Nur einen Monat nach der Börsengänge von Insta360 plant es, gegen DJI anzugehen.

A Chinese company has achieved the seemingly impossible feat of making its brand synonymous with an entire product category.

Consumer drones = DJI. This is a well - understood equation that needs no explanation. Globally, DJI holds over 85% of the consumer drone market share, and in the Chinese market, this figure exceeds 90%.

Due to DJI's overwhelming dominance in the consumer drone market, many drone companies that regard DJI as a competitor have shifted their focus to agricultural and industrial sectors to avoid direct confrontation. Some companies still in the consumer drone business have targeted the market segment below 2000 yuan, where DJI is less dominant, simply aiming to survive.

Recently, a Chinese company, Insta360, which just completed its IPO and has a market value of 70 billion yuan, is trying to enter DJI's territory in the consumer drone market.

Those who are into extreme sports must have heard of Insta360. In the 360 - degree panoramic action camera market, Insta360 is the leader with a market share of over 80%. Having raised 2 billion yuan through its IPO, it's understandable that the company wants to expand its product line.

However, from an outsider's perspective, Insta360 seems a bit overconfident by directly challenging DJI. What kind of amazing drones does Insta360 need to launch to gain a share in DJI's market?

Direct Confrontation

Let's first take a look at Insta360's drone products.

On July 20th, the tech media PhotoRumors first leaked the appearance photos of Insta360's drones.

In the photos, a tester from Insta360 is testing the products, and there are two test samples with zebra - striped anti - counterfeiting stickers beside. Insta360 had previously released two drone patents, and the appearance of the leaked test drones corresponds to those in the patents.

These two products are named "Drone" and "Panoramic Drone" respectively. Judging from their size and appearance, they are both consumer - oriented products.

Let's first look at the details of the first product with a rotor protection cover. It looks relatively large, similar to a racing drone, with a quad - rotor design, which is quite similar to DJI's Neo handheld Vlog drone.

The corresponding patent states that the highlight of this product is the "detachable rotor protection cover", and the entire rotor protection cover is of "integrated design". In short, the product focuses on the protection and flexibility of the rotor cover and offers the option of disassembly and assembly...

The second product is a bit more interesting. Its overall appearance is closer to mainstream aerial photography drones. The most prominent feature is the obvious bulge on the drone's head. In the patent, it is called a "panoramic drone", and the bulge is presumably where the panoramic camera is placed.

Considering that Insta360's main business is 360 - degree panoramic cameras, and there has been a trend of using panoramic cameras on drones for panoramic photography, combined with the confirmation in the patent, this product should offer a unique shooting experience.

Additionally, the word "Antigravity" is printed on the side of the "panoramic drone". Some netizens noticed that there is a Weibo account named "Insta Antigravity", registered by Shenzhen Insta Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen Insta Technology Co., Ltd. is controlled by Zhuhai Insta Technology Co., Ltd., and their legal representative, Jiang Wenjie, is the chairman of Insta360's supervisory board. It can be confirmed that the two leaked products are Insta360's drones.

If the "panoramic drone" can be seen as a further segmentation of Insta360's "panoramic shooting" function in other markets, it's hard to imagine what practical value the "drone with a flexibly detachable rotor protection cover" can bring with this so - called "innovation point".

However, Insta360 is not without a chance. In the past two or three years, DJI's drone product upgrades have been criticized by many users. Taking advantage of this opportunity when DJI seems to be taking a break, Insta360 might find a way to expand its product line and succeed in entering DJI's market.

DJI's Lull

It's a fact that DJI has an unshakable position in the consumer drone market, but it's also true that the sincerity of its new product upgrades in the past two or three years has been lacking.

The saying "DJI upgrades too slowly" started to emerge around 2020.

At that time, DJI launched the new Mavic Air 2 drone, with an upgraded main camera and the addition of intelligent follow - up 3.0 and APAS 3.0 obstacle - avoidance algorithms. However, some users were dissatisfied with its "cloned" appearance similar to the Mavic 2 Pro/Mini. They also complained about the slow progress in the obstacle - avoidance function, as it still only had three - way obstacle avoidance, failing to meet the expectation of all - around obstacle avoidance.

Recently, the new Mavic 4 Pro was released, and the reviews of this flagship consumer drone have been polarized.

Why? Although the Mavic 4 Pro has upgraded its telephoto camera and improved its night - shooting performance, after so many generations of upgrades, it still fails to solve some "legacy problems".

