The first battle is the decisive one: DJI and Insta360 go head-to-head in the panoramic drone market.
In early September, a new round of competition is taking place in the niche market of "panoramic drones".
As the global leader in the drone industry, DJI, which has always been low - key and pragmatic, is rumored to be about to launch its first panoramic drone. Currently, the product is in the final stage before release. On September 7th, SBDJI, an industry self - media in the drone field, released spy photos of the new model. It also stated that "based on past experience, once a new DJI product enters the stage of being photographed during test flights, it usually means that it is about to enter mass production and be launched on the market." It's like dropping a bombshell quietly after the recent hype of Insta360 drones.
SBDJI analyzed and believed that this DJI model is very likely to be equipped with the same lens as the Osmo 360 released at the end of July, and be paired with a rotatable gimbal. It is even expected to use the same 1 - inch imaging CMOS sensor. As DJI's first panoramic camera, the Osmo 360 has 120 million pixels, 8K high - frame - rate shooting, and the 10bit D - Log M color standard, demonstrating DJI's technical strength in panoramic imaging.
In terms of image transmission, it is expected that the new product will continue DJI's mature O4 solution, achieving efficient compatibility with the existing product matrix. This technology has been widely used in models such as the Avata 2, supporting a maximum transmission distance of 13 kilometers, a low latency of 24 milliseconds, and 1080p/100fps high - definition picture quality, which is sufficient to lay a solid foundation for the control experience of panoramic drones.
If the above speculation by SBDJI is accurate, all the key performance indicators of DJI's first panoramic drone product, from the accuracy and color of panoramic imaging to image transmission, are at the highest level.
In the next six months, DJI and Insta360 will compete head - on in the "panoramic drone" cross - market. The first products of both sides are expected to be launched at the same time, competing for the right to define this new product category. Relying on its global leading position in the drone industry and technical reserves, DJI is entering the battlefield as an "insider". It may be expected to define industry standards for this new product category with its system - level technical advantages.
01
The Encounter of DJI and Insta360
Since its establishment in 2006, DJI has gradually built a global ecosystem covering drones and handheld imaging devices. It not only dominates the consumer - grade aerial photography market but also has a comprehensive layout in the civilian and industrial - grade fields. Insta360, as a rising star attracting the attention of the capital market in recent years, has also quickly opened up the market with its differentiated strategy focusing on the panoramic track.
These two leading enterprises originally belonging to the "drone" and "panoramic camera" fields respectively have now officially met at the intersection of the "panoramic drone" market.
On July 23rd, Insta360 announced its entry into the drone industry and subsequently announced its drone brand.
On July 31st, DJI released its first panoramic camera, the Osmo 360, directly "breaking into" Insta360's core market. The latter then reduced the price of similar products by 500 yuan in response.
On August 14th, Insta360 announced the product form of its panoramic drone and launched a public beta.
In terms of rhythm, Insta360 seems to have taken the lead, but DJI actually had an early layout. According to the spy photos leaked by SBDJI, the lens module of DJI's panoramic drone is highly consistent with the Osmo 360, showing the systematicness of its strategy: first test the market with a panoramic camera to verify its imaging strength, and then launch a panoramic drone to complete the ecological closed - loop.
What's more worthy of attention is DJI's heavy investment in underlying imaging technology. To improve image quality, DJI promoted the customized development of the industry's first dedicated square CMOS sensor for panoramic imaging. It not only increases the sensor utilization rate by 25% but also significantly reduces power consumption and shrinks the volume on the basis of achieving a 1 - inch image field. This "black technology" developed over two years is likely to be applied to both DJI's panoramic cameras and drone products.
A fundamental question emerges: How to define a "panoramic drone"? Is it a "flying panoramic camera" or a "drone integrated with panoramic imaging capabilities"?
Both sides have given answers to this question. Insta360 emphasizes its label of "the world's first", highlighting the innovative concept of the product. In contrast, DJI's spy photos reveal more upgrades in the essence of the drone - key performances such as flight control, obstacle avoidance, gimbal, and image transmission have all been re - adapted and strengthened.
As a rising star established in 2015, Insta360 achieved rapid growth by keenly seizing the opportunity in the niche market of panoramic cameras. Its "single - point breakthrough" approach achieved remarkable results in the early stage.
However, when Insta360 enters the drone field, which requires strong technical accumulation and high industry barriers, its opponent DJI has shown more complete rhythm control and technical depth. From panoramic cameras to drones, DJI has played a solid combination of punches relying on its full - industrial - chain layout and system - level R & D capabilities. For Insta360, which has just crossed into this field, it still needs to face the challenges of core technologies if it wants to soar in the sky of drones.
