“Everyone should focus on their own progress and not try to trip others up. But if others come after us, we will fight back.”

DJI founder Frank Wang said this when asked about his view on competition during an interview with LatePost.

This time, he is not just running—he is also sticking out his foot.

On June 10, Insta360 released the Luna Ultra gimbal camera.

However, the spotlight was on DJI: On the same day, DJI filed a lawsuit against Insta360 in the United States, seeking a “permanent injunction.”

Gimbal cameras were originally DJI’s territory.

From launching the Pocket series in 2018 to the market-dominating DJI Pocket 3 in 2023, cumulative sales of the series have now surpassed 11 million units.

On June 15, DJI released the Pocket 4P at a lower price point, intensifying the rivalry.

The Insta360 Luna Ultra standard edition is priced at 3,999 yuan, with a creator bundle at 4,849 yuan.

The DJI Pocket 4P standard edition is priced at 3,799 yuan, with a creator bundle at 4,299 yuan.

Image Source: AI

The extremely similar yet strategically crafted pricing creates a sense of direct competition.

Who would willingly give up their piece of the pie?

01 DJI’s Late-Mover Advantage

The gimbal camera market has caught the attention of various manufacturers.

Honor, OPPO, and vivo are rumored to be preparing related products, but Insta360 was the fastest to act.

On the morning of June 10, Heiban Jun visited an offline store to pre-order the Insta360 Luna Ultra. The store clerk said there was no guarantee of securing a first-batch unit but mysteriously added, “Maybe keep an eye on the news tonight.”

At 8 p.m., the launch event began. By 9 p.m., Heiban Jun had the Insta360 Luna Ultra in hand.

The catch? It was only the black standard edition, and he was forced to purchase a 300+ yuan one-year Care Carefree replacement service.

After the Insta360 Luna Ultra’s release, major social platforms were flooded with news about the Pocket 4P: keywords like 3,799 yuan / 4,299 yuan and a June 15 launch date were leaked.

The steady release of information caused hesitation among potential buyers. This marketing tactic seemed to ride on the hype of the Luna Ultra.

Just a few days earlier, the two companies had already begun a legal battle in the United States.

On June 10, DJI sued Insta360 in the U.S. for patent infringement and filed for a “permanent injunction” against Insta360’s gimbal camera business in the U.S. market.

On June 12, Insta360 filed a patent counterclaim against DJI in the U.S. and requested the invalidation of related patents in China.

Image Source: Heiban Jun

DJI aims to suppress sales of the Insta360 Luna Ultra in the U.S. through this patent war, given that nearly 70% of Insta360’s revenue comes from overseas markets, with North America being a key region.

On June 15, DJI’s announcement pushed the rivalry to its peak:

Higher video dynamic range, stronger slow-motion capabilities, an independent monitoring screen, and a precisely targeted price.

In just a few days, both sides had exchanged numerous blows in marketing and legal battles.

02 Neither Dares to Show Its Hand First

In reality, this head-to-head confrontation had been simmering in the pre-launch phase for over half a year.

Both sides continuously concealed their moves, avoiding revealing their cards prematurely.

In October 2025, Insta360 founder Liu Jingkang was spotted carrying an unreleased gimbal camera.

At Insta360’s internal annual meeting (annual meeting) in February 2026, the Luna project was officially announced, with a clear timeline for a first-half release.

Subsequently, DJI’s Pocket 4 began its preheat (pre-launch teasing), with content leaks from February to April.

On April 9, DJI officially began teasing the product, and on April 16, the Pocket 4 was officially launched, with the Pocket 4P simultaneously entering the preheat (pre-launch teasing) phase, maintaining a tight schedule.

Then, at the U.S. NAB Show starting on April 19, the Insta360 Luna’s actual device was first displayed, showcasing core selling points such as Leica co-branding, a 1-inch dual-camera setup, and a detachable screen. Many international influencers also got hands-on experience.

At the time, rumors suggested the Insta360 Luna would launch in mid-May.

However, Insta360 suddenly announced a delay, citing Liu Jingkang’s “sudden inspiration” to add a first-person head-tracking accessory and further refine the product experience. Nevertheless, blind pre-orders were opened simultaneously.

At the Cannes Film Festival in May, the DJI Pocket 4P made a low-key appearance as an official filming device.

Until June 10, Insta360 played its trump card first.

Clearly, both sides extended their preheat periods. DJI tested the waters with the standard edition first, after which Insta360 officially entered the fray.

In June, Insta360 likely decided to launch and start sales due to various considerations, particularly DJI Pocket 4’s strong market uptake.

DJI’s Pocket 4P precisely targeted key specifications and pricing to counterattack.

Image Source: DJI Official Website

In the early years, DJI and Insta360 operated in largely non-overlapping markets, like oil and water.

DJI dominated the global drone market with its strong offerings while repurposing its leading technologies to expand into handheld gimbals and action cameras.

Insta360, meanwhile, initially focused on the panoramic camera market, achieving an 80% global market share.

The balance was shattered in late 2023.

Insta360 took the offensive by launching the Ace series of wide-angle action cameras, directly challenging DJI’s Action series.

In July 2025, Insta360 released the world’s first panoramic drone, the Yingling A1, encroaching on DJI’s core territory.

DJI retaliated by launching its first panoramic camera, the Osmo 360, attacking Insta360’s stronghold.

Priced at 2,999 yuan, the Osmo 360 undercut Insta360’s flagship Insta360 X5 by nearly 800 yuan.

According to Jiuqian Consulting, within three months of its launch, DJI captured 43% of the global panoramic camera market.

However, IDC data showed that Insta360 still held 66% of the global panoramic camera market share in 2025.

