removed by EIS is the up-and-down bobbing that occurs when we walk. This can ruin otherwise perfect footage, but it’s also one of the easiest problems to overcome simply by adjusting the way you walk.

When shooting video handheld using a 360-degree camera, or even when using a gimbal, it’s best to walk with bent knees to keep the camera level and as steady as possible. 

The easiest way to describe how to walk is to imagine that you’re carrying two full glasses of water where the aim is to avoid the water spilling over the rims of the glasses. In this situation, you instinctively walk with bent knees and keep the glasses level, and this is the way that you should walk when shooting video handheld.

In public, you can feel self-conscious walking like this and you may get an odd look or two, but it’s worth it for the smooth and fluid video you’ll capture. Admittedly, it’s one of the harder points to remember when shooting, but the more you do it, the more instinctive it will become – you'll immediately see the benefits of doing so.

4. Lean on handy plug-ins

In an ideal world, you’d always be able to shoot using the 180-degree rule where the shutter speed of the camera is set to double the frame rate of the video. But with a wide field of view, many 360-degree cameras unfortunately don’t have ND filters available to help control that shutter speed. This means you’ll often be shooting at faster shutter speeds than the 'ideal' and the result is that movement will look unnatural and much more jerky than in the real world.

There’s little you can do about this at the shooting stage, but there is a video editing software plugin called ReelSmart Motion Blur ($109, around £90 / AU$164) that can be used to add blur to video footage that has been captured at fast shutter speeds. ReelSmart Motion Blur is available for Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Davinci Resolve Studio and many other software programs. Unfortunately, it isn't yet available for Adobe Premiere Elements, iMovie or other basic video editing software.

The advantage of ReelSmart Motion Blur is that it adds natural-looking blur to footage to provide a much more pleasing, and indeed natural look. And since keeping shutter speed under control with a 360-degree can be so difficult, an albeit pricey plugin is money well spent if you plan to shoot lots of 360-degree video. This software can also be useful for action cam footage if you don’t have ND filters, as well as adding motion blur to any video footage that needs it. You can even use it to remove motion blur if you need to.

5. Use a selfie stick

Selfie sticks aren't just for tourists. Whatever your feelings about the handheld monopods, they’re incredibly useful accessories – and for 360-degree cameras, they're an essential creative tool that helps you capture and create a variety of camera movements and effects. 

Many 360-degree cameras render the selfie stick invisible, so you can capture videos of yourself walking without the stick being visible. And if you’re creative with how you hold the stick, such as resting it between your arms and a wall, or carrying something else with the end of the stick beneath it, it looks like a floating camera is following you around.

The creative possibilities are also endless. You can pull the camera through objects to add dynamic interest. The ability to shoot from a variety of viewpoints with the selfie stick extended, from the ground to overhead, is also super-handy. You can, for example, turn it into a drone by holding it high above your head, mimic a crane lift, spin around and much more. A photo accessory that’s often frowned upon is actually a 360-degree videographer’s best friend.

6. Make sure your subject is facing one of the cameras

360-degree cameras typically use two lenses to capture the view, with the two videos stitched together automatically in reframing software. You’ll notice that when you download footage, you’ll have two video files for every clip you shoot. The reason for making sure one of the lenses is facing the subject is that the stitch line can look a little strange – this can make a central subject look narrower than it should, with the middle of the frame being slightly distorted. 

This is important for all shots, but more so for those where you’re filming yourself or a group of people around you, because the result looks slightly strange in the centre of the video. You can see this in the example video below, where the stitch line is obvious in the centre of the footage.

If you forget to position one of the lenses to face the subject, there’s nothing you can do during reframing or when editing clips together, except to change the direction of the camera – which defeats the purpose of shooting a specific subject.

If you do forget and the video is important, don’t worry about it and reframe the footage as you would normally. It’s always better to have something that’s not perfect than not have it at all, and it will motivate you to take extra care with lens direction in the future.

7. Reframing your videos

The magic of 360-degree video happens at the editing stage, when you load the footage into the camera manufacturer’s software to reframe it. Some video editing programs, including Adobe Premiere Pro and Cyberlink Power Director, can handle 360 video natively, while other might require a plugin from the camera manufacturer, if one is available. 

But for most people, using the dedicated phone or desktop app from the likes of Insta360 is the quickest and easiest way to reframe footage. The clips can then be exported in 1080p or 4K in 16:9 format and edited together in standard video editing software.

Reframing is where you load the footage into the reframing software – here we used Insta360 Studio 2022. With this type of software, you can select the camera angle, change the field-of-view, add camera movements like spins and rolls and retime clips. This is achieved using keyframes where the field-of-view, distortion and camera angle (using pan, tilt and roll adjustments) can be adjusted. And with Insta360 cameras, stabilization can be applied in the software. 

The way you shoot is still important, because good footage always provides a better result than poor footage. But the beauty of all this is that it’s in the editing where you can reveal the true potential of what you’ve captured. Not to mention, you can edit a single clip in multiple ways, opening up almost endless creative possibilities.

The Insta360 X3 is a candybar-shaped 360-degree camera, with a silhouette closer to that of a classic feature phone than a GoPro. It’s the follow-up to the Insta360 One X2 from 2020, and its aims are pretty similar. 

It’s a do-everything action camera. Less terrifying than the pricey Insta360 One RS 360 1-inch Edition, and it feels more at home in your hand than the standard-setter GoPro Max. 

You’ll pay $449 for one of an Insta360 X3. It’s marginally cheaper than the GoPro Max, $20 more than the original cost of the Insta360 One X2. That camera arrived in 2020, and given how the world’s economy has been further hit since then, maybe we should be glad it hasn’t gone up further. 

Ahead of our full review, here’s our quick take on a few of good and bad bits of the Insta360 X3. 

First impressions

Breezy fun seems to be Insta360’s main goal with the X3. It is not a camera that, like a GoPro, shies away from bare handheld use. 

It’s a palm-friendly stick with a front shutter button that is within easy thumb reach as soon as you pick the thing up. The casing gets warm after a few minutes, but that’s unavoidable as the battery sits right under your fingers.  And have you tried shooting a 4K video for 10 minutes with your phone recently?

Much of the fundamentals are the same as last time around. The Insta360 X3 has good 10m water resistance, but if you want to take it diving you should get Insta360’s upcoming underwater case. It uses a proprietary battery that slots into the side like an ammo clip from an action movie. 

The big change for this generation is the screen. This 2.6-inch LCD is much bigger than that of any Insta360 camera of this level to date. 

It makes navigating through the UI a relative breeze. And while the software layout style hasn’t changed much, it just looks a bit more polished and glossy when rendered with more pixels. 

The view you get is a portrait window. It might remind you of the vlog-style videos you see on TikTok and Instagram. That might be off-putting if you tend to think in 16:9 landscape terms when shooting videos. 

But in effect, it doesn’t matter all that much. This is a 360 degree camera, with ultra-wide angle lenses on each side. While you might want to center your subject to get the best possible sharpness, any other scene composition can be done in the edit.

Hardware and video quality

The two cameras inside the Insta360 X3 use 1/2-inch sensors. They’re a little larger than those of the GoPro Hero 10 Black, GoPro Max and Insta360 One X2. 

However, you’re not going to get the sort of obvious image quality improvement the 1-inch sensor of the Insta360 One RS 1-inch Edition provides. 

After walking around streets and parks with the Insta360 X3, it’s clear a lot of the classic Insta360 action camera character remains. There’s a greater focus on detail retention than in a GoPro, but that means fine texture detail can seem to fizz as the camera moves. 

On sunny days you’ll see some blown highlights in bright clouds. And night image quality is pretty poor — the action camera norm. 

However, the Insta360 X3 does have some tools to make the situation much better. The Active HDR mode works wonders for avoiding blown highlights and retaining realistic color in sunny skies when there are other darker elements in view that cause the camera to up the exposure. 

This works by capturing two images for each frame, which leads to a maximum frame rate of 30fps. But it really does help with those blown highlights that can’t be restored in the edit. 

For low-light shooting you have the Starlapse mode. This promises to radically improve low-light quality, just as we saw in Insta 360’s 1-inch sensor 360 RS. However, we had some problems getting it to play nice with the Insta360 editing app so we’ll have to save our conclusions for the full review. 

As often happens with fresh Insta360 launches, we have encountered a few Insta360 X3 bugs, but they are mostly to do with the interplay been the app and camera. Actually using the camera itself has been smooth and stress-free.

This helped to bolster our initial impression of the Insta360 X3 as a fun, easy-going camera that can do an awful lot but isn’t intimidatingly large. 

Having come from reviewing some of the company’s larger models, we also love the “single lens” modes. These let you treat the Insta360 X3 like a regular, non-360-degree camera. No editing required; you can just pull the clips straight off the camera to a laptop over USB. 

The Insta360 One X2 has these too, of course, but the Insta360 X3 can now capture flat 16:9 footage at 4K resolution. You’re limited to 30fps, although a minor drop down to 3.6K resolution unlocks 60fps. 

Is it the only action camera you’ll need? Quite possibly, and it can pull stunts that are impossible with a Hero 10 Black, a camera that was more expensive — at launch — without GoPro’s subscription tied in. 

We’ll be back with our verdict on the Insta360 X3 soon in our full review. 

Insta360 has made some of the most fun and interesting cameras of the past few years – and the new Insta360 X3 is no different. In fact, it might just be the most versatile action cam (or camera) you can buy right now.

