Author | Xiaofeng

Source | Bowang Finance

Smartphone companies are currently grappling with direct competition in emerging markets, with domestic players intensifying their focus on the action camera segment.

Market reports indicate that vivo's Pocket handheld gimbal camera is poised for a Q4 launch, with an anticipated production run of one million units. Previously, OPPO was rumored to be developing a handheld smart imaging device. Earlier, Honor reportedly entered the Pocket (handheld smart imaging device) market via its ecosystem platform, Honor Choice.

It's evident that companies already embroiled in the fierce smartphone market are now forging new battlefronts. This strategic shift stems from the current stagnation in the smartphone industry, where annual growth has dwindled to a mere 1%–2%. Concurrently, imaging capabilities have emerged as the most crucial differentiator for phone manufacturers, making their expansion into professional imaging hardware an inevitable move.

However, the handheld gimbal market has already solidified into a "one dominant, one strong" landscape, with DJI and Insta360 establishing formidable technological and ecological barriers that are not easily surmounted. Can the collective entry of smartphone manufacturers disrupt this established equilibrium?

Regardless of the outcome, a clear trend is emerging: Smartphone companies are attempting to leverage physical devices and ecosystem hardware as their second growth engine.

But this path is inherently fraught with challenges.

01 The Third Contender Overlooked by Insta360 and DJI

For an extended period, the handheld smart imaging market has been perceived as the exclusive domain of DJI and Insta360. Over the past year, the two have engaged in numerous public disputes over patents, talent, technology, products, and markets.

From an industry standpoint, the lucrative market potential is the driving force behind their intense rivalry. Recent data from Qianyan Consulting reveals that the global market for handheld smart imaging devices reached RMB 7.2 billion in Q1 2026, surging by 86% year-over-year. IDC data indicates that global shipments of handheld smart cameras reached 16.65 million units in 2025, up 83% year-over-year, with gimbal cameras leading growth across all categories. In Q1 this year, IDC reported that DJI and Insta360 accounted for over 80% of the handheld smart camera market.

The entry of smartphone manufacturers like vivo is also predicated on the industry's substantial growth potential, as they seek to disrupt the existing competitive balance in the handheld smart imaging market.

Historically, this market has been dominated by professional imaging equipment manufacturers such as DJI, Insta360, and GoPro, with smartphone makers limited to offering simple gimbal accessories for phones. Now, rumors suggest that vivo and OPPO are planning similar products. If these come to fruition on a large scale, they will directly compete with DJI and Insta360 in the same market.

Delving deeper, this shift reflects smartphone manufacturers' relentless pursuit of imaging capabilities. While the competition around action cameras essentially remains an extension of smartphone specifications, its impact extends beyond the phone industry itself.

Because the market can never be confined to just two players. When an industry experiences rapid growth while remaining highly concentrated, new challengers inevitably emerge. DJI and Insta360, focused on competing with each other in recent years, must now confront potential disruption from the smartphone industry.

With the upcoming release of new products, the "era of duopoly" in the handheld smart imaging market is drawing to a close, giving way to a more complex and intense "era of multipolar competition."

02 Smartphone Manufacturers Face Challenges in Sustaining Growth Momentum

However, the collective entry of smartphone manufacturers into the handheld gimbal market, while seemingly opening up a new blue ocean, is not without challenges. Although handheld gimbal cameras are experiencing rapid growth, their market size remains minuscule compared to smartphones.

IDC predicts that global shipments of handheld smart cameras could exceed 40 million units by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20% over the next five years. In contrast, global smartphone shipments stabilize at around 1.2 billion units annually. Even under the most optimistic estimates, the handheld smart camera market will remain less than one-tenth the size of the smartphone market.

For smartphone manufacturers with annual revenues in the hundreds of billions, revenue growth from handheld gimbal cameras will be negligible. Take vivo as an example: despite shipping over 100 million smartphones globally in 2025, even if vivo Pocket achieves annual sales of one million units, it would account for less than 1% of its phone sales. This means handheld gimbal cameras are unlikely to become a true second growth engine for smartphone manufacturers, serving instead as a complement and extension of their smartphone businesses.

