Panoramic Action Cameras: from Outdoor Sports to Vlogging

On April 22nd 2025, U.S. local time, overseas technology enthusiasts lined up outside Grand Central Terminal in New York to snap up a Chinese camera capable of capturing 360-degree images with a self-retracting "invisible" selfie stick—Insta360 X5. By the end of September 2025, Insta360, a leading enterprise in the panoramic action camera industry, has seen a 64% increase in stock price since its listing, attracting significant attention from the capital market. What factors have driven the recent surge in demand for panoramic action cameras? Will this growth be sustainable in the future? What is the long-term market potential? Furthermore, looking at market players, with the declining GoPro versus rising stars Insta360 and DJI, what constitutes the core of industry competition?

1. Core Drivers of High Growth in Recent Years

A) Scenario Expansion

The popularity of outdoor sports and the surge in social media content create a dual impetus: The rapid growth of participation in outdoor activities like skiing and cycling has fueled the demand for first-person perspective recording. Meanwhile, the trend of "everyone as vlogger" has caused a surge in demand for immersive content from short-video creators, elevating panoramic action cameras from niche equipment for extreme sports enthusiasts to mainstream creative tools for the general public.

B)     Technological Maturity Lowers the Barrier to Entry ​

Breakthroughs in core technologies drive product experience upgrades:

Hardware: Specialization in upstream core components (lens, sensor, DSP/SOC) has led to reduced hardware costs, allowing consumer-grade products to be priced at around CNY 1,000 yuan, which accelerates market penetration.

Software: From basic features like "Resolution/Frame Rate/Image stabilization" to advanced functions such as "AI scene recognition, voice control, shoot-first-frame-later, and in-camera stitching," AI algorithms have significantly lowered the barriers to creation and sharing. Additionally, improvements in app usability and the refinement of software ecosystems (such as cloud storage subscription services) have further enhanced user experience.

2. Sustainability of Future Growth and Long-Term Market Potential

Future growth in demand is expected to be sustainable, mainly due to new demand created by technology integration. Panoramic and action camera technologies learn from each other, with functional penetration blurring their boundaries. The trend is towards " All-in-one Personal Imaging Devices" — such as Insta360 X4, which can switch between panoramic and action modes to meet needs across multiple scenarios. In addition, AI technology empowers intelligent editing and scene recognition, further lowering the threshold for content creation.​

According to Frost & Sullivan data:

Global panoramic camera market: In 2023, the market size reached CNY 5.03 billion with 1.96 million units sold, achieving a CAGR of 12.3% (by revenue) and 14.2% (by unit sales) from 2017 to 2023. It is projected to reach CNY 7.85 billion in market size and 3.16 million units sold by 2027, with a CAGR of 11.8% (by revenue) and 12.7% (by unit sales) from 2023 to 2027.

Global action camera market: In 2023, the market size stood at CNY 31.4 billion with 44.61 million units sold, with a CAGR of 14.5% (by revenue) and 21.2% (by unit sales) from 2017 to 2023. It is expected to grow to CNY 51.4 billion in market size and 69.07 million units sold by 2027, with a CAGR of 13.0% (by revenue) and 11.5% (by unit sales) from 2023 to 2027.

In the long term, with approximately 90 million Vloggers and 1.2 billion outdoor sports enthusiasts globally, assuming a final penetration rate of 100% for smart cameras among Vloggers and 20% among outdoor sports enthusiasts, the total potential user base would be around 300 million. With a three-year replacement cycle, the ultimate annual shipment ceiling for smart cameras is estimated to be around 100 million units.

Another calculation method references the popularization trend of digital cameras replacing film cameras 20 years ago. From 1999 to 2008, the penetration rate of digital cameras rose from about 13% to nearly 100%, while global camera sales increased from 39 million units to 119.8 million units, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 13.3%. Currently, the annual shipment of smart cameras is less than 50 million units, indicating potential growth of at least double the current volume.

Innovative products, with significantly improved performance that replace well-established solutions, typically experience a rapid increase in penetration rate. Therefore, the panoramic and action camera market is expected to remain highly prosperous in the future.

3. Market Landscape: The Shift Between Old and New Forces Under the Tripartite Competition

The current market is dominated by three major companies: a) In the panoramic camera market, Insta360 holds an absolute advantage, with a 67.2% global market share in 2023. Ricoh Japan (12.4%) and GoPro (9.2%) ranked second and third, respectively. b) In the action camera market, GoPro's initial dominance has evolved into a multi-player competition. In 2024, GoPro and Insta360's market shares were roughly equal, while DJI held approximately 20% of the market share.

