Insta360 X5: two-minute review
Almost precisely a year on from the launch of the Insta360 X4, its successor the X5 has arrived – and at first glance it’s hard to tell the difference. The two 360 degree cameras are near-identical in size, weight and shape, and it’s only a few aesthetic differences – plus, of course, the name emblazoned on the front – that enabled me to tell the new camera from the old once I’d pulled it out of its box.
The well-worn phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” feels apt here, and it’s hard to fault Insta360 for not ringing more obvious changes. After all, TechRadar’s glowing five-star review of the X4 dubbed it the best 360 degree camera on the market; the company would have been unwise to ditch a winning formula. What the X5 does instead is polish and hone where refinements were needed, finessing one superb and versatile camera into an even better and more flexible one.
Incremental improvements have been made across the board, including in areas like microphone audio quality and water resistance, but the progression I’ve really noticed has been in image quality. And yes, that’s a big one, brought about largely through the introduction of two 1/1.28-inch image sensors. These are 144% larger than those on the X4, and they’ve been paired with a trio of image processing chips (or “AI chips” as Insta360’s marketing department calls them) for noise reduction, sharpening and other enhancements that make the image quality markedly better than the X4’s, particularly in challenging conditions like low light.
The levels of detail, rich colors, wide dynamic range and general all-round “pop” of the X5's clips are wonderful – and thanks to the companion app's AI-assisted auto editing, they’re ready to be shared on social media right away. Sure – a fully manually edited clip still beats the robo-editor’s take on things, and the tunes and templates provided here are a little cheesy, but those who want to put in the work to do things the old-fashioned way are still free to do so.
Another major improvement I should mention is the inclusion of replaceable lenses. If you scratched or cracked the X4's lens, you'd be in for a hefty repair bill or even have to scrap it, but Insta360 is launching a kit alongside the X5 allowing users to quickly and easily swap out a damaged lens for a fresh one – all for a few dollars.
All things considered, the Insta360 X5 is a marked improvement over its predecessor, particularly in image quality, although owners of the X4 might want to wait until next year's inevitable update to swap out their still-new camera for a fresh one.
Insta360 X5 specs
Insta360 X5: Price and availability
- Launched worldwide in April 2025
- Standard edition costs $549.99 / £519.99 / AU$929.99
- Essentials bundle available for $659.99 / £609.99 / AU$1,109.99
The Insta360 X5 was available to order from its launch day of 22 April 2025, and costs from $549.99 / £519.99 / AU$929.99 – which is only around 5-10% more than its predecessor the X4 cost when it launched in April 2024 ($499.99 / £499.99 / AU$879.99). That’s not too bad of a price jump given inflation and the uncertainty surrounding US tariffs.
That above price is for the standard bundle, which includes just the camera, but an Essentials bundle is also available and might make more sense for certain customers, especially if you’re just getting started on your 360 action camera journey. For $659.99 / £609.99 / AU$1,109.99, it offers the camera plus a second battery, fast charge case, 114cm invisible selfie stick, standard lens guards, rubber lens cap and carry case.
- Price score: 4.5/5
Insta360 X5: Design
- 46 x 124.5 x 38mm in size, 7oz / 200g in weight
- Waterproof to 49ft / 15m
- 2.5-inch screen, USB-C 3.0 input and microSD card slot
The X5 retains much of the X4’s design: the chocolate bar shape is virtually identical, along with the 2.5-inch touchscreen, removeable battery, simple but thoughtful button layout and USB-C port. And why not? The X4 was a pocketable, lightweight 360 action cam that was easy to use, so there was no obvious need to change things on the outside. The aesthetics have been slightly updated, with a fetching new geometric pattern on the front of the camera, but aside from that things are virtually identical to the last-gen version, at least to the naked eye.
The X5 is more durable than its predecessor, however. It’s now IP68-rated, making it waterproof to 49ft / 15m without any additional casing (the X4 topped out at 33ft / 10m), while the glass in the twin lenses has been strengthened for double the drop resistance. If you do manage to scratch or shatter them, Insta360 now has an affordable replacement kit that allows you to very quickly replace one or both of them yourself at home. This is a pretty big deal in my opinion, as it means you can be a bit riskier and more creative with action shots, safe in the knowledge that a lens scratch or breakage isn’t the end of the world.
That being said, investing in Insta360’s screw-on lens protectors and rubber lens cap is highly recommended, as it could save you a lot of time, bother and cash. The bulbous, ultra-wide nature of the lenses leaves them exposed to dust, water and near-constant contact with potentially damaging objects, so I found keeping them covered up when possible brings a lot of peace of mind.
You’ll also need a selfie stick to mount the camera on. It comes with a standard tripod screw thread at the base, so most selfie sticks should work fine. For this review, I used Insta360’s own Bullet Time Selfie Stick 2.0, which worked brilliantly.
A final, easy-to-overlook new design touch is the addition of lock-on points for Insta360’s Quick Release Mount on the X5’s base. This lets you easily attach and detach the camera from third-party action camera accessories and mounts – the sort that use GoPro-style mounting fingers.
- Design score: 5/5
Insta360 X5: Performance
- Improved in-app AI editing
- Versatile InstaFrame video mode
- Up to 185-minute battery life
The software side of things has been updated here, both on the companion mobile app and the camera itself. The result is a larger suite of shooting styles and options on the X5 versus the X4, plus lightning fast AI-assisted auto-editing on the app. This allowed me to create some pretty great-looking short videos on my phone in a matter of minutes, just by feeding the editor a few clips and selecting a template and background music from the extensive collection.