It is widely believed that smartphone manufacturers hold advantages in imaging technology accumulation and ecosystem synergy. Over the past few years, domestic smartphone makers have invested heavily in imaging R&D, achieving significant technological breakthroughs. For instance, vivo's micro-gimbal stabilization technology and self-developed imaging chips can benefit the development of handheld gimbal camera products. Additionally, vivo boasts a massive user base and well-established sales channels, enabling rapid market penetration.

However, the shortcomings of smartphone manufacturers are equally apparent.

In areas such as gimbal mechanical structures, motion stabilization algorithms, and outdoor scene optimization, DJI and Insta360 possess over a decade of technological accumulation and patent barriers. DJI holds thousands of patents in the gimbal field, covering mechanical structures, control algorithms, image processing, and more. For vivo and others to break through these patent barriers in a short time will be no easy feat.

Moreover, the usage scenarios for handheld gimbal cameras differ significantly from smartphones, requiring adaptation to various complex outdoor environments and imposing higher demands on product durability, waterproofing, and battery life—areas where smartphone manufacturers are relatively weak.

More importantly, a strong brand identity has already formed in the handheld gimbal camera market.

When consumers think of gimbal cameras, DJI and Insta360 come to mind first. This brand perception cannot be changed overnight. Through years of market cultivation, DJI has established a "professional and reliable" brand image, with a large global user base. Insta360, meanwhile, has attracted many young users with its "innovative and fun" branding.

For vivo, OPPO, and Honor to carve out a share of this market, they must not only deliver competitive products but also invest heavily in marketing to build brand recognition. As latecomers rather than pioneers in this sector, they face an uphill battle.

Of course, pricing strategies might seem like the easiest competitive tactic for smartphone manufacturers, but this is no simple task. The DJI Pocket 3, priced at RMB 3,499, did not see a price drop for two years after launch. While subsequent adjustments occurred due to promotions and industry competition, its pricing power and profitability remain strong.

In contrast, smartphones often see price adjustments within months of release. If smartphone manufacturers attempt to capture market share through low-price strategies, they will face significant profitability pressures. Moreover, such tactics could damage their brand image, leading consumers to perceive their products as less professional than those from specialized manufacturers.

From a supply chain perspective, smartphone manufacturers also operate at a different scale than DJI and Insta360. Traditional industry giants purchase far larger quantities of gimbal motors, sensors, and other components annually, securing lower procurement prices and priority supply rights.

Thus, while vivo, OPPO, and others may enter the market aggressively, they are unlikely to displace DJI and Insta360 anytime soon. Handheld gimbal cameras represent more of a "nice-to-have" addition for smartphone manufacturers than a "must-have" solution. They do not address the fundamental issue of stagnant growth in the smartphone industry and are unlikely to become a true second growth engine.

For smartphone manufacturers, entering the handheld gimbal market holds more strategic than commercial significance. It primarily serves to enhance their marketing ecosystems, boost user engagement, and strengthen brand images rather than generate substantial profits. Of course, the market landscape for action cameras may shift from a "one dominant, one strong" structure to a "one dominant, one strong, multiple poles" dynamic, but leadership will remain firmly in the hands of DJI and Insta360.

Delving deeper, action cameras represent just one of many new businesses smartphone manufacturers have explored in recent years. Today's smartphone makers can no longer rely on traditional industries for easy wins.

03 The New Generation Building Action Cameras Holds More Advantages Than Smartphone Makers

When examining products like action cameras, drones, and smartphones at a macro level, one can even sense subtle differences in the mindsets of their respective industry leaders.

Entrepreneurs in the action camera and drone sectors exude a wildness, obsessiveness, and geeky intensity that traditional smartphone industry founders rarely match.

For example, the founders of DJI and Insta360 rose to global prominence through technical passion and hardcore innovation, rather than by competing on channels, specifications, or market share in mature markets.

