---
title: "China’s DJI, Insta360 blur out GoPro as smart camera demand soars"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/291118529.md"
description: "Chinese brands DJI and Insta360 dominate the global smart camera market, capturing nearly 90% of Q1 shipments and significantly outpacing US pioneer GoPro. Driven by integrated supply chains and strong consumer demand for pocket-sized gadgets, total sales rose 20% year-on-year to $1.46 billion. While GoPro's shipments fell 33%, DJI and Insta360 saw substantial growth, with IDC forecasting annual shipments to surpass 40 million units by 2030."
datetime: "2026-06-29T09:05:36.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/291118529.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/291118529.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/291118529.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# China’s DJI, Insta360 blur out GoPro as smart camera demand soars

Growing demand for pocket-sized imaging gadgets has allowed DJI and Insta360 to tighten their grip on the global smart camera market, with the two Chinese brands accounting for nearly 90 per cent of total shipments as they squeeze out US pioneer GoPro. Worldwide shipments of handheld smart cameras – defined by IDC as consumer-grade portable devices with onboard computing, stabilisation, and 2K-or-higher resolution – reached 4.14 million units in the first quarter, according to the market consultancy. Sales in the quarter rose 20 per cent year on year to more than 10.5 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion), IDC said. The sector spans gear ranging from action cameras like GoPro’s Hero series to pocket gimbals like DJI’s Pocket line and panoramic shooters like Insta360’s X series. Driven by this diverse consumer demand, global annual shipments were forecast to surpass 40 million units by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of nearly 18 per cent over the next five years, IDC said. Global consumer preferences are overwhelmingly leaning towards the two Chinese brands, which held a combined 87 per cent market share in the first quarter. DJI remains the global leader, capturing 65 per cent market share with 2.7 million units shipped during the quarter, a 38 per cent increase from a year earlier. Insta360, with a 22 per cent market share, posted the strongest growth among major vendors with a 66 per cent year-on-year surge in shipments to 900,000 in the period, nearly double DJI’s growth rate. Hit by rising supply chain costs and fierce competition, GoPro, which pioneered the product segment, saw shipments decline 33 per cent year on year to around 300,000 units, accounting for 6 per cent of the market. IDC noted that Chinese brands had a major edge in consumer tech because of their integrated, local supply chains. DJI’s ecosystem, for example, “ensures strong cost resilience and customisation capabilities for core upstream components”. Action cameras remained the handheld camera industry’s largest category, with global shipments rising 39 per cent year on year to almost 2.01 million units in the first quarter. DJI captured more than 53 per cent of the category, while Insta360 held more than 24 per cent. The action segment’s growth was underpinned by the rising demand for DJI and Insta360’s flagship products and the price cuts on their previous generation models. The panoramic camera segment also recorded robust momentum, with shipments exceeding 500,000 units, up more than 55 per cent from a year earlier. Insta360 maintained its commanding lead with more than 68 per cent of the market despite the entry of rivals including DJI and GoPro. China remained the world’s largest market for handheld smart cameras, accounting for more than half of global shipments in 2025, IDC said. Outside China, the US, western Europe, Asia-Pacific and Japan were the top four markets.

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> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**