By default, the app imports only the files it needs via the Wi-Fi link between the X5 and the phone, which keeps things fairly agile. But on my iPhone 13 the editor can hang, stutter and even crash at times – perhaps a newer, faster handset would deliver a smoother experience, but I was always able to get there in the end. Once you’re happy with the video, you can export it to your phone’s photo album and share it on social media, upload to YouTube, AirDrop it to your computer or send it to friends.
It’s a painless process that helps get the X5’s great footage out into the world, so I welcome it. But those who want more control over the results are free to create videos manually, either on the mobile app or Insta360 Studio, the fairly full-featured desktop editing app.
Of the shooting modes on board, perhaps the two most notable are PureVideo, a new mode intended for night-time and low-light shooting that supports up to 8K 30fps quality, and InstaFrame, which captures two videos simultaneously: one flat ‘normal’ 1080p video for instant sharing, and another full 360 video for adding extra angles. It’s a good option for creators who want to ensure they don’t miss anything but also want a quick, usable video of the ‘main’ angle – although it's worth noting that it reduces maximum frame rate to 30fps, and removes HDR as an option.
The camera features three chips to handle the workload of processing the huge video files it captures, but despite this battery life is fairly decent – generally, at least. Insta360’s figure of 185 minutes of recording seems generous, and I suspect it’s dependent on recording lower resolution clips at lower bitrates; if you’re recording 8K video all the time the battery will drain very fast and the X5 will heat up. I never experienced any shutdowns due to overheating, but Insta360 cautions that 8K recording will work best outdoors while moving, where the breeze will naturally cool the camera down.
Thankfully, battery charging is rapid on the X5. With a decent USB-C fast charger, it can go from empty to 80% full in just 20 minutes.
- Performance score: 4.5/5
Insta360 X5: Image quality
- New 1/1.28-inch sensors
- Can record 8K 30fps or 5.7K 60fps video or 72MP photos
- PureVideo mode for low light and night-time recording
The sensors used by the X5 are 144% bigger than those on the X4, which means image quality is markedly clearer and less noisy. The X4’s low-light performance was its weakest facet, but the X5 takes big steps to rectify that – and as a result it’s the first 360 camera I’d be happy using at night.
The PureVideo mode is designed specifically for shooting in low light conditions, and processes the footage in a way that keeps the X5’s videos remarkably clean and crisp in situations where the X4’s would have been muddy, smeary and close to unusable. There are some limits, of course, and things like HDR and 60fps are unavailable with PureVideo, but the fact you can shoot at 8K 30p and get great results is quite astounding.
The best results are still delivered in bright conditions though, and here you can choose between 8K 30fps video, 5.7K+ 30fps (for smaller file sizes while maintaining good quality), 5.7K 60fps with HDR and more. The HDR results come straight out of the camera looking great, with plenty of detail visible across both brighter and darker areas of the image. While HDR is active, the X5 also gives users the option to shoot in the flat I-Log color profile, providing greater scope for color grading in post-production – a handy feature for professional videographers.
I should caution that the videos outputted by the camera max out at 1440p – the higher resolution refers to the 360 video capture resolution, before editing and cropping. So, your final results will be 1080p or 1440p rather than 4K or above.
The X5 can also take 360 photos of course, delivered either in 72MP or 18MP. These can be animated and exported as videos, as I’ve done in the example below. The quality is impressive, even if I don’t personally see much use for these beyond a bit of fun.
Audio quality from the internal mics has been improved for the X5 too, with built-in wind mufflers helping to reduce interference on blustery days. While this solution doesn't totally remove wind noise, it's quite effective at lessening its effects.
- Image quality score: 5/5
Insta360 X5: testing scorecard
Should I buy the Insta360 X5?
Buy it if...
You want the best overall 360 action camera
Thanks to its replaceable lenses and improved image quality, the X5 replaces its predecessor the X4 as our pick for the top overall 360 action camera. If you want the best one around, this is it.
You need 360 footage at night
With large sensors and superb noise reduction, the X5 might be the first 360 action camera that’s actually usable after dark. It’s a low light revelation.
You hate editing 360 videos manually
The Insta360 app makes creating engaging videos from your 360 footage a cinch, adding music and identifying highlights pretty accurately. If the idea of manually editing puts you off, you’ll love the X5’s capabilities.
Don't buy it if...
You just bought an Insta360 X4
While the X5 is certainly an upgrade over 2024’s X4, the older model remains an outstanding 360 camera with 8K capture and simple, user-friendly operation. If you’ve just bought one, we wouldn’t replace it right away.
You want a general action camera
If you’re just looking for a small, rugged camera to capture what’s in front of you while you’re cycling, skating or surfing, a GoPro Hero, DJI Action or Insta360 Ace Pro makes more sense, being smaller, simpler and cheaper.
Also consider
Formerly TechRadar’s pick for best overall 360 camera, the 2024-released Insta360 X4 is still a fantastic performer – as long as you don’t plan on shooting lots of night-time footage. Now significantly cheaper than the X5, it remains well worth a look if your budget is limited.
Read our in-depth Insta360 X4 review
With the long-delayed GoPro Max 2 still unreleased, this is the best non-Insta360 360 camera around. Capable of excellent 8K recordings, it’s a versatile and powerful action camera but suffers from being pricier and more complicated than its Insta360 rivals.
Read our in-depth Kandao QooCam 3 Ultra review
How I tested the Insta360 X5
- Tested for several days, full production model running release firmware
- Camera mounted on invisible selfie stick
- Recorded videos on foot, on bicycle and in a car
I've only had a few days to test the Insta360 X5, but as a frequent user of all its predecessors it felt immensely familiar – meaning I was able to get out and shoot video with it almost immediately. I mounted it on the company's invisible selfie stick and shot short videos while walking and riding my bike during different times of the day and even stuck it out of the window of a moving car. I used the Insta360 app running on my iPhone 13 to edit the sample videos you see above.
- First reviewed April 2025
