Insta360 X4 Air review: lighter, cheaper, and almost as powerful as the X5

Insta360 is synonymous with 360 action cams. The company has been refining 360-degree cameras for nearly a decade – since the Insta360 ONE debuted in 2017 – and it’s fair to say the formula is now close to perfection.

That said, the brand’s flagship cameras have never been cheap. The Insta360 X5 retails for a whopping $550/£520/AU$930, which might be hard for some creators to afford. If only there were a way to get that quality without emptying your wallet…

Well, now there is! The Insta360 X4 Air is not only the latest addition to the company’s ever-growing rugged camera portfolio, but also the lightest-ever 8K 360 camera at just 165g.

It has dual 1/1.8-inch sensors and many of the features of the brand's best action cameras. With the launch of the X4 Air, Insta360 is making it clear that, as with the GoPro HERO 13 Black, the flagship model is for professional and serious users.

In contrast, the new model is for enthusiasts who like high-resolution, crisp footage but don’t need a larger sensor, a Triple AI Chip architecture, or advanced imaging performance tailored for cinematic production and pro creators.

Insta360 X4 Air review

Why Insta360 X4 Air?

When the brand first sent over the press materials about the new camera, my first question was, “Why isn’t it called Insta360 X5 Air”? The company answered that the X4 Air isn’t a stripped-down version of the flagship at all, but an evolution of the Insta360 X4.

The brand claims the X4 Air was born from user feedback asking for something lighter and more travel-friendly, yet still capable of shooting stunning 8K footage.

It brings over some of the X5’s headline features, like replaceable lenses and a built-in wind guard, while focusing on portability and everyday usability.

And that ‘Air’ suffix? While it might sound like a nod to Apple, it actually harks back to one of Insta360’s earliest models, the 2016 Insta360 Air for Android phones.

Price and availability

The X4 Air was launched on 28 October 2025 and is available now in Graphite Black and Arctic White from Insta360, Amazon, and select retailers, with US and Canada availability coming soon. Both the Standard Bundle and the Starter Bundle include a complimentary one-year Insta360+ subscription for a limited time. Prices in different regions are as follows.

Design and build quality

Image 1 of 4

The X4 Air looks a lot like an Insta360 camera with its sleek, bar-like shape (albeit a shrunken-down version). The camera is about the same width and thickness, but it’s shorter than both the Insta360 X4 and X5 (W46×H113.8×D37mm). The optical unit is smaller, and so is the display. Everything looks in proportion, though.

A big upgrade over the X4 is that the X4 Air features replaceable lenses with an “ultra-hard” optical coating that doubles drop resistance compared to the X4. It’s waterproof to 49 feet (15 meters), too. The brand says the larger 1/1.8-inch sensors deliver crisper 8K footage with a 134% increase in pixel area per frame compared to the X4.

One new design element I like is that there is now only one button underneath the screen. On previous cameras, there are two buttons, one to start and stop recording and the other to toggle between photo and video modes. Having just one large button makes it easier to operate the camera while you’re doing something, which is often the case with action cameras.

The X4 Air has a similar microphone setup to the X5, with a larger unit beneath the front lens and smaller units on the sides of the camera. The built-in wind guard was borrowed from the X5, too. If you’ve ever used an Insta360 camera, you’ll know where to look for battery openings and card slots.

Features

The Insta360 X4 Air doesn’t introduce any software improvements, but carries over many of the flagship’s standout features. These include Active HDR, which now supports up to 8K30fps; Adaptive Tone, which balances light from both lenses for natural skies and shadows; Portrait Mode; Enhanced low-light performance; and more.

The camera features the latest FlowState Stabilisation and 360° Horizon Lock, as well as InstaFrame Mode, which records a reframed flat video and a full 360° version simultaneously. The X4 Air supports up to 4K60fps POV footage and the Invisible Selfie Stick feature.

Image 1 of 5

There’s also voice, gesture and twist-to-shoot control, so you can stay hands-free when the action heats up. The X4 Air supports a range of Bluetooth headphones and microphones, including the brand’s own Mic Air, various AirPods, Galaxy Buds, RØDE’s wireless models, the DJI Mic and Mic 2, etc.

As far as I can tell, you get all the shooting modes available on the brand’s other 360 action cameras, which include my favourite, Me Mode, one of the Single Lens modes. This frames the footage so the bottom of the (invisible) selfie stick is in the centre, which is how most people record videos with 360 cameras.

Image 1 of 2

I used that a lot during testing with the Foldable 2-in-1 Selfie Stick, one of the more affordable Insta360 accessories (RRP £34.99/ $34.99) that pairs perfectly with the X4 Air. The only niggle is a tiny visible seam where the folding stick joins, but that’s a trade-off I’ll happily take.

Video quality

Insta360 has been refining its camera setup and stitching algorithm for years, and at this point, it’s pretty reliable. Colours pop without looking over-processed, and manual controls are there if you like to tinker.

Since I tested the GoPro MAX 2, I've realised how great it is to be able to rotate footage in real time on the X4 Air’s display. Of course, it doesn’t matter when the camera records everything around it, but I like the ability to rotate the footage on the camera, rather than downloading it to my phone and seeing it there.

Footage quality is as crisp and well-stitched as we’ve come to expect from Insta360. 360 cameras, due to their double-fisheye lens setup, will distort the footage, even when the camera tries to correct for it. That said, I was really happy with the videos from the X4 Air and would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t need a professional camera.

Battery and charging

The X4 Air has the smallest battery (2010 mAh) in Insta360’s 360 camera lineup, but surprisingly, it doesn’t affect performance or charging speed. I ran a test indoors with a small draft blowing across the camera (8K@30fps), and the battery went from 100% to 35% in an hour, at which point the memory card filled up.

Officially, the X4 Air can shoot 8K@30fps videos continuously for 88 minutes and 6K@24fps for up to 100 mins, which is impressive and on par with the X5 and the X4.

Charging speeds are solid, too. The camera charges from 0% to 100% in just under an hour (the official time is 57 minutes), and it can go from 0% to 80% in just over half an hour (36 minutes).

Verdict

Is the X4 Air the Insta360 action camera we’ve been waiting for? It kind of is. It’s a mix of the X4 and the X5, borrowing from and learning from both and offering a well-rounded experience for 360° action camera enthusiasts.

The 8K resolution, as I mentioned many times before in my action camera reviews, is still somewhat redundant, as most platforms can’t really handle it (TikTok’s recommended settings are 1080 × 1920 pixels @ 30fps). However, shooting footage at a higher resolution lets you zoom in and play around with the videos, which is precisely what you need.

The Insta360 X4 Air is easy to recommend to anyone who wants a 360-degree action cam but didn’t get one before because of the high asking price. You get all the essential features and a high-spec setup for a lot less. What you miss out on is only really important to pros or those taking content creation very seriously.