DJI Stumbles, Insta360 Fans the Flames

"The travel photography gadget you'll fall in love with at first rent" and "Turn your camera into the ultimate social tool." These are the heartfelt words from Xiaohongshu users about DJI's Pocket 3. Due to high demand, the Pocket 3 has been out of stock for a long time. On third - party e - commerce platforms, it's common to see it sold at a premium or bundled with accessories.

However, as the Double 11 shopping festival approached, the Pocket 3 became the target of users' collective complaints due to a sudden and significant price cut. Many users complained that they repeatedly confirmed with customer service whether there would be a price reduction in the near future before placing an order. After getting responses like "There won't be a price cut" and "It has never been discounted," they made the purchase, only to be betrayed by the subsequent price drop.

This "from love to hate" storm seems to be a mistake in marketing strategy on the surface, but in fact, it reflects the deep - seated problems faced by Chinese intelligent imaging device manufacturers during their rapid development: When the product strength is strong enough, how can they meet consumers' increasingly high expectations in terms of service experience?

A Storm Triggered by a "Backstab"

In July, in Wuzhen, at a new energy vehicle technology press conference, many car reviewers held gimbal cameras and filmed the new cars inside and out. A content creator who witnessed this couldn't help but sigh that a handy piece of equipment is the primary productivity for creation.

Besides being favored by video bloggers, the Pocket 3 is also popular among ordinary consumers. Mr. Fang from Jinhua, Zhejiang, has been keeping an eye on the price of the Pocket 3. However, whether on e - commerce platforms or in live - streaming rooms, he couldn't get the standard version at the original price. He either had to pay a premium or buy it bundled with some expensive accessories.

The firm price was once the confidence of DJI's salespeople to push for orders. Many users were willing to accept the price and place an order promptly to experience the joy of shooting earlier. However, as Double 11 neared, the prices of DJI's popular products suddenly "dropped."

The original price of the Pocket 3 was 3,499 yuan, but it was directly reduced by 700 yuan. The action camera Action 4 was sold for as low as over 1,200 yuan, about half of its release price. The Mini 4 PRO drone's price was cut by nearly 1,500 yuan. This broke the hearts of many users who had just placed orders. The reason is that many people repeatedly confirmed with customer service whether there would be a price cut during Double 11 before placing an order. After getting the promise of "Definitely no price cut" and considering the stable price of the Pocket 3, they made the payment.

Statistics on the trend of DJI products by the digital circle's unofficial sources

On social platforms, the reviews of the Pocket 3 suddenly took a turn for the worse. There were many posts with comments like "All are tricks," "Even loyal fans are criticizing such shady moves," and "What a sucker." As of the time of writing, there were nearly 1,700 complaints related to "DJI price cut" on the Black Cat Complaint Platform.

For 3C digital products, users generally follow the unspoken rule of "Buy early and enjoy early, buy late and get a discount." At the node when the Pocket 3 is about to be replaced, users who bought it at the original price neither enjoyed the emotional value of the new product nor got any real - money benefits. Although it's the enterprise's right to adjust prices independently, consumers who have been educated by e - commerce also regard "price protection" and "price difference refund" as their rights.

According to user feedback, users who placed orders through online channels such as JD.com recently were able to apply for price difference refunds relatively smoothly. However, some users who bought the products in August and September missed out on the refund because too much time had passed and they exceeded the price difference refund period. At the same time, some users who placed orders at offline physical stores were refused a price difference refund by the merchants, even if it hadn't been more than seven days.

Compared with standardized e - commerce services, the service levels of offline channels, which include direct - operated stores and dealerships, vary widely. On October 2nd, Mr. Ding from Hangzhou spent 3,299 yuan to buy a panoramic camera at the DJI store in Hubin Yintai. However, on October 9th, DJI announced a price cut. The clerk refused Mr. Ding's request for a price difference refund, citing "Asynchronous promotion activities between online and offline channels."