For example, although the Mavic 4 Pro has been upgraded to 100 - megapixel, this upgrade seems more like a show. Most users don't need such high - resolution, and it even triggers the "return - to - home when signal is lost" bug.

On the other hand, the main camera of the Mavic 4 Pro still has a focal length of 28mm. In the professional photography circle, 28mm is a "mediocre" focal length. When shooting wide - angle landscapes, it's not wide enough, often requiring the drone to fly backward for proper composition, which increases the difficulty of shooting.

Besides the product itself, there are also some issues with the product positioning. The basic version of the Mavic 4 Pro (priced at 13,888 yuan) only has 64GB of storage, while the 512GB creator's package costs as much as 23,988 yuan. Core functions such as H.264 ALL - I encoding are only available in the high - end version. It's accused of "forcing users to buy the top - end version indirectly".

There are also issues such as the promised electronic ND filter being delayed and the need to purchase the optical ND filter separately even for the top - end version, which have aroused the dissatisfaction of many professional photographers.

Considering the price, at present, it might be better to continue using the Mavic 3 Pro instead of buying the Mavic 4 Pro. For some users, most of the functions of the Mavic 4 Pro can even be replaced by the lower - end Air 3S...

The fact is that DJI's new products in recent years have gradually become like the iPhone 16 Pro.

Moreover, DJI's slow - upgrade problem has spread to other product lines. For example, the OSMO Mobile 7P, a phone stabilizer released at the beginning of this year, has a folding form and a magnetic quick - release design very similar to its predecessor, the OSMO Mobile 6. The only obvious upgrade is that the folding buckle is made of metal, which has also been criticized by users. It's far less cost - effective than the previous version's clearance price of over 400 yuan.

Therefore, against the backdrop of DJI's slow product upgrades, other brands feel confident that they have a chance to enter the drone market.

Actually, Insta360's CEO, Liu Jingkang, said in an interview with "LatePost" that he doesn't think entering the drone market now is a hopeless endeavor.

"LatePost" asked Liu Jingkang, "So, although the door to the drone market seems tightly shut, it can actually be pushed open?" His answer was: As long as you do every thing steadily.

This can actually be seen as a positive hint. I think Liu Jingkang's confidence comes from the fact that since Insta360 also started from imaging products, if drones are regarded as a type of imaging product, Insta360 is not completely outmatched in terms of imaging algorithms, image transmission algorithms, and CMOS technology.

However, if Insta360 really wants to compete with DJI, it will probably focus on the drone market below 3000 yuan. After all, in higher - priced drones, the "flight control system" is the core indicator of a good product, and DJI's flight control system is an insurmountable peak for Insta360.

Challenging the Giant or a Futile Attempt?

Most netizens are not optimistic about Insta360's attempt to enter DJI's market. After all, as a newcomer in the drone market, it seems too ambitious for Insta360 to challenge DJI.

However, for Insta360, entering the drone market might be a necessity.

In the panoramic camera market, Insta360 has its flagship handheld X series, the portable go series, and a series of peripheral products. It has almost covered all possible scenarios, such as skiing, surfing, hiking, cycling, aerial photography, and pet - related shooting.

Even with an 80% market share in the panoramic camera market, its annual revenue is only about 5.5 billion yuan.

From its IPO prospectus, Insta360's confusion is evident. The panoramic camera market has an obvious ceiling, and there is no clear monetization prospect for future business directions such as AI and VR. Expanding the product line and seeking new opportunities are necessary.

Nowadays, drones are widely used in shooting scenarios and can still be regarded as a type of "imaging tool". Insta360's idea is to expand the use of panoramic cameras to the sky.

In an interview, Liu Jingkang also said that "Insta360's main business is imaging", and it's reasonable to consider drone shooting as an imaging scenario. However, the reality that awaits Insta360 may be very harsh.

Here comes a thought - provoking question: If Insta360's drones can reach 90 points of DJI's level, would you consider them? What about 100 points? 120 points?

Thanks to its first - mover advantage, DJI has established the consumer perception that "drone = DJI", which is far stronger than in markets where DJI entered later, such as handheld gimbals and action cameras. This advantage may be even more powerful than DJI's flight control, image transmission, and imaging technologies.

Although Insta360 has accumulated many users and fans in the panoramic camera market and gained some popularity, there is still a huge gap compared with DJI's well - known brand image.

How can Insta360 convince more