Talent competition also became part of the battlefield.

Regarding DJI engineers being poached by Insta360, Frank Wang calmly remarked, “I recall Insta360 thanking DJI at their annual meeting last year for training their talent.”

However, DJI also sued Insta360 in March 2026, alleging that former DJI employees had taken proprietary invention technologies with them.

During this period, Insta360 claimed that its suppliers faced “either-or” pressure from DJI during the development of its panoramic drone, and its offline channels also appeared to be under pressure.

This time, the two companies are clashing once again over products.

03 Why DJI Prioritizes Imaging

To understand why DJI takes Insta360’s challenge so seriously, we must first clarify what DJI holds: not drone shipment volumes or new product category development, but something more fundamental—the role of a rule-maker in mobile imaging.

The reins of imaging technology were once held by traditional manufacturers during the film and DSLR eras. However, with the proliferation of smartphones and handheld devices, along with the rise of short videos and vlogs, the iPhone and telephoto smartphones led the mobile imaging era. Yet, the most cutting-edge and hidden leader turned out to be DJI.

Over the past decade, DJI has defined what constitutes good stabilization, superior gimbals, and exceptional aerial photography experiences.

From sky to sea to ground-level stabilized shooting, the DJI Pocket 3 once epitomized its imaging prowess.

Image Source: DJI Official Website

A compact gimbal camera that met young consumers’ demands for video stabilization and casual shooting in daily life—that was its breakthrough.

Inside the 100+ gram DJI Pocket 3 lies over a decade of DJI’s refined technology. The tiny micro-gimbal houses a three-axis stabilization motor, with control algorithms predicting user movement for stabilization and an ISP chip delivering exceptional imaging quality.

DJI’s cultivated supply chain also provides cost advantages, creating a new barrier.

During the 2025 Double 11 shopping festival, amid rumors of gimbal camera products from Insta360, Honor, OPPO, and vivo, the DJI Pocket 3’s price dropped by 700 yuan to 2,799 yuan.

According to media reports, some manufacturers calculated their costs and found they would have virtually no profit margin at the same price, while DJI still maintained healthy margins.

This gave many smartphone manufacturers pause.

However, DJI’s core drone business is contracting.

According to Statista, the global consumer drone market reached approximately $4.27 billion in 2025, growing just 7% year-over-year, with a projected compound annual growth rate of only 3.4% over the next five years, indicating a mature market.

Moreover, DJI faces dual headwinds from U.S. sanctions and stricter domestic regulations.

With its former cash cow slowing down, imaging has become a must-defend second growth engine.

In media interviews, Frank Wang emphasized that the imaging line would become a “top priority outside of drones,” even predicting that DJI would surpass Sony as a comprehensive imaging company within a decade.

And into this grand plan suddenly break into (barged in) Insta360.

04 Insta360 Is No Follower

Insta360 dares to act this way because it, too, is a technology-driven hard tech company.

Starting with panoramic cameras, Insta360 climbed to the top of the global panoramic camera market with an over 80% share, expanding into all-scenario imaging.

Through the reuse of stabilization and imaging algorithms, along with Liu Jingkang’s preference for modular design, Insta360 launched unique products like the GO series thumb-worn cameras, the ONE R modular action camera, and the Ace series standard action cameras.

Subsequently, Insta360 overcame technical hurdles like micro-gimbal stabilization and released the Yingling Antigravity panoramic drone in 2025.

Through these diverse technological breakthroughs, Insta360 also mastered the core technologies for manufacturing gimbal cameras.

According to National Business Daily, the Insta360 Luna project was initiated in 2020, with its first Demo inspired by the company’s own ONE R panoramic action camera.

The Luna underwent six years of development before finally reaching mass production.

Insta360’s confidence also stems from its cash reserves.

As of Q1 2025, the company’s current assets approached 4 billion yuan, with a compound annual revenue growth rate exceeding 65% over the past three years.

Why does Insta360 also enter the drone, action camera, and gimbal camera markets dominated by DJI?

Essentially, it had no choice.

Panoramic cameras are a niche category. Even achieving the top global market share comes with a clear ceiling, necessitating category expansion.

According to Insta360’s 2025 annual report, annual revenue reached 9.741 billion yuan, up 74.76% year-over-year, but net profit attributable to shareholders declined by 6.62%.

In Q1 2026, revenue hit 2.481 billion yuan, up 83.11% year-over-year, but net profit attributable to shareholders plummeted by 52%, with the net profit margin dropping to just 1.31%.

Image Source: Insta360 Financial Report

Insta360 attributed this to increased R&D investment. In 2025, R&D spending reached 1.53 billion yuan, nearly doubling year-over-year, and had already doubled again in Q1 2026.

Yet, Insta360’s stock price has now fallen by over 50% from its historic high, and capital markets desperately need a new narrative.

It must be noted:

What makes Insta360 unique—and what DJI fears—is that Insta360 will not simply follow with a me-too product.

After using it for a few days, Heiban Jun found its strengths and weaknesses equally apparent.

The Insta360 Luna Ultra excels with Leica support, delivering more beautiful skin tones in portraits, brighter and more vibrant visuals. Its detachable screen can be separated and recombined with a single button, even featuring a built-in microphone for convenient selfies and emergencies, along with an easy-to-use independent zoom lever.

For ordinary people who enjoy documenting daily life, traveling, and are not skilled at post-production, the Insta360 Luna Ultra may be easier to use than the DJI Pocket 4P.

Of course, Heiban Jun also pre-ordered the DJI Pocket 4P and awaits its arrival for further testing.

From another perspective, Insta360 adopts a different product strategy rather than merely following—this may be where its ability to pressure DJI lies.