Similar situations occurred in many DJI stores across the country. Merchants often emphasize "physical store guarantees," but when there is a sudden price cut, they refuse to refund the price difference on the grounds of "channel differences." This double - standard makes consumers feel discriminated against.

According to a report by The Paper, when Ms. Gong, who placed an order at a physical store in Shanghai, asked for a price difference refund, she was first refused by the customer service, who said "There is no no - reason return policy for offline stores, and the online price protection period is only seven days." After the online public opinion fermented, DJI's customer service then proposed that "The company has just introduced a policy that only provides price protection for users who bought the products on or after October 2nd (within seven days)." Since Ms. Gong bought the product 15 days ago, she didn't meet the requirements and could only be compensated with small gifts. Meanwhile, the online price protection period can be as long as 30 days.

Insta360 "Throwing Money" to Grab the Market?

While DJI was adopting a "double - standard" approach to price difference refunds, Insta360 next door started its "money - throwing mode."

At midnight on October 13th, Insta360's CEO, Liu Jingkang, posted on Weibo, saying that DJI's price cut was somehow related to Insta360. "Maybe DJI's significant price cut is partly because of us, Insta360," he said, and he also apologized to users who had recently bought DJI products. At the same time, he offered a 100 - yuan Insta360 no - threshold voucher to consumers who bought DJI products between October 2nd and 8th.

Although some people questioned that Insta360 was just riding on DJI's popularity, judging from Liu Jingkang's past experiences, "throwing money" seems to be the unique romance of this tech - savvy man. On the night of the public beta of Insta360's panoramic drone on August 14th, to liven up the team atmosphere, Liu Jingkang scattered a large number of 100 - yuan bills to the R & D team in the company's Shenzhen office, causing employees to scramble for them. This aggressive approach has enabled Insta360 to capture nearly 70% of the global consumer - grade panoramic camera market share.

Different from the somewhat wild romanticism of the 90 - post Liu Jingkang, the romance of DJI's founder, Wang Tao, is more idealistic. Wang Tao founded DJI not for fame or fortune but just to "have a good time." He believes that only by doing what one is truly interested in can one do it well.

This romanticism has opened up the drone market for DJI. For a long time, DJI has occupied more than 70% of the global consumer - grade drone market share. According to a report by LatePost, in 2024, DJI's revenue exceeded 50 billion yuan, and its net profit margin was approaching 40%, higher than that of Apple.

For a long time, the camera market has been dominated by Japanese companies, and consumers have been suffering from the high prices of professional equipment. Emerging brands like DJI and Insta360 have achieved breakthroughs in niche markets through technological innovation. However, the romanticism of not following the rules during entrepreneurship can break the norm, but when the enterprise grows, it needs more "pragmatic romance."

In Wenzhou Mixc, the Insta360 store is located opposite the DJI store / Baobian

Especially as Double 11 approaches, consumers are more sensitive to price changes. Originally, offering discounts to consumers during the big promotion could enhance user favorability and also clear the inventory of the Pocket 3 to make room for the upcoming Pocket 4 in the market.

However, the subsequent public opinion storm triggered by DJI's price adjustment was caused by the failure to manage consumers' expectations well and exposed the service shortcomings, such as insufficient contingency plans and asynchronous online and offline policies.

This storm reflects not just a single marketing mistake but the systematic challenges that DJI, a technology - driven company, faces during its transformation into a consumer brand.

In the drone era, DJI's main customers were professional users and enthusiasts. These users were relatively insensitive to price and more concerned about product performance. However, as the business expands into the consumer - grade market, the user group has changed fundamentally - they are more concerned about cost - performance, shopping experience, and after - sales service.

In contrast, Insta360's CEO, Liu Jingkang's quick response and "money - throwing" compensation, although with some marketing elements, at least show his ability to capture users' emotions acutely and make quick decisions.

The Reality of Being Besieged on All Sides

Behind the price backstab is the reality that DJI is being "besieged on all sides."