Like its Insta360 One X2 predecessor, the X3 is a 360-degree camera with two super-wide lenses that capture everything around you, allowing you to 'reframe' the footage into a standard movie later. But a host of upgrades mean it's also now much more usable as a traditional action camera in 'single-lens' mode.

One of our biggest gripes with the Insta360 One X2 was that it could only shoot in 1080p resolution when using one lens. But on the X3 you can now shoot in 4K resolution in this 'single-lens' mode, making it more like having two cameras in one.

The main appeal of the X3, though, are its versatile 360-degree modes. It brings some upgrades here too, including a new 1/2-inch sensor (a step up from the 1/2.3-inch one on the X2) plus a new 'Active HDR' mode. While its predecessor did offer an HDR video mode, this seems to use extra processing to help minimize ghosting and boost stabilization.

The X3 doesn't deliver a resolution boost for its 360-degree footage (that's still capped at 5.7K/30p) and its video bit-rate is still 120Mbps. But there are upgrades for its slow-motion modes, with the X3 capable of shooting at 4K/120p or 3K/180p. The equivalent mode on the one X2 topped out at only 3K/100p.

The X3 is likely to be a big hit with social media creators too, because its wide-angle footage can be easily turned into a 4:5 Instagram post of a 9:16 TikTok video without any major quality loss. Its larger 2.29-inch screen also looks like a boon for usability, compared to the X2's small circular display.

It's hard to think of another camera that has a list of shooting modes as long as the Insta360 X3, which is waterproof to 10m and available to buy now for $449. It can do invisible selfie stick effects, 8K timelapses, 72MP photos, looping dash cam videos, and much more in the 'Shot Lab' found in its companion app. But the big question is how smoothly these all work in reality...

Reality check

The main issues we've had with Insta360 cameras in the past, particularly immediately after launch, are relatively minor software bugs. During our brief time with the Insta360 X3 so far, this appears to be the case again.

When editing in the Android app, for example, our 360-degree video has sometimes automatically started panning to the right (unless we switched on direction lock). Downloading some footage like Starlapses to our phones has also proved tricky, with the process stalling indefinitely.

Insta360 is looking into these issues and they're very likely pre-release bugs that'll get ironed out eventually in firmware. We're also impressed with the X3 overall, particularly its new screen and the sheer range of shooting modes on offer.

Naturally, it's mainly designed for producing unique social media clips and won't trouble the best video cameras for outright video quality. But it's also more flexible than pretty much any camera we can think of, from GoPros to smartphones and full-frame beasts.

360 cameras have steadily grown from niche beginnings to become powerful tools in the arsenals of all kinds of creators. One TechRadar writer even successfully used a 360 camera as their wedding videographer, to complement their human snapper.

Their unique benefit is being able to decide where the camera is pointing in the scene after your video has been shot. We'll let you know whether the Insta360 X3 is indeed the best 360 camera you can buy in our full review very soon.

Have you ever wanted to capture awe-inspiring FPV aerial videos, but without having to learn to fly the notoriously difficult-to-fly and easy-to-crash drones? I know the feeling, which is why I was very keen to test the Insta360 Sphere – a 360-degree camera that lets you easily shoot and create FPV-style video with a standard drone. 

I’ve long been interested in FPV (first person view) drones, but have shied away from their common self-build format – I’m terrible at soldering, and that’s before I put in many hours of flight practice. I have recently begun training with a beginner’s training FPV drone and a computer simulator, but I have a long way to go. So, for now, the Sphere is an attractive way to achieve a similar style of video.

The advantage of the Sphere is that anyone with one of the two compatible drones (the DJI Air 2S and Mavic Air 2) can, irrespective of flying experience, capture simple footage that can be edited using keyframes to add visually exciting rolls, turns and flips to change the camera direction during editing. Editing is the most important element of the process, although some planning is required when capturing video.

The Sphere is available in two kits and is more expensive than regular drone accessories, but this is to be expected given it’s a camera. The Standalone kit costs $423 / £440 / AU$749 and includes the Sphere camera, two sticky lens guards, two lens caps, one battery, a charging cable, a lens cloth and landing mat. The Memory Card Kit costs $440 / £456 / €529 / AU$768 and includes all of the above alongside a 64GB microSD card. But how good are they in practice? I took one for a spin to find out.

How does it work?

The Sphere is designed to attach to the DJI Mavic Air 2 or Air 2S without interfering with the drone’s GPS or downward-facing sensors. Its unique trick is that the positions of the cameras also make your drone invisible, so you’re free to enjoy an unobscured 360-degree view of the world. The downward-facing camera lens does extend beyond the bottom of the drone, so you have to attach the included sticky lens protectors and use the special landing mat that’s also included.

With standard drones, video capture usually requires you to plan your maneuvers in so that the flight patterns you use create visual interest. You might mimic a crane camera lift, shoot a reveal flying backwards, or orbit the subject. But with the Sphere, you simply need to fly the drone slowly and smoothly so that special camera effects can be added during editing.

With the Sphere, you simply fly up, over, down, under and around the subject. The most important thing is that you have a strong subject such as a tree or structure to focus on so you can then use keyframing to add FPV-style effects during editing. Of course, you have to fly within the rules, so choosing a suitable location and subject to fly around isn’t always as easy as it sounds.

One of the hardest things to get used to is that at the point of shooting you don’t feel you’ve captured exciting footage. Flight patterns are slow and simple, but the 360-degree video shot at 5K provides almost infinite possibilities for reframing the footage in clips, and that’s where the magic happens.

Key player

Editing footage down into manageable clips can be achieved in Insta360's phone app or using the Insta360 Studio desktop app. 

The main disadvantage here is that you can’t then edit the clips together in either app to make a single video; you need to export the clips and edit them together in Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve. There are plugins available for the former two options that allow you to edit 360-degree footage within these programs; I use DaVinci Resolve, so I was unable to test or take advantage of this feature.

Insta360 Studio was, for me, the best place to edit my longer whole flight videos into manageable clips where keyframes could be added. Keyframes are the, well, key to creating stunning FPV-style camera effects where you have control over view type, pan angle, tilt angle, roll angle, field of view and distortion. This may not sound like much, but these controls alone allow you to create rolls, flips, turns and change camera direction. 

With a little practice, keyframes work exceptionally well. But it does take a little time to get used to how they work and how to get the best from them. One of the advantages of the footage is that you can create multiple edits of the same footage that looks completely different, because you can select any camera angle within the 360-degree field of view.

The Sphere uses dual 7.2mm f/2 cameras that can capture video in 5K at 30/25/24fps, 4K at 50/30fps and 3K at 100fps. It can even capture stills in raw, but since the Wi-Fi connection between your phone and the camera is dropped at around 10m, this is all but useless. 

The best way to shoot is to connect the app to the camera, begin filming video, take off, fly around for a few minutes, land, reconnect the phone to stop recording and repeat until you have several clips of a few minutes in duration. For this reason, I found it easiest to shoot in 'Auto' because I could let the camera deal with changes in exposure during flights, although I did try shooting in manual and with consistent lighting it was no problem.

Turbulence ahead

The Insta360 Sphere is a fantastic accessory for expanding the creative potential of a standard camera drone, but like most things it isn't without a few downsides. 

The most obvious issue is that the Sphere is currently only compatible with two drone models, so you’re completely stuck if you don’t own a DJI Mavic Air 2 or 2S. Perhaps more models will be catered for now the design has been launched – I've asked Insta360 if this might be the case, and will update this story when I hear back.

Editing the clips in the Insta360 Studio desktop app is much better than the phone app because you often have much more computing power on a desktop or laptop, not to mention a larger and more comfortable screen to work with. The problem is that the phone app includes more editing features, such as templates to create an inception-style Horizon Flip, Sky Transition or Dolly Zoom, which are currently unavailable in the desktop version.

The other issue with the phone app is that you have a small screen and editing is slow and glitchy when viewing footage over the Wi-Fi connection that connects the phone app to the Sphere. You can download footage over the Wi-Fi connection for smoother editing, but when I tried this the Sphere’s battery ran out before the download was completed, so it failed.

New perspectives

The Insta360 Sphere is without doubt an interesting and exciting drone accessory that could be a precursor for where drone camera technology is heading in the future. Image quality is good rather than amazing, but the Sphere does make it possible for anyone to create immersive FPV-style video footage fairly easily, and that’s what it’s designed to do.

It's a fantastic accessory if you’d like to capture and create FPV-style video footage without having to learn how to fly FPV, which experts say takes upwards of 50 hours of flight practice. You just have to remember that the Sphere connects to a standard Mavic Air 2 or Air 2S and requires slow, smooth and simple flight to capture the base footage required for adding the visual effects during editing.

Would I buy one? I am tempted because of the creative possibilities the Sphere opens up while I get to grips with flying real FPV drones. In terms of price, the Sphere isn’t cheap, but its pricing does fall in line with other 360-degree cameras, so it’s not a great surprise for it to come in at $423 / £440 / €510 /AU$749 for the standard kit. 

For some, this may be hard to justify on top of the cost of a compatible drone. But what can be achieved with basic drone video footage and little drone flying skill is truly remarkable. As long as you plan your shoots and think about how shots can be edited before shooting them, you’ll have a lot of fun.

Most webcams feel like drab PC accessories rather than proper cameras, but action cam maker Insta360 is aiming to take them up a notch with its a new 4K, gesture-controlled computer cam.

