I test 360 cameras for a living and the new Insta360 X6 is my favorite  — but the price is hard to swallow

by · TechRadar

TechRadar Verdict

The Insta360 X6 is a camera of two halves: hardware that feels impeccable, paired with software that plainly doesn't. But I feel those software niggles are teething problems rather than dealbreakers, and they don't come close to outweighing what the X6 gets right. Offering superb image quality in any light, rugged durability and excellent battery life, this the most capable small 360 camera I've tested to date, and worth the hefty asking price for anyone looking for the finest all-round performer in its class.

Pros

  • +Excellent image quality in bright daylight and low light alike
  • +10-bit color across all shooting modes
  • +Strong battery life with no overheating issues
  • +Class-leading case-free waterproofing to 20m depth

Cons

  • -The priciest small 360 camera on the market by some distance
  • -Mobile app was unstable and crash-prone throughout testing

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Insta360 X6: two-minute review

10 years after Insta360 launched its first 360 camera, the X6 arrives as the anniversary flagship — and it arrives in a much, much busier 360 camera market. This time, Insta360 is defending its home turf against a resurgent GoPro Max 2 and a highly capable debut from DJI in the Osmo 360. There's a feeling, then, that the X6 has to be something more than just an annual refresh.

For the most part, it delivers. The squat body houses a pair of larger 1/1.1-inch sensors, and while I wouldn't call the resulting jump in image quality dramatic when set directly against the X5's footage, its effect on where the X6 sits against the wider field is significant.

The GoPro Max 2 has owned daylight sharpness in this category since launch, and the Insta360 X5 has owned the night. The X6 is the first small 360 camera I've tested that doesn't ask you to pick one or the other — it's excellent in both conditions, which makes it, in my view, the best-performing 360 camera you can currently buy.

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

It's a similar story with durability. Waterproof to 20m without a case and 60m with one, the X6 comfortably out-swims both the Osmo 360 and the Max 2, and its lenses remain just as easy (and now cheaper) to replace if you scratch one . Battery life is another strong point: Insta360's 140-minute claim at 8K/30fps held up closely in my testing, with zero overheating during continuous filming.

Where things get messier is the software. The X6 introduces some exciting additions for serious creators, like 10-bit color across every shooting mode including low light, native Dolby Vision, and forthcoming native DaVinci Resolve support, but the mobile app I tested struggled badly, crashing repeatedly during editing and export. I'm hoping the launch app is a lot more robust. The desktop app fared much better, but lacks the AI auto-editing tools that make the mobile experience so appealing on paper.

All of this comes at a premium price, too: the X6 is comfortably the most expensive small 360 camera around. Whether that premium is worth paying will come down to how much you value best-in-class image quality and hardware.

I've also directly compared the Insta360 X6 and Insta360 X5 in real video recording scenarios — check out my early verdict.

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