Insta360 to boost profits with new business? DJI won't allow it.

On September 11, Insta360 held its first earnings conference after going public as scheduled.

Three days before that, spy photos of DJI's new panoramic drone were exposed. It had been less than a month since Insta360 launched its panoramic drone brand "Antigravity". So far, the two companies have gone head - to - head in four product lines: drones, panoramic cameras, action cameras, and handheld gimbals.

At Insta360's first earnings conference, its competitive relationship with DJI also became the most concerning issue for institutional and individual investors. However, Insta360's management was extremely low - key and conservative at this conference, only answering a few questions in written form.

In response to the question "How do you view DJI's entry into the panoramic drone market?", "Chairman Liu Jingkang" replied, "Excellent competitors can promote the healthy development of the industry and help us grow faster and better." He avoided answering questions about the drone market competition strategy, pricing, and expected shipment volume.

Whether there is a direct response or not, Insta360 and DJI have become keywords that neither can avoid at present.

On September 11, Insta360's stock price closed at 318.13 yuan per share in the afternoon, up 0.2%, with a total market value of 127.57 billion yuan.

Insta360 and DJI Go Head - to - Head in Multiple Product Lines

Looking back at the timeline, Insta360 was the first to initiate direct competition with DJI.

On July 23, Insta360 announced that the company had started to layout the drone business and planned to launch two brands: its own brand and Antigravity, jointly incubated with a third - party. On July 29, Liu Jingkang (English name "JK"), the founder of Insta360, posted on his WeChat Moments, for the first time discussing the reason for entering the market - both for the company's development and because there were unmet pain points of customers and incremental space in the drone market.

At the same time, he revealed that this decision was made five years ago. "We predicted at that time that this move would stimulate DJI to 'raid' the panoramic camera market."

On the evening of August 14, the first panoramic drone under Antigravity was unveiled, officially announcing the start of a global beta test and is expected to be officially launched in January 2026.

In the public eye, DJI's "raid" was fast and fierce. On July 31, only one week after Insta360 officially announced its entry into the drone market, DJI's first flagship panoramic camera, DJI Osmo 360, made its debut.

Not only is the product positioning of DJI Osmo 360 directly targeted at Insta360 X5, the flagship panoramic camera launched by Insta360 in April 2025, but also DJI's pricing strategy for the panoramic camera is thought - provoking.

The bare - machine price of DJI Osmo 360 is 2,999 yuan, and the price of the all - inclusive shooting package is 3,799 yuan (including the main camera, a 1.2 - meter invisible selfie stick, two 1950mAh batteries and other accessories). In contrast, the initial launch price of the Insta360 X5 bare - machine was 3,798 yuan, and the price of the all - around package was 4,498 yuan (including the main camera, a 1.14 - meter invisible selfie stick, an extra battery, a multi - function charging manager and other accessories).

On the night of the first - day launch of DJI Osmo 360, Insta360 X5 responded by officially announcing a 500 - yuan price cut for the bare - machine to 3,298 yuan, and the all - around package was also reduced to 3,998 yuan.

According to reports from multiple media outlets, DJI is secretly incubating a panoramic drone product internally, and the engineering prototype has been polished. It is expected to be officially launched at the end of the year, and a related spy photo has been exposed in the media.

It is said that DJI's first panoramic drone product may combine the advantages of drones and the panoramic camera Osmo 360: the fuselage adopts a fully enclosed propeller arm design similar to the Avata series; in terms of imaging, it supports 8K60fps, 10bit D - LogM; and it supports a 1 - inch panoramic imaging sensor.

In addition, this product may be compatible with DJI's mainstream O4 image transmission technology, binocular and lidar obstacle - avoidance technology.

So far, the two companies have not used all their tricks. A salesperson at a DJI store in Haidian District told "Dianchang" that in early September, the store received a notice that DJI would launch an unknown new product, and it is currently in the blind - booking stage.

According to market news, the new product may be a miniaturized and modular action camera, Osmo Nano. When asked whether the new product is targeted at Insta360's new products, the salesperson said it was inconvenient to directly mention competitors, but "the price, appearance, and performance advantages are very obvious."

In addition, the two companies are also facing a direct confrontation in the construction of sales channels.

Insta360 Launches All - around Attacks, but the Market Still Has Doubts

So far, Insta360 and DJI have fallen into a comprehensive comparison in terms of products, channels, supply chains and other core capabilities. It is foreseeable that the competition will continue to escalate in the future.

Due to geopolitical factors, DJI's sales in the US market have been hindered, which has become an important competitive advantage for Insta360 to enter the drone market. However, as of 2024, DJI still holds 70% - 85% of the global drone market share and has an absolute monopoly in major markets such as North America, Europe, and Asia. Whether it is innovation ability, brand building, or channel construction, Insta360, as a latecomer, faces considerable pressure.

On the other hand, DJI's product R & D strength has been verified by the market. Its sniping at Insta360's "home - base" panoramic camera equipment market may also drag Insta360 into another intense battle.

Take DJI Osmo 360 as an example. As a pioneering product, although DJI still lags behind Insta360, which has been developing for many years, in terms of the panoramic camera after - sales chain and software adaptation, it has been trying to make up for its weaknesses through product strength.

For example, currently DJI Osmo 360 does not offer a design where the lens can be replaced by the user like Insta360 X5. However, the surfaces of the two fisheye lenses used in the former have undergone multi - layer coating and hardening treatment and have certain scratch - and wear - resistance capabilities. The official says it can withstand minor bumps in daily use, hoping to reduce the frequency of lens damage and replacement.

As a new product that has only been on the market for a little over a month, on social media platforms such as Reddit, many users directly compare it with Insta360 X5, and it has also received a lot of recognition and praise.

As Wired magazine in the United States said, "The biggest advantage of this product (DJI Osmo 360) is its one - inch square dual - sensor, which is unique in the industry... It is definitely a real challenger to Insta360's dominant position."

On the other hand, when caught in a long - term war of attrition with DJI, Insta360, as a listed company, also has to face doubts from the secondary market about its profit pressure.

Before going public, when being interviewed by media person Wei Shijie, Liu Jingkang said that after the company went public, it would continue to increase investment in innovation. But when facing high - risk decisions: "We need to plan more new businesses to provide high - profit hedges against risks. We will make more detailed plans."

However, the illogical part of this statement is that planning new businesses will, to a certain extent, put pressure on profits, which is reflected in Insta360's first financial report after going public.

According to Insta360's first financial report after going public, in the first half of 2025, its revenue was 3.67 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 51.17%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was about 520 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 0.25%; the net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non - recurring gains and losses was 492 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 0.06%. The growth rate of net profit was lower than that of revenue.

At the earnings communication meeting, Li Yang, the secretary of Insta360's board of directors, replied to "Dianchang" that: "The reason why the growth rate of net profit is lower than that of revenue is mainly because the company has continuously increased strategic investment, focusing on new project incubation, the construction of core technology control points and the improvement of brand value... The company is in a strategic investment period and is consolidating its industry position by increasing market expansion and technological innovation."

However, how long the strategic investment period will last and what the final outcome of the confrontation between Insta360 and DJI will be are still unknown. The "bullets" of both sides will continue to fly.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Dianchang", author: Dong Wenshu. It is published by 36Kr with permission.