The Insta360 Link packs a lot of the tech seen in tough cams like the Insta360 One RS, like a 1/2in sensor and phase-detect autofocus, and combines them with a 3-axis gimbal and some clever software tricks. The result is a webcam that's also good enough to double as a vlogging or livestreaming camera.

Some of the Insta360 Link's software skills are similar to ones we've seen recently from the likes of Apple and Meta. Like Apple's 'Center Stage' for iPads, the Link can track your movements to keep you in frame as you move around. But because the Link has a gimbal that physically moves the camera around, it should retain better image quality than the digital zoom used in Apple's equivalent.

Another mode, called DeskView, has echoes of the Apple's Continuity Camera for iPhones, which lets you stream an overhead view of your desk during work meetings. 

But it's the gesture controls that promise to elevate the Insta360 Link above your average webcam. Raise your hand to the camera, and you'll be able to zoom in and out, and also activate camera modes like Whiteboard mode, which will crop in to give co-workers or students a clearer view of your presentation.

The raw quality of the Insta360 Link's video and audio also promises to be more like a high-end action camera than a cheaper webcam. Alongside that 1/2in sensor, its lens has a bright f/1.8 aperture and there's also an HDR mode to help with high-contrast lighting, plus phase-detection autofocus and dual noise-canceling microphones.

The Link has a built-in clip to attach to the top of your screen and Insta360 says it's compatible with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype and Google Meet on both macOS and Windows computers. You can order it from today for $299 / £319 / AU$569.

Analysis: A pricey but intriguing new webcam player

The Insta360 Link isn't the first webcam we've seen with a gimbal or movement-tracking powers – the Obsbot Tiny 4K has similar skills and, like the Link, is also quite pricey. Alternatives like the Razer Kiyo Pro and the Elgato Facecam are also some of the best webcams around for gamers and livestreamers.

But what's particularly interesting about the Link is that Insta360 has lots of experience in developing unique hardware and software that's particularly popular among social media creators. Despite the company's name, it doesn't just create 360 cameras – it's also makes some of the best action cams around, like the Insta360 One RS.

Given how closely the Link resembles a DJI Pocket 2 for your computer, we're surprised that the likes of DJI and GoPro haven't jumped into the webcam space yet. But Insta360's slightly belated move certainly makes sense, even if many of its potential buyers may have already invested in a premium webcam.

While a 1/2in sensor is relatively large for a webcam, the Link is still unlikely to match the quality of the best mirrorless cameras. We have also found some of Insta360's products to be a little undercooked in the software department at launch, requiring a few firmware updates before they are truly polished.

But despite these caveats, we're looking forward to seeing how Insta360's hardware and new software skills combine in our full Insta360 Link review soon.

I've tested all of the best action cameras from GoPro, DJI, and Insta360 over the last three years – and the TechRadar team has put more than 50 action cameras to the test over the past decade. Our hands-on experience with the earliest GoPro models through to the latest 8K cameras means we know exactly what makes a great action camera, ideal for capturing your adventures with sharp, stabilized footage, no matter the conditions.

GoPro remains the cream of the crop based on our comprehensive reviews. In my write-up of the Hero 13 Black, I praised its versatile mounting options, which include support for Lens Mods and ND filters, and I came away impressed with the quality of its 5.3K video. That said, it’s got fierce competition: the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 can shoot in 8K, while the DJI Osmo Action 6 is my top pick for underwater video.

You'll find all of my top picks listed below, where I've shortlisted the best action cameras for different users with different priorities and budgets. Whether you're a content creator, a veteran adventurer, or just starting out, each of the cameras I've highlighted has been tested extensively in real-world conditions. Keep reading, and I'll run through each option's strengths, so you can find the right action camera for your next challenge.

Why you can trust my judgement

Every action camera recommended in this guide has been thoroughly tested by me or one of our expert reviewers. TechRadar’s specialist team has reviewed more than 50 action cameras since the category first emerged, and we continue to test new models as they launch – years back GoPro had the monopoly, but now there are at least four players in this space, so it's an active market.

Our reviews focus on real-world performance. We take action cameras into challenging environments to assess how they hold up in practise, not just on paper – from outdoor pursuits to swimming and more. We focus on several factors: as well as outright video quality, we look at image stabilization, slow-mo frame rates, and dedicated modes such as time-lapse. We also consider durability, mounting options, battery life, and usability in fast-paced scenarios.

When it comes to footage, we record in a variety of resolutions and frame rates to help gauge each action camera's strengths and review these clips on a calibrated monitor. We assess default color reproduction and noise levels in shadows and highlights, and look out for common image quality issues, including clipping, softness, barrel distortion, and over-zealous processing, as well as the effectiveness of the camera's image stabilization.

For battery life tests, we continuously record at different resolutions and frame rates. We note both how long the action cams last and when they have to shut down due to overheating. Lastly, we evaluate how user-friendly each camera is by testing both its touchscreen interface and companion apps.

We also compare each action camera against its closest competitors to make a complete assessment. Whether you need an action camera for social content or videography, our recommendations are based on genuine field experience – so you can be confident that every action camera has earned its place.

Meet the team

My team of reviewers has amassed many years of experience testing all of the latest and greatest cameras of the last 20 years. That includes every action camera of note, from the very first GoPro to the latest 360-degree models.

Today's best action cameras

You'll find full write-ups for each of today's best action cameras below. All of the options I've highlighted have been extensively tested by the team, so you can rest assured that our recommendations are trustworthy.

The best action camera overall

GoPro Hero 13 Black sample video

Like most recent GoPro flagships, the Hero 13 Black isn’t a radical upgrade from its predecessor. It has the same sensor, video resolution, and useful 8:7 aspect ratio, the same class-leading HyperSmooth stabilization, and the same waterproofing specs as the Hero 12 Black – and the Hero 11 Black before it. So if you already own either of those perfectly capable action cameras, it isn’t necessarily worth upgrading. But based on our in-depth testing, there are a few upgrades that make the Hero 13 Black our top pick.

Chief among them is a new range of Lens Mods and ND filters. These attach to a redesigned mount on the 13 Black that detects which accessory is attached and adjusts settings accordingly, instantly unlocking creative shooting options. In our review, we also praised the addition of magnetic mounting, as well as improved battery life and heat dissipation. Burst Slo-Mo mode also gives you the option to shoot 400fps at 720p, although clips are slow to process. While these improvements aren’t revolutionary, they all add up to make the Hero 13 Black the most complete GoPro action camera to date.

Read our in-depth GoPro Hero 13 Black review

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The best budget action camera

Akaso Brave 8 Lite sample video

A cheaper, lighter version of the Akaso Brave 8, the Lite is an affordable action camera for buyers on a budget. In our review, we noted that the cost savings can be felt in the flimsy plastic construction. Yet we also commented positively on its modern design, compact dimensions, and lightweight build. Other takeaways from our testing include the smartphone app, which we found easier to use than the camera’s own interface. In ideal lighting, 4K video footage also proved vivid and accurate, if a little high in contrast.

That’s not the case in lower lighting, where we found that the sensor struggles, with a large amount of noise negatively affecting image quality. Stabilization was disappointing too, with the Brave 8 Lite failing to smooth out camera shake while walking or cycling. At 150 minutes of 1080p footage, battery life wasn’t remarkable either. Yet while its video quality won’t worry premium flagships, we still think the Brave 8 Lite offers fantastic value, with a solid set of specs that’s tough to beat for the price.

Read our in-depth Akaso Brave 8 Lite review

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The best premium 8K action camera

Insta360 Ace Pro 2 sample video

Like the original Ace Pro, 8K video is what grabs the headlines with the Ace Pro 2: it’s one of the few action cameras that can record at that resolution, now at frame rates up to 30fps. Our tests found that 8K recording isn’t a perfect experience, though. You don’t get the top level of image stabilization, nor support for the flat I-log color profile, and overheating can be an issue. What we actually found more impressive in our review is the Ace Pro 2’s overall performance as an all-around action camera.

This is a small, lightweight yet rugged tool. Its 2.5-inch flip-up touchscreen isn’t the most useful if you need to quickly switch from front to rear recording, but it does offer a larger perspective when recording solo. 4K video results proved excellent, and we were impressed by the quality of low-light footage for an action camera, with useful I-log support for color grading in post. Image stabilization performance was also excellent, making this a very versatile choice.

Read our in-depth Insta360 Ace Pro 2 review

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The best underwater action camera

DJI Osmo Action 6 sample video

Breathing down the neck of GoPro’s Hero 13 Black, the DJI Osmo Action 6 is a feature-packed action camera that gives my top pick a good run for its money. Waterproof to 60ft / 20m, it can survive at double the case-free depth of GoPro’s best. With a wider window of operating temperatures, it’s the best choice for shooting in all conditions. We also praised its interface in testing: the Action 6 is small and light, with best-in-class front and rear OLED touch displays that are bright, sharp, and clear.

While its maximum 4K resolution is bettered by others in this list, we were impressed by the upgraded and larger 1/1.1-inch sensor over the Action 5 Pro's, which delivers excellent dynamic range in our test footage, supported by 10-bit color depth. We also praised the Action 6’s long battery life and reliable video stabilization in our review, as well as the ability to pair it seamlessly with one of DJI's remote mics for crisp wireless audio recording on location. Like all cameras in this guide, image quality does drop off in low lighting, but DJI’s SuperNight mode still produces better results than most action cameras. If you want something reliable, versatile, and more affordable than the GoPro Hero 13 Black, this is your winner.

