DJI takes aim at Insta360 as 360-degree drone dogfight intensifies

DJI, the world leader in drone technology, plans to launch a “full-view” drone – a new genre that rival Insta360 is also developing – in a sign of fierce hardware competition among China’s gadget makers.\nThe Shenzhen-based company conducted a preview of the product last week to give attendees a first-hand look at its new 360-degree drone, named Avata 360, and to share the company’s views on industry competition and market prospects, the Guangdong financial newspaper 21st Century Business Herald reported.\nDJI confirmed with Chinese media that it had held such an “internal” event. DJI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.\nThe event comes at a time when a new genre of drones, which can take 360-degree video and photos, is set to revolutionise the consumer drone market.\nIn the rapidly growing market segment, the Shanghai-listed Insta360 is emerging as a powerful player, threatening DJI’s long-held dominance in the commercial drone market.\nThe market has been closely watching the competition between DJI and Insta360, which used to occupy their own vertical but now have some products overlapping, including 360-degree cameras and drones.\nThe market has been paying close attention to the rivalry between DJI and Insta360, whose once separate verticals now overlap in areas including 360-degree cameras and drones.\nInsta360 founder and chairman Liang Jingkang said earlier this month that its brutal price war with DJI, which this year moved into the 360-degree action camera field, had “expanded the overall market” and that an increasing number of consumers were choosing Insta360 for its “unique strengths”.\n\n“Despite the fierce price competition, the company still achieved over 90 per cent revenue growth in the third quarter,” Liang said in an online session with investors.\nShenzhen-based Insta360, which led the global 360-degree camera market with a 67 per cent share in 2023, slashed prices for its flagship X5 camera after its crosstown rival DJI launched an 8K panoramic video camera, the Osmo 360, in July.\nThe Avata 360 is expected to become DJI’s leading drone to compete against Insta360. Although it has yet to be officially unveiled, leaked images and videos have already sparked strong interest among fans.\nBased on the leaks, the DJI machine takes a first-person view drone form, similar to other models in the Avata series, which were lighter and faster than the company’s traditional camera drones.\nBy contrast, Insta360-backed Antigravity A1 has adopted a more conventional, larger drone design that prioritised stability over speed. Both drones could be paired with goggles for an immersive piloting experience.\nThe Antigravity A1, unveiled in August, will begin “trial sales” in certain markets by the end of the year, Shanghai-listed Insta360 said in a response to shareholder questions on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s online Q&A board.\nDJI has been diversifying its revenue sources as growth in the consumer drone market slowed.\nThe company’s new products this year included a 360-degree camera, a category dominated by Insta360, and a robot vacuum cleaner, a sector already crowded with Chinese brands, including Ecovacs, Roborock and Narwal.\nEarlier this week, it invested hundreds of millions of yuan in 3D printing start-up Elegoo, according to Chinese media Jiemian.\n