is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
I know my way around a pair of joysticks — but I’d prefer to soar. I don’t want to think about filming while I’m flying. I’d rather explore.
Now, camera maker Insta360 is launching its first drone, under a new drone company, to serve that exact demand. It’s called Antigravity, and in January 2026, it’ll ship a flying 360-degree camera which — unlike today’s drones — will always come bundled with goggles that put you inside its virtual cockpit.
It looks and flies a bit like a DJI Mini, with similar folding arms and sub-250-gram weight, but the experience of using the new Antigravity A1 is totally different. Like the Hover X1, which ditched controllers entirely, it feels like Antigravity might have just unlocked a whole new category of drone.
Because it has a 360-degree camera, you can fly up into the sky, or through a park, and simply turn your head to look in any direction. You don’t have to fly straight at things you want to see or aim a camera. And because it’s recording 8K footage in every direction simultaneously, you can direct an entire video, with virtual zooms and pans and spins, long after your flight is finished.
On the sunny day I flew a prototype in a Northern California park, I remember seeing a few birds fly by. But reviewing my footage weeks later, I discovered I’d filmed an entire flock — over 40 in all, when I pan and zoom my virtual camera and take the time to count. Check out my embedded video to see what I’m talking about.
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