Read our in-depth DJI Osmo Action 6 review

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The best 360-degree action camera

Insta360 X5 sample video

If you want to capture action in 360 degrees, I think the Insta360 X5 is the best tool for the job. With larger 1/1.28-inch sensors, its top 8K resolution video looks better than in the X4, and it's hit with fewer limitations at that setting too.

As well as better low light quality, the X5 feels all-round more rugged; there's deeper waterproofing now up to 15m (49ft) and cost-effective user-replaceable lenses – combined, you simply have more peace of mind when taking the X5 to extremes. Oh, and there's also neat lock-on points for third-party camera mounts.

Insta360's app remains a powerful editor, even if you'll need a decent phone to process those big files. It's not a complete win for the X5, though. Arguably, there isn't enough reason for existing X4 owners to upgrade, while the X5 now has hot competition in the shape of the GoPro Max 2 and DJI Osmo 360. Both of those cameras run the X5 close, all while coming in at much lower price points.

Read our in-depth Insta360 X5 review

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The best modular action camera

Insta360 Go 3S sample video

We praised the Insta360 Go 3 for its miniature design, foolproof interface, and useful magnetic mounting abilities. Its successor improves on that proposition with a sharper 4K resolution, which makes the FreeFrame mode more versatile: based on our review, you can stick the Go 3S in places other cameras can’t go, then choose your preferred video orientation after the fact. If you want an easy way to capture unique angles or creative POV footage, the Go 3S will serve you well.

Its tiny size does come at the expense of battery life and overall video quality, especially in low-light conditions. Inserting the Go 3S into the Action Pod attachment does extend longevity, as well as enhancing the shooting experience with a responsive flip-up touchscreen, but it’s worth noting that the Action Pod doesn’t benefit from the same waterproof credentials. All the same, if versatility matters more to you than overall resolution, we think there’s no action camera quite like the Insta360 Go 3S.

Read our in-depth Insta360 Go 3S review

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The best tough action camera

OM System Tough TG-7 sample images

A rugged point-and-shoot that’s easy to use and packed with a versatile set of photography features, we think the OM System Tough TG-7 is a top choice if you want a compact you can rely on in all conditions. It doesn’t represent a huge upgrade over the Tough TG-6, but it’s still the one we’d pick. Its durability credentials aren’t in any doubt, with protection against dust, drops, crushing, freezing, and submersion. In testing, we also appreciated its tactile controls and accessible handling, even though its screen isn’t touch-sensitive.

We did find its 4K/30p video dated in our review, while image quality from its 12MP sensor can be bettered by most modern smartphones. That’s true, even with a fast f/2 aperture at the wide end of its 25-100mm zoom range. On the other hand, we were pleasantly surprised by its range of shooting modes, which includes macro focusing and white balance presets based on water depth. While this isn’t a camera to buy for the best quality images, it will see you through just about any type of action.

Read our in-depth Olympus Tough TG-7 review

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The best value action camera

DJI Osmo Action 4 sample video

If you want the very best value, I usually suggest looking at a previous generation model – the three best former flagships are the GoPro Hero 12 Black, Insta360 Ace Pro, and DJI Osmo Action 4. And of those three, certainly at the time of writing, it's the Osmo Action 4 that is the best deal.

Now replaced by the Osmo Action 5 Pro – my top pick for serious creatives – I raved about the Osmo Action 4 at the time of testing, saying it is a superb option for family vacations. That's largely thanks to its rugged build, versatile mount options and accessories, rival-beating 18m waterproofing, and crisp 4K video even in low light. It has a large 1/1.3-inch sensor, excellent stabilization, and decent external mic compatibility.

Battery life could be better, while stills are limited to 10MP – that's much lower than rivals. However, bang for buck, I can't think of a better action cam.

Read our in-depth DJI Osmo Action 4 review

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Also consider

We've reviewed a whole range of action cameras, which means other options almost made it into this list. Here are a few honorable mentions to consider.

Best value GoPro – GoPro Hero 12 Black: No longer top of the pile, GoPro’s former flagship can now be picked up at a discount, yet still offers a huge feature set, including incredible stabilization and 10-bit log capture. If you don’t need the lens mods of the Hero 13 Black, the Hero 12 Black shoots just as sharply. Want a beginner-friendly alternative? The Hero (2024) offers a pared-back experience, even if its end quality can't match the flagship series.

Best alternative modular – Insta360 Go Ultra: the Ultra upgrades the Go 3S modular action camera in the list above, with better video recording capabilities and more. However, it's slightly larger than the Go 3S, which somewhat limits its modular appeal, and that's why I've kept the Go 3S at my top pick for such a use case.

Best 360-degree alternative – GoPro Max 2: Six years after the original Max, GoPro finally delivered a powerful 8K successor. In the right conditions, there's no better 360 camera, and tool-free swappable lenses add to the appeal. For audiophiles shooting 360 video, I think the DJI Osmo 360 is the better pick.

Best quality alternative brand – Kandao QooCam 3: Its companion apps aren’t perfect, but this 360-degree action cam is still a solid alternative to mainstream contenders. It shoots footage at up to 5.7K and stands out in low-light conditions, courtesy of 1/1.55-inch sensors and wide f/1.6 apertures. It’s easy to use, too.

Upcoming action cameras

With GoPro, Insta360, DJI, Akaso, Kandao and more on the scene, the action camera category is an active one, with new models and iterative updates regularly hitting the market. I keep a close eye on launch cycles, announcements and online rumors, and stay on top of new releases, testing the latest action cameras as soon as they land and updating this guide accordingly.

There's one upcoming model that we already know about, and it's from a completely new player – robovac maker Dreame. A surprising debut at CES 2026, the Leaptic Cube is an 8K modular action camera that could dethrone Insta360's Go3S as the best tiny action cam.

DJI's Osmo Action 6 entered the scene most recently, but that doesn't mean there won't be another model making the rounds sooner rather than later. I was expecting the GoPro Hero 14 Black back in 2024, after all, but instead, we got the Max 2 and entry-level Hero (2024).

On the subject of GoPro, I'd almost certainly expect to see its newest series of action cameras, the Mission 1 series, shake up this guide. With three models to choose from, as well as a smattering of new accessories on offer, GoPro is clearly keen to raise its stock in the action camera game again. Keep an eye out for updates from May 28 onwards, where each model will be fully available to purchase.

Based on the release dates of the Ace Pro and Ace Pro 2, we can expect an Insta360 Ace Pro 3 launch sometime in 2026. Already an excellent all-rounder, we’d expect to see performance refinements from the Ace Pro 2, with fewer limitations on 8K recording and a solution to its overheating issues.

How to choose the best action camera for you

Two-minute review

The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is a modular 360-degree action camera with unusually large image sensors. On each side of its lens module are two 1-inch sensors, which are much bigger than the ones we've seen in previous cameras like the Insta360 One X2.

This downsides of this approach are that the One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is bigger and pricier than our current pick of the best 360 cameras, and lacks the ruggedness of some of the best action cameras. But does the image quality justify these drawbacks? If you're looking for the highest-possible quality from a consumer 360 camera, then the answer is most likely yes.

The main benefits of its larger sensors is higher dynamic range, which means better highlight retention, and superior low-light performance. The former is the most significant, as this still isn't a video camera that's particularly comfortable shooting at night. Once you crop into night-time scenes, the clarity gains over alternatives like the GoPro Max (and its 1/2.3in sensor) are marginal.

Still, despite its painfully long name, the One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is a great example of what's now possible with 360 cameras. If you're not already familiar with them, 360 cameras let you capture the entire scene around you, then decide where to point the camera in a traditional 'flat' video afterwards.  

And one of the main benefits of Insta360's cameras is that its apps – for both desktop and mobile – are impressively intuitive and powerful. Thanks to features like object-tracking and automatic transitions between frames, the software is a real blast – and makes the crucial editing phase relatively simple even for those new to 360 cameras.

The downsides? Your audio options are still relatively limited and we think the One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is far too expensive for many people to even consider. The ambitious design also has some significant compromises, including the fact that it's less rugged than standard action cameras (only offering, for example, IPX3-level water resistance).

Still, it does show that Insta360's modular tech isn't destined to become vaporware (like Motorola's Moto Mods or Google's Project Ara) and it is an impressive and fun-to-use camera. At least when you are not worrying about scratching its giant lenses.

Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition release date and price

The Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition costs $800 / £810 / AU$1,299 all-in. This gets you all the bits and pieces you’ll see in this review, including the Core body, camera attachment, battery case, lens cap and mounting bracket.

Those who already own an Insta360 One RS can buy a package without the display module, saving $150 / £150 in the process. You can’t use the previous cameras’ batteries as the Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 unit has a bespoke design that fits the grip handle.

It was released at the end of June 2022, a little under two years after the Insta360 One X2, a comparable but cheaper 360-degree camera from the same company.

Design

• Slightly bulky, stick-like design
• Part of the One RS modular system
• Relatively limited IPX3 water resistance

The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition comes in four bits, mirroring what you see in other Insta360 modular cameras. Its lens module is the showstopper. This plugs into the 'brainbox', which holds the screen and memory card. The battery sits at the bottom, and a slim shell sits around the lot, holding the blocks in place. 

The stick-like arrangement of the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition’s modules makes the camera itself a grip. Just holding it solo places your hand far enough away from the lenses to produce usable footage, you just make to make sure to avoid rustling around the microphones, which sit in the middle brick. 