To overcome these core technical difficulties, Insta360 obviously needs sufficient time and investment. With DJI's entry into the "panoramic drone" track, the performance indicators of this new product category have been comprehensively improved immediately, greatly increasing the intensity of product competitiveness. Whether Insta360, which still needs to "make up lessons" in drone technology, can keep up with the rhythm of technological upgrading will be the essential issue to face after the marketing hype.
02
Exploring Each Other's "Core Business", Deciding the Winner in System Competitiveness
This competition in the "panoramic drone" market is essentially the penetration of the two enterprises into each other's core fields during the process of diversification. Ultimately, it is a competition of the depth of the technical moat and the ability of system coordination.
In the "panoramic" aspect, as the defender, Insta360 has market share and experience accumulated over many years in the panoramic camera market. Although DJI seems to be the attacker, its profound imaging technology is not achieved overnight. Through strategic cooperation with Hasselblad, it quickly integrated the advantages of traditional optics, continuously iterated its products, and has also made long - term layouts in fields such as movie - grade professional equipment and aerial photography systems.
As soon as DJI's first panoramic camera, the Osmo 360, was launched, it emphasized "image quality first", which is supported by the customized sensor and D - Log M color management. According to the data from DJI's JD flagship store, since its release more than a month ago, the sales volume of the Osmo 360 has exceeded 20,000 units. Calculated at the starting price of 2,999 yuan for the entry - level model, the sales revenue from a single channel has exceeded 60 million yuan, quickly taking a share of the existing market "cake".
In the "drone" aspect, the situation is completely different. DJI is the absolute leader, while Insta360 is a new challenger.
In the past nearly two decades, DJI has built a full - industrial - chain layout from consumer - grade to professional - grade products. Its four core technologies, including flight control systems, power design, gimbal stabilization, and image transmission links, have undergone multiple rounds of iterations, accumulating a large amount of flight data and scenario verification.
For example, both DJI's consumer - grade and industrial drones can fly over Mount Everest. Behind this is the support of flight control stability, aerodynamic optimization, and power redundancy in extreme environments. Its gimbal and electronic anti - shake technology combine mechanics and algorithms to handle drastic attitude changes in the air. The O4 image transmission ensures high - definition, low - latency, and highly reliable real - time image transmission. In terms of safety, through countless "crash" lessons, it has repeatedly optimized and established a complete safety mechanism including obstacle avoidance, return - to - home, and fault warning.
These capabilities are not just the superposition of single functional points but a systematic project that requires long - term technical precipitation, large - scale data training, and in - depth supply - chain coordination. For any new entrant, this is a barrier that requires multiple investments of time, capital, and technology to cross.
What's even more despairing for opponents is that DJI's pace of technological R & D and product innovation is accelerating, which means that this systematic technical barrier is continuously strengthening. The probability of Insta360 surpassing DJI in the drone track will soon be verified.
03
Is the First Battle the Decisive One? Product and Experience Determine the Winner
Whether it is a panoramic camera, a drone, or a panoramic drone that combines the two, it ultimately comes down to product experience and user choice.
The first "panoramic drone" products of the two companies are very likely to be officially launched in the next six months and be tested by users and the market.
In terms of enterprise scale and R & D investment, there is still a significant gap between the two. According to public data, Insta360's revenue in 2024 was 5.574 billion yuan, with R & D investment accounting for 13.9%. Although DJI has not publicly disclosed its financial report, market sources say that its revenue in 2024 exceeded 80 billion yuan. The absolute value of its R & D investment far exceeds the industry average.
This gap may also directly affect product pricing and market strategies. Relying on the scale effect of its supply chain, DJI can often offer more competitive prices. The fact that the Osmo 360's starting price of 2,999 yuan directly forced similar products to reduce their prices is a clear example.
In other words, DJI is more capable of achieving a balance among "high configuration + strong experience + appropriate pricing", which is the key to creating a "blockbuster product" in the consumer electronics field.
Elon Musk once mentioned in an earnings conference that "countries unable to manufacture drones independently will be strategically constrained" and affirmed China's overall advantage in the drone industry chain. In this initial competition of panoramic drones, the real winner is likely to be the enterprise that understands both imaging and flight and can use complex technologies to create a minimalist operation and smooth experience for users.
Of course, no matter how Insta360 and DJI compete, we hope that this confrontation will ultimately promote the industry to a more mature and innovative future and bring truly reliable, useful, and trustworthy products to users.
The survival of the fittest has always been the fundamental rule in the business world.
*The above content does not constitute investment advice and does not represent the views of the publishing platform. The market is risky, and investment should be made with caution. Please make independent judgments and decisions.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Wall Street Insights". It is re - published by 36Kr with permission.