Insta360 has just shown off the world’s first 360-degree drone. Built by the company’s new drone brand — called Antigravity — the new A1 drone comes bundled with first-person-view goggles and shoots in 8K.
As anyone with a regular 360 camera will know, each shot covers every angle, so the Vision goggles let you look in every direction, allowing you to feel as if you’re right there, flying with your drone. Even better, when you come to edit, you can use any part of the 360-degree image to create your final piece, with a single frame offering numerous viewpoints.
A key feature of Insta360’s new A1 drone is its method of flight control. Using Antigravity’s proprietary FreeMotion technology, the drone works with the Vision goggles and Grip controller to offer an immersive flying experience that should feel both natural and intuitive. It means that you don’t have to mess around with joysticks, instead simply pointing the Grip controller in the direction that you want to fly. This makes it similar to DJI’s RC Motion 2 controller, which came out in 2023 and is compatible with the Avata, Mini 3 Pro, and Mavic 3 drones.
The A1 has folding arms for easy transportation, while its weight of just 249g (around 0.5 pounds) makes it ideal for license-free flying in most countries and regions.
“We didn’t want to just build another drone, we wanted to create an entirely new way to fly,” said BC Nie, head of marketing at Antigravity. “A1 is the first step in reimagining flight as something anyone can enjoy — something that is safe, intuitive, expressive, and endlessly creative.”
With drone specialist DJI recently launching its first 360 camera — the Osmo 360 — it surely won’t be too long before the company unveils its first 360 drone to compete with the A1. And with DJI facing a possible ban on drone sales in the U.S. at the end of this year, it’s not yet clear if China-based Insta360 will face any difficulties in launching its new drone in the same market, despite it setting up Antigravity in the U.S. The potential U.S. ban on certain Chinese-made consumer drones is due to national security concerns regarding the transmission of sensitive data and surveillance risks.
Insta360’s A1 drone will ship globally — including possibly in the U.S. — in January 2026. Pricing and bundle details will be announced closer to launch.