You also get a rubbery lens cap, which you’ll want to pop on whenever the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 is not in use. This camera has pretty massive lenses, and they feel more vulnerable than those of either the GoPro Max or the Insta360 One X2. 

For a camera with a price that puts it out of the reach of many, it feel very friendly in use. However, its mounting suitability is not on-par with a classic GoPro. 

The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition also only has IPX3 water resistance, meaning it can handle water sprays at up to 60 degrees off vertical. Rain is the limit, with 'light rain and snow' being the official line, and Insta360 has not yet announced an underwater/diving case for the camera. 

After a couple of minutes of shooting you’ll feel the camera start to get warm. This is normal, of course, but in this case the effect is exacerbated by your hands sitting over the main processor block and the battery. 

We’d also feel much less confident mounting the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 to a helmet or handlebar than, for example, a GoPro Max. It weighs 239g according to our scales. This is only about 20% heavier than a perfectly ordinary phone, but it feels hefty.

Insta360 clearly intends you to get creative with mounts, though, because there’s a 1/4-inch threaded port on the bottom. It screws right into selfie sticks and tripods — no extra accessories required.

Interface

• The same interface style as previous Insta360 cameras
• Small screen can feel a bit fiddly
• But 360-degree shooting makes framing a non-issue

From the front and sides there’s very little sign that the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is modular. The outer shell has its own buttons that push in the controls on the main module, and they feel great. Power and shutter buttons sit near where your thumb naturally rests. It works best for right-handed folks, though, and the outer casing is not reversible. 

From the back, the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition will become much more familiar to those who have used an Insta360 camera before. The outline of the classic display module is visible, and that brings the compromise we’ve mentioned in every Insta360 modular camera review. 

The preview image is far smaller than that of either a GoPro Hero 10 Black or GoPro Max, and the display itself is fairly low-res. However, this seems much less of an issue with the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 than Insta360’s non-360-degree cameras. 

Here you compose the shot after capture, so the main consideration is where to point the lenses to avoid the focal point sitting anywhere near the 'seam' of the two cameras’ fields of view.

Insta360’s interface is starting to show its age, though. It is not dissimilar to the software of low-cost action cameras from brands most have never encountered, and lacks the swishy inertia-tinged animations GoPro uses. 

A year or so ago, the Insta360 style would sometimes seem refreshingly minimal and practical next to the rather slow and laggy GoPro style. But GoPro’s responsiveness improved significantly with the GoPro Hero 10 Black thanks to its new GP2 processor. 

Still, Insta360 expects you to do much less with the interface here as you shoot. You mostly just flick left and right on-screen to select the mode you want – video, stills, time-lapse and so on. It is a largely wide but shallow layout, which suits the small and fiddly touchscreen, where GoPro makes greater use of sub-menus.  

Performance and image quality

• Stabilization is excellent, as expected
• Better dynamic range than most 360 rivals
• Low-light image quality is only notable in the tripod StarLapse mode

You can be almost thoughtless when shooting with the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition. How your footage looks is largely determined in the edit and Insta360’s FlowState stabilization is almost flawless. 

It has horizon-leveling, and as the image captured is a full sphere, there’s endless scope for moving the frame seen by the viewer to counter motion. There are some limitations – walk or run around with the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 in your hand and it won’t look as if it’s attached to a camera track monorail, because there will be a bit of up-down motion even stabilization can’t mitigate. But we definitely have no complaints about the smoothness of footage. 

The main question on image quality is what do those larger one-inch sensors actually get you? It isn't extra resolution or frame-rates. 

5.7K resolution at 30fps is the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition’s top capture mode, matching the GoPro Max and Insta360 One X2. There’s no 60fps mode even as you work your way down the resolutions either. 50fps is the max at 3K and there’s no lower resolution because this wouldn't give you enough information for crops into the 360-degree footage. Zoom in far enough and the picture will look very soft. It’s a larger sensor, not a magic sensor. 

There’s no slo-mo and – the part we’d like – no traditional 'flat' shooting mode. We don’t mean a Log style dynamic range-preserving shooting style, but a non-360 field of view that lets you generate ready-to-use files. Everything needs to be edited down from a 360-degree capture, and it makes the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 less approachable than the GoPro Max. That GoPro can be used like a normal non-360 action camera when that’s what you need. 

Similarly, while there are neat TimeShift and TimeLapse modes, they can only be accessed through the Insta360 app. You can’t watch previews on the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360’s screen or easily pull them off the microSD card. As is always the case, the GoPro experience is smoother than Insta360’s in some areas. 

But back to our original question: where are those 1-inch sensor benefits? We think the primary one is highlight retention, made possible through higher native dynamic range. 

This effect is seen most commonly in blown-out clouds. If you shoot an open blue sky shot with a few clouds, it’s not that much of an issue with the average action camera. But as soon as there’s enough partial foliage cover to make the camera bump up the exposure, action cameras tend to turn bright clouds into featureless white blobs. The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 does this to a much lesser extent than our GoPro Max benchmark. 

Blown out clouds are still a thing here, but more contour detail is retained in those bright spots. 

A large sensor can also help at night but we were not that impressed by the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition’s night shooting. The picture may look okay zoomed all the way out, but perform significant cropping to get a flat final video and everything looks pretty mushy at night. Clarity gains over the 1/2.3-inch sensor GoPro Max are marginal. 

To get a decent image in true low light you have to use the StarLapse mode. This combines long exposure stills, so is only suitable for tripod use and certain scenes.  Look at Insta360’s website and all the claims about amazing low-light appear to refer to this mode. 

We did, however, see significant benefits over the GoPro Max when walking around indoors – not in darkness, but in pretty dim lighting. The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360’s picture was significantly cleaner than GoPro’s, with less dancing image noise over flat walls as you move around rooms.

The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition also has the classic Insta360 approach to detail. It tries to preserve, or at least represent, fine detail much more than the GoPro Max does even at its 'high sharpness' setting. 

There are benefits and tradeoffs here. Edit a 6K-resolution 360-view capture down to a flat one in both cameras and the Insta360 clip will look more vital, with an almost 4K-like presentation – despite only outputting edited flat videos at 1080p. 

However, this very approach also leads to shimmering detail in textures as you move. Grass, brickwork, sidewalks and gravel paths are all affected pretty badly at times. There’s virtually none of this with the GoPro Max, because its entire approach is different – it aims for a slightly softer but more consistent image.

In other areas, the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is simply technically superior than its GoPro rival. For example, the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 lens suffers from noticeably less chromatic aberration than the GoPro Max towards the join point of the two cameras, and is remarkably sharp right up to the camera borders. 

Most good 360-degree cameras are solid in this respect, but it means there’s less evidence of the seams when you do dramatic pans. 

What’s the takeaway? We think the most useful upgrade of the larger sensors is in helping to preserve highlights during daylight use. Unfortunately, action cameras are being thoroughly outpaced on the low light side by phones thanks to their more advanced software and processing, although the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 will no doubt capture some decent night-time city scenes as long as you edit with a fairly wide field of view. 

Editing

• Insta360’s phone app is powerful and easy to use
• Insta360 Studio is also available for desktop use

The Insta360 editing process is a blast. You can do it using a desktop app called Insta360 Studio, or the standard phone app. 

We used the phone app – it puts powerful tools at your fingertips, but manages to make them intuitive to use. This relies on keyframes. As you flick through the video timeline you can pinch to zoom and move the field of view to tell the software where you want the camera view to be at any specific point. Transitions are calculated automatically, and if you want to massage them into a faster or lower transition you can do so by simply adding more keyframes. 

You can also use object tracking. It’s one of the options you’ll see whenever you establish a new keyframe. Draw a box around the object you want the Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition to follow and the algorithm does the rest. You simply tell the app when you want the tracking to stop. It works remarkably well. 

MultiView is another option. This is a picture-in-picture mode for vlog-style videos. It uses face recognition to display a cropped section of, most likely, the person shooting the video. This should prove a hit for content creators who want for a multi-cam look while using a single camera. 

It could do with an elegant transition, rather than just popping in and out, but if you want MultiView you’ll probably want it for the whole clip. Insta360 also offers a desktop app, called Insta360 Studio, which is free to use.

Battery life

• Lasts for around an hour, as advertised
• We experienced USB connectivity issues
• No improvement to sound – use the mic adapter if audio is critical

Insta360 says the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition battery lasts up to 62 minutes when shooting in the top 6K/30 mode. Does it? 

A 20-minute video took 29% off the battery, which suggests it will last up to 68 minutes. Considering battery reporting is rarely entirely exact and capture may stop before the battery is entirely dead, Insta360’s estimates seem accurate. 

The Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition can shoot stills. There’s an Auto mode, an HDR mode, and both offer a good amount of manual customization. You can manually control shutter speeds, the HDR effect and exposure bracketing.

Like most action cameras, though, stills shooting feels very slow. We also compared the results from an HDR image at maximum and minimum HDR settings, and saw virtually no difference between the two. Still, the images are good and HDR does make a big difference over standard shooting.

Audio quality is largely the same as that of the Insta360 One RS, because the central module with mic is the same. It’s okay, but nothing special, which is why Insta360 offers a microphone module that plugs into the USB-C port on the side. This lets you plug in your own mic using a 3.5mm socket. It isn't included, but does only cost an extra $19 / £21 / AU$49.

We did have some issues with the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition during testing. It would not connect to any laptop we tried using the supplied USB-C to USB-A cable. Windows laptops said it was trying to draw too much power. MacBooks said it was “unreadable”. 

