Camera firm Insta360 has announced a new drone brand called Antigravity capable of recording 360-degree video — a drone first. Shenzhen-based Insta360 made its name with the 360-degree X camera series, the latest of which, the X5, shoots 8K video and 18-megapixel photos. The Antigravity consumer drone will also record video in 8K and will be aimed at beginners who haven’t quite mastered their flight reflexes and want to capture everything and edit it later. “Ease of use is the starting point for all Antigravity products,” according to Insta360. The first Antigravity product is scheduled to be publicly unveiled in August.

While details at this point are sparse, Insta360 is “working on a sub-249g drone with 360-degree camera technology — something so obviously desirable that it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done yet. But this will be a first,” reports Digital Camera World.

In the U.S., drones that weigh less than 250 grams, or .55 pounds, do not need to be registered for recreational use (though operators are still required to follow FAA safety rules). The light weight also means “it should be easy to operate,” Digital Camera World suggests.

“The drones are operated intuitively,” according to an announcement on the Insta360 blog. “Users can fly without worrying about framing the perfect shot. Everything is recorded in full, allowing creators to focus on the moment and shape their story afterward.”

This has prompted a lot of speculation as to how the drone will work — capturing an immersive surround that avoids the drone itself. “If it is 8K then an arrangement of two opposite fisheye lenses like the Insta360 X4 and X5 cameras seems plausible, but a design challenge that would need solving is the presence of the [propellers],” writes Digital Camera World.

Companies including Adobe, with Generative Fill, and others are already using AI to mask over photographic intrusions by reallocating pixel info that belongs in that space to remove unwanted objects or extend frames. The first-person view (FPV) goggles for a drone of this type presents another challenge.

While Antigravity “isn’t a straight-up competitor” to market leader DJI’s premium drones, with their “power and advanced capabilities,” TechRadar adds that “the idea of an ultra-focused, low-complexity drone designed purely for 360 video is also compelling — even if it’s, for now, all just marketing talk with few concrete details.”

In its blog post, Insta360 says it incubated Antigravity with partners and it will be an “independent drone brand,” prompting PetaPixel to posit that it plans to spin out a new company.

Related:
Antigravity: Don’t Let Gravity Keep You Down, Antigravity Video, 7/28/25
The Best 360 Camera Maker Is Making an Immersive Drone and DJI Should Be Very Worried, Gizmodo, 7/28/25