In the drone market, in August, Insta360 released its panoramic drone, the Antigravity, which is expected to be launched in early 2026. This yet - to - be - launched drone has a bird - like 360 - degree view and was selected as one of the best inventions of 2025 by Time magazine.

In the handheld video shooting equipment market, besides the iPhone, domestic mobile phone brands like vivo and OPPO are also making continuous efforts. Take Apple for example. The iPhone 17 Pro series supports ProRes RAW and genlock functions, allowing multiple devices to record in frame - synchronized mode. This has transformed it from a simple "phone" into a portable professional imaging system.

The handheld imaging device projects of vivo and OPPO have also been launched, and new products are expected to be launched in 2026. The advantages of mobile phones are obvious: a much larger screen than the Pocket 3; the ability to edit the shot content directly on the device; and the long - accumulated imaging technology and supply - chain capabilities, which save R & D time and costs. At the same time, users are more familiar with mobile phone brands, and the perfect channel network is more conducive to quickly covering the market.

Luo Qian (a pseudonym) from Zhejiang once bought a Pocket camera. Although the footage was more stable than that shot by a mobile phone, the small screen was inconvenient for monitoring the picture. Although the lens could automatically track, it wasn't smart enough and not as flexible as directly shooting with a mobile phone. What finally disillusioned her was her own usage habits: she wasn't particularly fond of shooting videos, and she found it too troublesome to edit videos later. After posting the hard - made videos on WeChat Moments, few people liked them...

Luo Qian represents a type of user: Do ordinary people really need a pocket gimbal camera? Perhaps the best way to disenchant is to own one. Eventually, after a short period of use, Luo Qian sold her Pocket camera on a second - hand trading platform. This disenchantment of users' usage habits may be more fatal to DJI than technological competition.

Facing fierce competition, DJI is also incubating new growth curves. Wang Tao once said that everything DJI does is related to robot vision. Currently, robots are still "blind." Once DJI makes a breakthrough in this area, the fields of autonomous driving, home robots, and industrial production will all become DJI's arenas.

At the end of July, DJI released its first panoramic camera, the Osmo 360, directly targeting Insta360's core market. The single - body price is 2,999 yuan, 800 yuan cheaper than Insta360's Insta360 X5 in the same class. Since then, the two companies have started a "price war," and Insta360 responded by cutting the price of the X5 by 500 yuan.

In August, DJI's floor - mopping and sweeping robot, ROMO, was launched. On JD.com, more than 10,000 units have been sold. In response, the smart cleaning brand Dreame officially announced its entry into the drone market, cutting into DJI's core territory and becoming DJI's new "competitor."

However, it's obvious that for a floor - mopping robot, having vision alone is not enough. The most crucial thing is to clean well. The ROMO is not mature in terms of vacuuming and mopping. Some users have given comments like "Leaving dirt while mopping," "The mop gets stuck," and "Water leakage from the charging station," indicating that DJI still needs more technological accumulation and product refinement in the new field.

The "2025 - 2031 China Intelligent Imaging Device Industry Market Research and Investment Strategy Research Report" released by Huajing Industry Research Institute shows that DJI's share in the global intelligent imaging device market has significantly declined, from 19.1% in 2023 to 13.2% in 2024. Behind the data is a profound change in the entire industry landscape.

On the one hand, traditional mobile phone manufacturers are seizing market share in the imaging device market with their stronger channel capabilities and service systems. On the other hand, the professional imaging device market itself is also differentiating. Professional users have increasingly high requirements for equipment, while ordinary users prefer simpler and more user - friendly solutions.

In this situation, DJI is facing a "pincer attack": in the professional market, it needs to compete with traditional camera manufacturers and emerging professional equipment manufacturers; in the consumer market, it has to compete with mobile phone manufacturers with stronger service capabilities and a larger user base.

In the second - half competition of the intelligent imaging device market, the winner needs not only high - quality products but also warm - hearted services. For companies like DJI, this may be a greater challenge than technological innovation.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Baobian", author: Chen Fashan, published by 36Kr with authorization.