This was solved by using a USB-C to USB-C cable, which made the microSD storage turn up as a drive, as expected. We are not sure if this is a one-off, or a problem with the firmware. At one point our microSD memory card corrupted inside the camera, requiring a reformat. This may, or may not, be linked to the dodgy behavior when you try to plug the camera in. 

Most Insta360 cameras have flaky elements at launch, but the actual experience of shooting with the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition was otherwise refreshingly stable overall. 

Should I buy the Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Big things really do come in eensy little packages: Insta360 has just revealed its new tiny 360-degree camera that can shoot videos in enormous 6K resolution.

It’s called the ONE RS 1-inch 360 Edition, which is quite the mouthful. It's essentially a direct upgrade to Insta360’s ONE RS camera from March 2022. The new camera is split across five main parts: the 360-degree lens itself, a lens cap, a mounting bracket, a battery, and a ONE RS Core.

The Core is what houses the major features, including a small screen to help set up a shot or configure the device. Compared to the older ONE RS model, the 360 Edition improves on three areas while migrating over notable features.

Brand new features

The biggest change comes in the form of two 1-inch CMOS sensors in the lens, which ensure that images come out as high quality as possible. These sensors let the camera record 360-degree videos in stunning 6K resolution and take photographs at 21MP. The 1-inch 360 Edition is also capable of shooting in low-light environments thanks to this hardware.

The device also includes a new PureShot HDR mode for photos. This mode utilizes AI and auto-exposure to increase image quality. The example images Insta360 provides sport very vibrant colors, and thanks to a camera feature, multiple photos can be melded together into wraparound shots. AI automates the editing process via Insta360 Shot Lab, the company says. The accompanying app lets people get creative with edits such as swapping out the sky for a different look or fast-forwarding footage with Cinelapse.

And the last major change is the battery pack -- called the Vertical Battery Base -- which Insta360 claims extends the lifespan. Without the pack, the 360 edition has a 1350mAh battery. We did ask Insta360 how long the battery will last with and without the pack as well as when it’ll be available. A standalone Battery Base is slated to launch later this year. The company has yet to respond to our request.

Making a comeback

Apart from these changes, a lot of the original One RS’s features make a comeback in the new camera. There’s FlowState Stabilization which, as you can probably guess, stabilizes the camera for smooth footage. Horizon Lock keeps the camera level to the horizon, no matter how much it moves. And there’s Invisible Selfie Stick, which edits out selfie sticks using AI.

There are also physical add-ons you can attach to the 360 Edition. In addition to the Battery Base, there’s a Quick Reader that you can use to transfer files to your phone. And a Mic Adapter, which allows the camera to connect to a 3.5mm microphone.

Since it’s packed with features, the ONE RS 1-inch 360 doesn’t come cheap. In fact, it’s one of the more expensive 360 cameras out there. Prices start at $799.99. It’s also possible to upgrade the older ONE RS camera by buying the 360 Lens Upgrade Bundle. The bundle comes with the new lens, mounting bracket, and Battery Base for $649.99. You’ll just have to reuse the ONE RS Core. 

If that $800 price point scares you, TechRadar has a list of the best 360 cameras for 2022 -- which does include some cheaper options.

Insta360's cameras are always a refreshing blast of originality, but its new Sphere accessory for DJI drones takes their fun, immersive video capabilities to new heights. It piggybacks on the DJI Air 2S and Mavic Air 2 to help you create unique effects, including mind-bending, Inception-style videos.

The Sphere promises to bring the unique skills of 360 cameras to the skies for the first time. These all-seeing cameras typically use two 200-degree lenses, which bring two benefits. First, the redundancy between those two lenses lets you use software to remove objects like selfie sticks and, in this case, drones. This is why Insta360 is billing the Sphere as an "invisible drone".

Shooting 360-degree video also provides a super-wide field of view that software can mould into weird and wonderful video effects. Check out Insta360's sample video below for a taster – it shows off city-bending effects similar to the ones we saw in the sci-fi classic Inception back in 2010.

These teasers come with a few caveats, though. First, it isn't clear how much editing has gone into the city-based shots. Also, most regions have pretty restrictive laws around flying drones in built-up areas, so it's likely that you'd need to get special permissions to be able to create shots like these.

Still, the Insta360 Sphere does look like a fascinating accessory for DJI drone fans to play with – as long you live in the US or mainland China, which are the only places where it'll initially be going on sale.

The more likely use case is simply being able to shoot 5.7K/30p videos in an FPV (first-person view) style, thanks to the ability to quickly switch the angle of view using Insta360's post-processing Studio software and app (for iOS and Android). The wide angle of view also lets you bring an extra dose of video stabilization to your clips, although the Air 2S and Mavic Air 2 are already pretty good in this department.

The Sphere itself clips around those two drones and weighs in at 192g. Insta360 told us that your drone's battery life will be reduced by about 20% thanks to that added weight, which means you'll want to pack some spares. Both of the compatible DJI drones have flight times of just over 30 minutes without the Sphere attached.

As intriguing as the Sphere is, its pricing and availability will initially make it pretty niche. It'll be available to buy for $429 (around £345 / AU$600) from May 24 in the US and mainland China, and it's only compatible with the DJI Air 2S and Mavic Air 2. Still, we're very much looking forward to seeing what early adopters do with it.

Analysis: the ultimate DJI drone accessory?

In the hyper-competitive world of social media one-upmanship, Insta360's cameras have been a useful tool for creators looking to create spectacular, viral videos – and the Sphere stretches the 360 camera concept to the limit.

On one hand, the kind of video tools that are now available to amateur creators is pretty mind-blowing. In the US, buying a DJI Air 2S (our top pick for the title of best drone) and an Insta360 Sphere will cost a total of $1,428 – not small change, but not exhorbitantly pricey either considering the kind of aerial videos and photos the setup can create.

The Sphere does also have a few practical limitations, though, which are easy to overlook in the face of Insta360's dazzling promotional clips. Once you're done editing and reframing its videos, the quality means they'll be most at home on social media feeds or YouTube rather than the big screen. The sheer size of the files can also make the editing process pretty demanding on your laptop or computer.

Insta360 also told us the the Sphere "has been developed and will be sold by Insta360 without any involvement from DJI". This means it isn't an authorized accessory, which could have ramifications for your drone's warranty or insurance in the case of an incident. 

Still, Insta360 did add that that "extensive tests and trials have been conducted for the development of Sphere" and that the accessory "doesn’t impede the drone's balance or GPS system, nor will it interfere with the flights". Insta360 also has a good track record of producing polished hardware like the Insta360 One RS and added that "extensive tests and trials have been conducted for the development of Sphere".

So will Insta360 eventually launch the Sphere in other regions? It told us that "we’d definitely consider launching it in more countries and regions in the future". Let's hope that's the case, as we're primed and ready to create our home-brewed Inception sequel. 

• I swapped my wedding photographer for a 360 camera – and the risk paid off

While preparing for my wedding, one question I didn’t expect to hear so regularly was, “who’s filming the ceremony?” The answer that I gave was equally unexpected: “I’m recording it myself. With a 360 camera.” 

But that’s exactly what I did. After the cost of the photography team left us sweating with fear for our financial stability, the idea of shelling out further for a full videography setup was simply out of the question.

Don’t get me wrong: I understand the value – and appreciate the work – of imaging professionals, especially at events as significant as weddings. If money was no object, my wife and I would have loved to have a movie of our big day captured in 4K. I can see it now: the soft focus as we walk down the aisle, the artful bokeh as champagne glasses clink, the slow-mo of me stumbling on the dance floor.

Alas, as for so many couples on the path to marital bliss, money was an object. So instead of breaking the budget in the name of frame rates, I instead had the bright idea to use a 360-degree camera to record every angle of the ceremony. 

Fully-charged, positioned on a tripod halfway up the aisle and operated with military discipline by my best man, it still wouldn’t capture the creative angles or full-frame quality that a videographer could. But it would record every word and wiped eye at our wedding, for quite a lot less cash. At least, that was the plan.

Why did I choose a 360 camera?

Having decided to film our own wedding, a 360 camera was the obvious tool for the job. Sure, a standard DSLR or mirrorless camera on a fixed tripod could have captured a clear angle of the ceremony. But in the right position, a 360 camera would offer unrivaled immersion by shooting the entirety of the nuptial scene – audience and all.

More than a spherical novelty, it would also give me unlimited editing options after the fact. I’d be able to crop in on flat frames from anywhere within the resulting 360 footage.

So I could select and export footage of my beautiful wife arriving, then pan the video around to save a clip of my father-in-law simultaneously dabbing his eyes. 

And because it would capture the whole spectacle by itself, a 360 camera could be set and left with minimal hassle. Which is the gold standard for any wedding day plan.

The 360 wedding setup

Three contenders vied for the videography job: the GoPro Max, the Insta360 One R Twin Edition and the Insta360 One X2. Each put forward compelling pitches, but the One X2 won the gig for several reasons. 

Its interface is accessible, even with hands made wobbly by wedding nerves. Its understated design wouldn’t distract guests from the main event. It also produces dynamic 360 footage that’s seamlessly stitched, while the smartphone app is one of the most comprehensive for creative editing. Plus it can shoot standard widescreen video at 1440p using one lens. It’s significantly less expensive than a videography team, too – and unlike a videography team, I can take it on the honeymoon.