Corporate Cases: Why Did GoPro Decline? How Did Insta360 and DJI Rise?

In 2010, GoPro launched its global blockbuster product HeroHD. However, from 2015 to 2018, GoPro's misdirected ventures into the media industry and drone products led to performance pressure. To reduce losses, the company laid off employees, further weakening its technological advantages. Since 2019, strong competitors such as Insta360 and DJI have released competitive products, leading GoPro to gradually fall behind and lose market share.

A) GoPro's Decline: Innovation Stagnation and Lack of Ecosystem

Financial Performance: In 2024, GoPro's total revenue was approximately 801 million USD (down 20.3% year-on-year), with a net loss of about 432 million USD. Sales volume declined from a peak of 6.58 million units (2015) to 2.43 million units (2024).

Figure: GoPro’s Total Revenue (dollars in million), source: GoPro Annual Report

Figure: GoPro Camera Units Shipped (in million units), source: GoPro Annual Report

Reasons for Decline:

• Homogeneous Product Iteration: After 2016, GoPro relied heavily on hardware upgrades (such as resolution improvements from 4K to 8K) but failed to address core user pain points. It lacked breakthrough innovations and fell behind DJI and Insta360 in key innovations such as image stabilization and intelligent functions.

• Lagging Ecosystem Development: The software ecosystem construction was initially neglected. While the GoPro App was later launched, its features were rudimentary and lacked lightweight tools like AI editing, making it difficult to meet creators' needs for quick content sharing. ​

• Slow Market Response: GoPro misjudged the trend of panoramic cameras and did not launch its panoramic product, Fusion, until 2018 – by then, Insta360 had already gained a first-mover advantage. Facing cost-effective competition from Chinese brands, GoPro failed to adjust its pricing strategy promptly. In terms of distribution channels, it stuck to offline distribution and North American telecom operator channels, failing to capitalize on emerging trends in social media, online platforms, Vlogs, and live streaming.

B) Insta360's Rise: Differentiated Innovation and User Insights​

Figure: Insta360’s Total Revenue (in million CNY), source: Insta360 Annual Report

Insta360's total revenue increased from CNY 588 million to 5.57 billion between 2019 and 2024 (a 5-year CAGR of approximately 57%), driven by:

• Cross-Border Technology to Restructure Product Logic: By combining panoramic "shoot-first-frame-later" technology with action cameras, Insta360 launched innovative features such as the "invisible selfie stick" and "bullet time," solving shooting problems in scenarios such as skiing. 60% of its R&D investment is allocated to algorithm optimization, making its FlowState image stabilization technology among the best in the industry. Meanwhile, leveraging China's supply chain, Insta360 controls costs, pricing its products about 30% lower than GoPro’s while balancing cost-effectiveness and product competitiveness.

• Deep Alignment with User Needs: By co-creating products with skiing and cycling enthusiasts, unmet needs are accurately captured. For example, the smart data dashboard function can display real-time sports parameters, addressing the pain points of professional users.

• Innovative Marketing: Insta360 has established a professional, global in-house marketing team that has long focused on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. The team conducts targeted content marketing, maintains a KOL network, and collaborates closely with domestic and foreign tech reviewers and extreme sports enthusiasts.

C) DJI's Breakthrough: Technical Barriers and Ecosystem Synergy ​

• Reuse of Core Technologies: Gimbal image stabilization and image processing technologies accumulated in the drone sector have been transferred to action cameras. RockSteady technology outperforms competing products in high-frequency vibration scenarios. Self-developed chips enhance computing power and support multi-lens collaborative operation. ​

• Ecosystem Synergy: Through the DJI Mimo App, DJI enables interconnection between action cameras, drones, and handheld gimbals, forming a closed loop of "shooting - transmission - editing" and attracting professional creators. In Q3 2025, DJI entered the panoramic camera market to improve its product portfolio and ecosystem.

• Precise Market Positioning: Focusing on the mid-to-high-end market, DJI's Osmo Action series enters the market with "professional-grade image quality + consumer-friendly price," avoiding direct competition with GoPro while quickly gaining user trust through its brand reputation.

Conclusion

This article analyzes the panoramic action camera industry from two dimensions: demand-driven logic and competitive landscape. First, we analyze the core drivers of past growth: scenario expansion and technological iteration, using this analysis to predict future potential. Finally, by comparing leading companies, we reveal that the core of competition has shifted from a hardware specifications race to a comprehensive contest of “AI + software ecosystem + differentiated innovation.”