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Insta360 X6 Review (2026): A Great 360 and Action Camera Hybrid
The combination of good video quality and user-friendly software has kept Insta360 at the forefront of the 360 camera world even as competitors like DJI and GoPro have carved out their own niche. With its latest camera, the Insta360 X6, the company is hoping to leap ahead of the pack again.
The Insta360 X6 brings a slightly larger sensor, faster video frame rates, better low-light performance, and tools to help you spend less time editing and more time filming. While it’s not a huge leap over its predecessor, the X6 is a solid improvement with several new features that might make upgrading worth it for some users.
The X6 looks a little bit like if the X5 and the GoPro Max 2 had a baby. It’s shorter, squatter, and a tad bit wider than the X5, but not as small as the Max 2. That might sound like I’m setting it up to say it’s the Goldilocks size, but that’s not really the case. I actually like the individual sizes of the X5 and Max 2 better, the first for its narrower profile and the second for its much smaller overall size.
Along with the smaller size come two other major changes from the X5: the screen is smaller, and the physical buttons at the bottom are gone. Though there is noticeably less coverage, I didn’t find the smaller screen to make much difference. I could still see what I wanted to shoot, but the point of a 360 camera is you don’t need to frame shots. The main thing I use the screen for is making sure that the stitch line isn’t on my main subject.
I do miss the X5’s physical buttons on the front, one to record and the other for the menu. There is still a record button, now on the side of the X6, but the onscreen buttons just aren’t as good. They provide haptic feedback (the buttons vibrate when you press them), but they don’t respond 100 percent of the time. I found them noticeably harder to activate compared to the X5’s physical buttons, and I prefer the X5’s front button to start recording.
Another change to the outside is one of the better things about the X6: There are now power contact points on the bottom, which means you can attach a powered selfie stick and charge your camera while you use it. This is a great new feature that I hope other manufacturers copy. And don’t worry, the standard 1/4-inch tripod mount is still there.
Insta360 also says the X6’s new replaceable lens covers are harder than those on previous models. I have never scratched the lenses on my X5, nor did I acquire any scratches during the couple of months I tested the X6. The camera has an IP68 rating, and it’s dustproof and waterproof down to 66 feet.
Speaking of batteries, perhaps my favorite thing about the redesigned X6 is that the battery is now … just a battery. In older X-series cameras, the battery door was part of the battery, which always seemed unnecessary and meant there was no chance of ever using the same battery in another Insta360 camera, like the Ace Pro 2. Now that is potentially possible. If you’re listening, Insta360, give us the same battery for the Ace Pro 3 that’s in the X6. Battery size has also increased from 2,400 mAh to 2,600 mAh compared to the X5.
The X6 uses a larger 1/1.1-inch sensor, the same size as the one in the DJI Osmo 360. That’s up from the 1/1.28-inch sensor in the X5 (and note that 360 cameras have two sensors since they have two lenses), and it gives you marginally sharper, clearer video. I did not notice a huge difference when recording in 360 mode. Of the Insta360, GoPro, and DJI cameras I’ve tested, I still find the GoPro Max 2 footage to be the best quality overall, and to GoPro’s point when it launched the Max 2, the X6 only records 7.2K video versus the Max 2’s 8K video.
At night, though, the X6 wins. It’s much brighter than the X5 or the GoPro for starters, and while sometimes it does render colors a little wonky, with blues tending toward green and yellows going more orange than they are in real life, it still produces the best 360-degree low-light footage I’ve shot. The Osmo 360 i