Cleverly, the One X2 can also remove Insta360’s ‘invisible’ attachments from footage using automatic masking. Fitted atop the '2-in-1 Invisible Selfie Stick + Tripod', for example, the mount magically disappears as if Casper is holding the camera. The stand itself is ideal for wedding duties: much less bulky than a traditional tripod, its flip-out feet and low profile meant it flew under the radar while standing to one side of the aisle.

Completing the package was a microSD card fast enough to cope with the demands of processing 360 footage and large enough to keep recording even if proceedings ran over. On Insta360’s recommendation, I opted for a 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro V30 A1 card. I also doubled up with a second microSD card and backup battery – the idea being that I could quickly switch in the fresh accessories between the ceremony and the speeches. 

My Insta360 One X2 bundle also included a simple but indispensable rubber lens cap. Those big glass eyes are vulnerable to scratches and, with the camera due to stand in wait while setup went on around it, the extra protection made sense.

How well did it work?

On a day with a million moving parts, the Insta360 One X2 was mercifully easy to work with. A few hours prior to proceedings, I was able to enjoy a moment of solitary reflection at the ceremony venue: reflecting on where to position the camera. 

The Insta360 One X2 has a neat circular touchscreen, which proved handy for on-the-spot framing later in the evening. But to be sure I had it in the best position for the ceremony, I paired it with my smartphone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for a live 360 preview feed through the app. After a bit of panning and shuffling, I settled on a spot at the end of the first row of chairs. This gave the closest thing to a head-on aspect, without obstructing the aisle – or anyone’s sightline.

I opted not to change the camera from its standard settings: full-round 5.7K footage at 30fps is the Insta360 One X2’s best – and with no extreme sports listed in the program, it was just what we needed. I also kept its FlowState stabilization smarts enabled, to counter any swaying of the slender tripod pole if things got breezy.

The walkthrough with my wingman was painless: press the power button, press the record button, wait for the red light. True, we could’ve employed a smartphone to trigger the video, but that would’ve still required the camera to be switched on. Equally, we could’ve used Insta360’s GPS Smart Remote, but that would’ve meant extra expense. 

In reality, there was reassurance in the simplicity – and in the physical confirmation that the right buttons had been pushed and the light was blinking. Especially as I would be hiding in a different room, my inner control-freak itching but unable to check the setup for myself.

And it worked without a hitch. It wasn’t my top priority when I made my grand entrance (honest), but it was a relief to glance at the recording light and see that the little 360 camera had everything covered. And because it did, guests could keep their smartphones away and simply enjoy the moment. It also meant we didn’t have the pressure of a second set of barrels bearing down on us, the shutterbugs from the photography team already trained on my every awkward expression.

In a quiet minute after the formalities were concluded, I came back for the camera. Having been left to run for around an hour, it had maxed out its memory card and switched itself off. I swapped out the microSD, reminded myself that now wasn’t the time to review the footage, fitted the backup cell and nipped through to the reception area to position it for the speeches. Thanks to the endorphins and bubbly now in my bloodstream, I was a little less fastidious with positioning it this time. Luckily, the Insta360 One X2 offers champagne-proof accessibility.

How did I edit my 360 wedding video?

One of the main reasons for selecting the Insta360 One X2 was its excellent smartphone app. Available for free, it features a raft of tools for creative tweaking. While it’s possible to save the spherical footage – meaning I can re-live my wedding day at any time by strapping on a set of VR goggles – the more useful export for most people (myself included) is a flat frame taken from within the 360 video.

When you’ve recorded something as important as your wedding, there’s an inherent fear of corrupting or losing the footage. Having suffered a mild heart attack when I couldn’t find the Insta360 One X2 on the morning after the wedding (foiled by my own late-night brainwave to hide it in a shoe), I made sure to back up the files twice before doing anything else – both to a hard drive and to the cloud. Which, given the sheer size of 360 video, required a lot of space and bandwidth.

That file size almost makes hefty demands of a smartphone. There wasn’t enough space on my iPhone X to save the footage to local storage, so I had to stream video from the Insta360 One X2 during the edit. Which pushed the limits of wireless transfer rates – and caused my iPhone to sweat harder than I did at any point on my wedding day.

But stutters aside, the Insta360 app made a potentially overwhelming process into something intuitive. There’s a lot to digest (so many expressions on display) and the task is obviously more involved than if I’d left the editing to a professional outlet. 

Even so, the process of exploring the 360 footage, dropping pins to highlight key moments and watching as the app automatically transitions between positions in the resulting edit doesn’t get old. Likewise, the app’s subject-tracking and auto-framing smarts work like magic.

If you’re more of a real-time director, you can set the app to record your path as you pan around the footage. I can never get this quite right, as it requires fingers defter than my own to pinch and zoom smoothly. But because the original video is endlessly editable, I’m enjoying the continued experiment – finding something new each time I rewatch.

Exporting proved straightforward and pretty speedy, even when I was streaming source material from the camera. Color enhancements did lead to longer processing times, but also made for more vibrant results.

What would I have done differently?

Looking at the footage captured by the Insta360 One X2, I’m fundamentally chuffed with the decision to film our own wedding day. The result is an immersive video that we can watch again and again, noticing something different every time we do. Arguably just as important is the fact that capturing it was easy and didn’t interrupt the day.

That said, there were obviously compromises involved. Even with a full sphere of coverage, some moments were missed. For example, while you can see me arriving on a Royal Enfield in front of the ceremony venue (yes, really), it takes place too far from the camera to crop in for a clear shot. Though the Insta360 One X2 shoots at a 5.7K resolution, those pixels are spread across the full 360, so you simply can’t zoom in beyond a certain point.

A second 360 camera was in no way a necessity, but it would have been a nice luxury. Knowing now how simple it was to set up a single Insta360 One X2, an additional camera would’ve introduced minimal extra stress, while giving a welcome second angle of proceedings. Then again, it would’ve meant twice as much footage to download and review.

In truth, the only thing I wish I’d done is record more of the reception. With Insta360’s Extended Edition Selfie Stick, for example, I could’ve captured some drone-like shots of the hopping courtyard dance floor. And if I was a risk-taker, I could have dared to try a spinning slow-mo shot by whipping the Bullet Time Cord around above my head. 

But after all the planning that went into our wedding, I also forgive myself for enjoying the party, rather than fiddling around with camera gear. After all, I’ve got a lifetime of wedded happiness to spend doing that.

• How I shot Tesla's viral Gigafactory video with my FPV drone

Insta360 has a launched a follow-up to the modular action camera it released at CES 2020 – and the impressive Insta360 One RS beats its GoPro rivals in two important ways. (Want to jump straight to our verdict? Check out our Insta360 One RS review). 

Like the previous Insta360 One R, the new model consists of three sections: a base block that holds the battery, a sensor/lens block, and the camera's processing engine. This time, the One RS can be bought with a new 4K Boost lens that has a 1/2in 48MP sensor, which you can swap out for the existing 5.7K 360-degree camera or the 5.3K 1-Inch Wide Angle Lens block.

It's this versatility, coupled with other improvements like a new battery base and a faster processor, that gives the One RS one key advantage over its GoPro rivals. GoPro's Hero range, led by the Hero 10 Black, remain slightly better single-purpose cameras, but the Insta360 One RS uniquely lets you take a 360-degree camera and standard wide-angle action cam out with you, while only needing one main body and battery.

The other advantage of the One RS, when you buy its standard package, is its value for money. You can buy that standard bundle, which includes the 4K Boost Lens, battery and main unit, for a pretty reasonable $299.99 / £279.99 / AU$569. That's significantly less than the GoPro Hero 10 Black ($399 / £379 / AU$599.95, when bought with a GoPro subscription) and DJI Action 2 ($399 / £349 / AU $609).

Naturally, the cost mounts up if you want more modules, with the Twin Edition (which adds a 360-degree lens to the standard package) costing $549.99 / £499.99 / AU$919.99. You can also get the Insta360 One R with the 1-inch Wide Angle lens for $549.99 / £499.99 / AU$919.99. But the benefit of the One RS' modular approach is that you can always start with that base bundle and add extra modules if needed. 

Like the DJI Action 2, there are also dome downsides to the Insta360 One RS' modular design. The main one is that it has a pretty tiny 1.5in screen, which makes it harder to see what you're filming. It also doesn't pack the same slo-mo powers as rivals like the Hero 10 Black, with no 4K/120p option. Instead, you can shoot 2.7K resolution at 100fps, or 1080p at 200/120fps.

Still, the Insta360 One RS does has fewer workflow headaches than its predecessor. Previously, you had to process videos through the Insta360 app to get image stabilization, but FlowState is now all done in-camera and produces impressively smooth results. Combine this with its high-quality 4K video and you have a strong rival to the GoPro Hero 10 Black for the title of best action camera.

Analysis: The bridge camera of action cams 

In many ways, the Insta360 One RS is like the bridge camera of action cams – it aims to pack maximum versatility into one, simple-to-use body, and it largely succeeds thanks to some extra polish that was absent from its predecessor.

It remains a more niche choice than a GoPro Hero 10 Black, because it only really makes sense if you're looking to take advantage of its modular design and swap in different cameras. But if that sounds like you, then it's a fine new option at a reasonable price.

Our Insta360 One RS review praises its good in-camera stabilization, sharp-looking 4K video and surprisingly intuitive interface, given its small 1.5in screen. We were also relieved to find that it fixes all the workflow issues we found with its predecessor, caused by the need to process footage through the app in order to get stabilized footage.

