360 Camera Reviews

Insta360 Air review: why this $129 camera is the best 360 camera for personal use

Here’s my review of the Insta360 Air, a 360 camera accessory for Android phones.  I’ve also included a constantly updated playlist of videos related to the Insta360 Air such as tutorials and techniques.


The Insta360 Air is a 360 camera accessory for Android phones.  It’s made by Insta360, which was the first company to create 360 cameras as smartphone accessories with the Nano, which became very popular.

I posted my first impressions here.  I’ve now had the Insta360 Air for almost two months (with a preproduction version since January 2017), and it just keeps getting better.  I now have it with me almost all the time.  Here’s why I think it’s the best 360 camera for personal use (if you have a compatible Android smartphone).  BTW the video is 20 mins. long (I tried to be as succinct as possible) but if you want the low-down, there’s an executive summary for you upfront (at the 0:44 mark).

IMPROVEMENTS

A few months after I posted my review, Insta360 did release an update to add image stabilization and it works very well!  Check out this demo (it also has a tutorial for upgrading the firmware).  And yes, the image stabilization works even with live streaming!

In July 2017, Insta360 added optical flow stitching for perfectly seamless stitching, just as I said they would in my video review.  It looks amazing – see here!

With these features, the Insta360 Air becomes an even better camera!

COMPATIBILITY

As I mentioned in the video, you need to make sure your phone is compatible with Insta360 Air.  For a list of compatible and incompatible Android phones, see this database from the Insta360 Air Users Group.  See also this list From Insta360’s page:
“These devices have been tested to be incompatible:
Xiaomi(Mi): 4c/note
HUAWEI: mate7/Glory 7i
GOOGLE: 5
MEIZU: MX5
vivo: x7
Nubia: Z9 mini/Z7 max/Z7 mini
ONEPLUS: ONEPLUS1
Smartisan: U1

Minimum configuration requirements:
1.Supports OTG
2.Android 5.1 or above
3.System on Chip(SOC):
Qualcomm: 600 Series or 800 Series
MTK: Helio X10, X20, X25, X30 Series
Exynos: 7410, 8890
Huawei Kirin: Kirin9xx Series
4.RAM: 2G or above”

SEE ALSO

Here are other related videos (you should also browse through the playlist above):

How to use Insta360 Air with a smartphone case.

Insta360 Air 360 live stream tutorial and demo.

The Insta360 Air is available from Amazon here: for  Micro USB and for USB Type C.  If you would like to get the Air, I would greatly appreciate it if you could kindly consider using the Amazon affiliate links above, which would support 360 Rumors at no additional cost to you, so I can do more tests and reviews.  Thank you very much!  And if you found the video helpful, I would be very grateful if you could hit the like button and share it with friends who might be interested!  Thanks again!

About the author

Mic Ty

2 Comments

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  • Hi, Mic

    I love my Air camera for quick and easy casual shots, but there is something about that is driving me crazy. After taking a picture or video, it appears in my 360 album, and I click on it if I chose to share it. But SOME of the time it gives me the option to share on several different social media sites, but it mostly only gives me the option to share to the Insta360 community. I don’t WANT to share it there, I usually want to share it directly to Facebook or Messenger. Why do I not get the screen which allows me to share it wherever I choose EVERY time, not the one that only allows sharing to the Insta360 community?

    Thanks!

    • I finally figured it out. Upon opening the app, you must click on “album” at the bottom which gives you all of the options to share when you select a photo. My mistake was clicking on the yellow circle with the plus sign which opens the next screen, where I clicked on “360 album.” That only gives you the option to share to the insta360 communities.
      Would have been nice if there had been a clear set of instructions!