DJI's Frank Wang is low-key and somewhat aloof but fiercely obsessed with flight control and gimbal technologies. Starting from a warehouse workshop, he spent over a decade perfecting mechanical structures and algorithms, building thousands of patents and achieving global monopoly-level product dominance—all with an uncompromising, truth-seeking hardcore ethos.

Insta360's Liu Jingkang, a typical post-90s geek, dares to think big and act boldly, embedding "fun and daring" into the brand's DNA. Through rapid iteration and guerrilla-style innovation, he captured significant global market share right under the noses of industry giants.

In contrast, smartphone industry pioneers tend to be scaling experts in mature markets: skilled at supply chain management, channel distribution, marketing hype, and specification competitions. Their styles lean toward stability, restraint, and systematization, with personalities flattened by commercial rules and organizational processes, lacking the reckless creativity and rebellious edge of their counterparts.

vivo's Shen Wei and OPPO's Chen Mingyong were once known for their cultural principles of "duty" and "low-keyness," differing in values and cultural philosophies from the new generation of young Chinese entrepreneurs.

Looking back, drone and action camera pioneers prioritize passion and technological belief before commerce, whereas some traditional industries prioritize commercial goals first, using technology and resources to achieve them. The former carry the momentum of adventurers; the latter resemble precise chess players. These fundamental differences in mindset cannot be quickly bridged by capital, channels, or ecosystems alone.

04 As Traditional Dividends Wane, VIVO and Peers Explore Multiple Avenues

The smartphone industry's dividends are peaking. This year, rising memory costs and a nearly 10% market decline pressure profits, yet competition remains fiercer than ever. IDC's 2025 data shows Huawei, Apple, vivo, Xiaomi, and OPPO ranking in the top five.

Notably, the top five firms show no significant gap in absolute market share, each holding over 15%, with less than a 3 million-unit difference between first and fourth place in shipments.

Clearly, the smartphone market has fully entered a zero-sum competition era. As hardware innovation slows, manufacturers are scrambling to find new growth areas, expanding into related fields like smart glasses, new energy vehicles, robots, and action cameras.

Take vivo as an example: the company has already ventured into smartphones, gimbal cameras, XR, and embodied intelligence. Recently, vivo announced internal organizational restructuring affecting its Smart Terminals Business Unit, Hardware Platform Technology Department, and multiple development divisions. Two key changes emerged: foldable phone R&D functions were consolidated into Development Division 1, while XR-related businesses were integrated into Development Division 3. Last August, vivo launched the vivo Vision Explorer Edition MR headset, powered by the second-generation Snapdragon XR2+ platform, with select stores offering demo experiences.

Embodied intelligence is another focus for vivo. In late March last year, during the Boao Forum for Asia, the company announced plans to enter the robotics sector, establishing a Robotics Lab.

Frankly, this industrial boundary expansion represents smartphone manufacturers' proactive layout for the "post-smartphone era." Smartphones, the most successful consumer electronics of the past decade, have become indispensable in daily life. However, as technology evolves and user needs change, smartphones' central role is gradually diminishing.

Future personal smart devices will be diversified and distributed, no longer limited to phones. Smart glasses, smartwatches, handheld cameras, and robots will all become important smart terminals, collaborating with phones to deliver more comprehensive and natural smart experiences.

However, when it comes to the smartphone market, Xiaomi, Honor, vivo, and OPPO have yet to carve out a distinct niche for themselves. According to IDC data for the second quarter of this year, vivo secured the third position in terms of domestic market share, but its shipments experienced a year-over-year decline of over 11%.

Apart from Huawei, which has gained a more pronounced competitive edge, other manufacturers are still grappling with fierce competitive pressures. It's challenging to forecast which company will be the first to reap substantial benefits from new business ventures. Furthermore, venturing into additional new sectors could expose marginal smartphone players to even more ruthless competition, thereby intensifying the strain on their core businesses.

This is precisely why the foray of smartphone manufacturers is unlikely to fundamentally or culturally disrupt the market dominance of DJI and Insta360.