In fact, we even found the video from the Insta360 One RS' 4K module to be more engaging and detailed than its GoPro rivals, even if it does exhibit some issues like aliasing and shimmering. As our review states: "A GoPro nets you footage with fewer issues, and often a more pleasant warm color tone, but there’s an open and airy quality to the Insta360 One RS’s 4K video that we just don’t see from our Hero 9 Black".

If you can accept slightly less consistent footage than a GoPro, along with that tiny 1.5in screen, then the One RS is a very solid new action camera, particularly at that base price of $299.99 / £279.99 / AU$569.

• Check out our guide to the world's best action cams

The Amazon Prime Day deals are one of the best times of the year to buy an action camera. Just like Black Friday, we tend to see some big price cuts over the shopping event, which this year lands on June 21-22.

TechRadar spends the entire sale period on high alert each year. We sift through the tens of thousands of discounts to find the real deals, and we'll be doing the same for adventure-proof cameras.

OLED TVs, fancy Sony headphones and Nintendo Switch sales may suck up much of the oxygen, but there are always some great action camera deals, too. And it pay may to forget the notion that GoPros are the only action cameras you should buy. Here’s why.

• These are the best action cameras you can buy right now

Prime time for cheap action cameras

We recently took a whole stack of cheap action cameras across fields and beaches to separate the best from the bad. Some were really bad, but some made a mockery of their low price tags. These cameras come from names which many of you may not be familiar with, but they make up the bulk of Amazon Prime Day action camera discounts.

Among our favorites was the Apeman A100. It’s a 4K action camera that offers image quality not too far off a GoPro Hero Black. Its stabilization may not be as effective, but that doesn’t matter too much considering how much less money you have to spend. Last Prime Day, the Apeman A100 was on sale for 27% off its usual price. And the ‘usual price’ is less than a third of what you’d pay for a top GoPro.

If you’re willing to spend a little more you should also look out for discounts on DJI and Insta360 action cameras. 

DJI set out to beat GoPro with its DJI Osmo Action. And, in some ways at least, it did. Last Prime Day, we got to save around 25% off the camera, and it was possibly the best mid-price action camera you could get at the time, at that price. 

The Osmo Action stood out when it arrived in 2019 thanks to its large front screen. It was high on many vloggers’ wish lists. Its image quality and stabilization effectiveness is pretty close to what you get from a top GoPro, too. 

We also hope to see a discount for the Insta360 Go 2 this Prime Day. It’s a relatively new camera, but last year we did see a tasty 20% off the original Insta360 Go. 

The second generation model is a big upgrade. It has much better image quality, which is particularly useful if you want to shoot under tree cover or in so-so lighting. And it comes with a charger case that has a little mode screen and built-in micro tripod. It’s a real go-anywhere action camera and another one to look out for. 

• Check out our guide to the world's best cheap action cameras

What about GoPro action cameras?

Okay, so we’ve given you some other options, but for many GoPro is still more-or-less synonymous with action cameras – and rightly so.

Last Prime Day, the big GoPro discounts were bundles rather than solo cameras. That means things like extra batteries, mounts or the diver’s case. While GoPro cameras are water resistant you’ll still need to use a rubber sealed case for any proper underwater work. No official GoPro accessories come cheap, so these bundles are well worth considering if you’ll use your action camera a lot, or in a bunch of different scenarios.

There’s also more scope for some hotter GoPro deals this year. Last year, Prime Day landed in the middle of October, just shortly after the release of the excellent GoPro Hero 9 Black. 

Now that we are the better part of a year away from that launch, higher Hero 9 Black discounts may be on offer as there’s less worry about devaluing a brand new product. 

Only interested in GoPro cameras without the accessories? Last year we saw some reductions of around 15% on the GoPro Hero 8 Black and Hero 7 Silver lines in some territories. 

We recommend the Hero 8 Black and Hero 9 Black this year for the more discerning would-be action camera user. The Hero 7 Silver does not quite reach the same image quality heights, but also makes for a solid casual use action camera. And it has 4K capture, unlike the previous Hero 7 White. 

• These are all of the best GoPros, ranked

Keep an eye on 360 cameras

Don’t forget 360-degree cameras. The best of these cost a little more than most standard action cameras, but let you create truly eye-catching effects by transitioning from different fields of view and tilting the scene in the edit. 360-degree cameras are not just about actually recording 360-degree footage. 

Out favorite of these is probably the GoPro Max. Its stabilization is out of this world, its small enough to mount in places you might put a regular action cam, and it makes for a decent standard wide-angle view camera, too. 

GoPro Max deals are very rare, although we did see a solid discount on it a week before Black Friday 2020. We may well get a classic GoPro Max bundle deal this Prime Day, where you effectively get some accessories for next-to free. A telescopic tripod stick is a must for the Max. And we’ll never say no to more batteries, or GoPro’s handy dual battery charger.

Insta360 is the other major name to watch in 360-degree action cameras. And the models we want to see are the Insta360 One R and Insta360 One X2. 

The One X2 is a dedicated 360-degree camera. It’s an easy-to-use, chocolate bar-shaped camera that can at times produce slightly more detail than the GoPro Max, although we prefer GoPro’s color and the GoPro produces cleaner results at night. The One X2 has a handy HDR mode too, and a flat Log mode for those who use proper editing software. The GoPro Max records clearer audio, though. 

If we get a good Insta360 One X2 discount on Prime Day 2021, it could be worth buying instead of a GoPro Max. 

The Insta360 One R is rather different, and one of the most ambitious action cameras out there. It’s a modular camera. You can get standard wide-angle and 360-degree lens modules, and a slightly larger one with a massive 1-inch sensor.

There’s a great opportunity for a Prime Day discount here, particularly for bundles that include two of these three imaging modules. It’s like having two different cameras, although we tend to choose a module before a shoot and stick with it, as you do have to deconstruct the thing to switch lenses. It only takes a handful seconds, but probably isn’t something you want do while taking a pitstop on your bike, or similar. 

Last year Prime Day discounts didn’t just pop up on Amazon, but on Insta360’s own store. You could get 15% off plus a free accessory, so it is well worth bearing mind mind stores outside of Amazon during the shopping event.

Overall, then, there are lots of potential action camera bargains during the Prime Day sales, and we'll be on hand to point you towards the pick of them. 

• Why Amazon Prime Day is the perfect time to buy a Fitbit

If you took one look at the new Insta360 Go 2 action camera and thought “wow, that kind of looks like a Minion,” then you’re thinking along the same lines as Insta360, which has created a charming, official Minions-skinned variant of its new action camera. 

Of course, the Minions brand is no stranger to putting its name and face on pretty much everything including board games, Crocs and even microwavable plush toys. And the vast landscape of Minions merchandise arguably eclipses the movies they originate from. 

But this tie-in with the Insta360 Go 2, a tiny action camera that already has Minion-like looks, makes a lot of sense and is one of the better movie-tech mashups we’ve seen in a while.

• A Mario movie from the makers of Minions is in the works
• Insta360 One R 1-inch edition review
• Read our in-depth Insta360 Go 2 review

One of the best things about the special edition is that it’s built around a very good action camera, with our Insta360 Go 2 review praising its great image quality and sturdy, compact design. In fact, we think the Insta360 Go 2 Minions Edition could be a good gift for a child, if you’re prepared to pay the slight premium over the standard version.

For all the ire that the Minions often draw with its abundance of merchandise, at least the brand is being tied to a genuinely good product here and one that feels a good fit. The device’s form factor and prominent lens already lend themselves to Minions comparisons – and it sure beats some of the previous attempts we’ve seen at injecting movie character charm into an existing gadget.

Movie mashups

So how does the Insta360 Go 2 Minions Edition stack up against its movie-tech predecessors? Pretty well, to be honest. The Insta360 Go 2 Minions Edition is at least a conscious effort to add a bit of family-oriented appeal to a genuinely great piece of tech.

It’s certainly more appealing than the nightmarish WowWee Homersapien from 2007 (above): a cool programmable robot on its own, but a bizarre Simpsons reskin that definitely gave us the creeps.

The Star Wars Sphero BB-8 (from 2015) fared much better, because it at least looks like what it’s supposed to be (and actually was a lot of fun), despite being slightly pricier than an Insta360 Go 2 Minions Edition.

Still, even the above two examples are leagues ahead of what licensed gadgets used to be. Remember the Barbie-themed laptop or (shudder) MP3 player? Or before that, Samsung’s SPH-N270 (below), a super-tacky tie-in for The Matrix Reloaded that made us pine even more for the Nokia 7110 ‘bananaphone’ that starred in the original. 

A lot of licensed tie-ins with gadgets have typically been aimed at young children, like Leapfrog’s Leapster range of handheld devices, which featured countless licensed tie-ins in the form of cartridges offering a variety of interactive edutainment games.

While these are well-meaning given the target audience, it’s a different world entirely than what Insta360 is offering with its Minions Edition camera, which could start a trend of introducing a vlogging hobby to a younger audience.

The Insta360 Go 2 Minions Edition wearable action camera retails for $329 (around £240 / AU$430), but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your feelings toward the bean-shaped rascals) it's only available for purchase in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and mainland China right now.

That means the Insta360 Go 2 Minions Edition is actually slightly more expensive than the regular model (which costs $299 /£294.99 / $479.99AUD), but it's not too big a premium for what is a pretty comprehensive reskin that extends to the action camera's handy new charging case.

• These are the best vlogging cameras you can buy right now