GoKawiilis a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.
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Insta360 announced the next iteration of its popular 360-degree action cameras that have helped the company expand its offerings. The new X6 introduces a design that’s smaller than last year’s X5 and X4 Air but with improved video capabilities thanks to an even larger pair of custom 1/1.1-inch square sensors from Sony. While last year’s models offered 8K recording at up to 30fps, the new X6 can capture 8K at up to 50fps. It also carries forward the X5’s replaceable lenses, which are now five times more scratch-resistant and 60 percent cheaper, according to the company.
The Insta360 X6 is available today in black or white through the company’s online store and other retailers starting at $699.99, which is $150 more expensive than last year’s $549.99 X5. It’s also available as part of a $799.99 Essentials Bundle that adds an additional battery, an invisible selfie stick, a fast charging case, and other accessories.
The X6 is available in white or black color options. Image: Insta360
The most obvious upgrade for the X6 is a smaller design that’s a little wider and thicker than the X5, but a full inch shorter and 4 grams lighter, making it more pocketable than its predecessor. Shrinking the X6 did result in a slightly smaller 2.32-inch touchscreen on the back, but while the X5 featured a 2.5-inch LCD display, the X6 gets an upgrade to OLED.
While the new X6 doesn’t feature full 1-inch sensors like the DJI Osmo 360, its new 1/1.1-inch square sensors come very close and offer 33 percent more sensor area and “four times the light intake per frame” when compared to the 1/1.28-inch sensors in the X5. Those sensors work alongside multiple AI chips, including two dedicated to imaging, to give the X6 better low-light performance with improved denoising. It’s also the first 360-degree camera, Insta360 claims, with in-camera Dolby Vision support so that brightness and contrast metadata is captured frame by frame to ensure HDR footage looks accurate on supported displays.
When capturing 360-degree footage using both cameras the X6 maxes out at 8K/50fps, but you can boost that to as high as 6K/120fps or 4K/240fps in a “Bullet Time” mode designed for capturing slow-motion footage. You can use the X6 as a 2D action camera by recording with just one sensor at a time, but that’s limited to a maximum resolution of 5K/60fps, or 120fps if you drop to 4K. Still photography with the X6 is also getting an upgrade to 120 megapixels when capturing 360-degree images, or 42 megapixels when using just one side of the camera.
The X6’s battery life can be boosted by pairing it with accessories like a selfie stick featuring an extended battery. Image: Insta360
Despite the camera being smaller, Insta360 managed to squeeze a slightly larger 2,600mAh battery into the X6 that the company claims will keep it recording up to 51 percent longer than the X5, which came with a 2,400mAh battery. The X6 will record for around 140 minutes at 8K/30fps before it dies, but you can extend that with the optional X6 Power Selfie Stick accessory, which adds an extra 180 minutes of runtime.
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