Insta360’s new $110 Flow 2 gimbal sacrifices some useful pro features

The caller Insta360 Flow 2 offers up to 10 hours of artillery beingness and tin adjacent beryllium utilized to complaint your phone. | Image: Insta360

Insta360 has announced a caller mentation of its entry-level smartphone gimbal. The caller Insta360 Flow 2 includes galore of the upgrades introduced connected the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro that launched earlier this twelvemonth including multi idiosyncratic tracking and the quality to usage the Apple Watch arsenic a distant control. But you’re besides going to suffer utile features similar the quality to usage alternate camera apps, including the iPhone’s autochthonal one, by redeeming yourself $50.

The archetypal Flow launched successful 2023 for $159.99 but has since dropped successful price pursuing the instauration of the company’s pro models. The caller Insta360 Flow 2 is disposable present done the company’s online store and Amazon successful chromatic grey and acme achromatic colour options for $109.99 connected its own. It tin besides beryllium purchased successful a $129.99 bundle that includes Insta360’s AI Tracker accessory that handles taxable tracking truthful you tin usage immoderate smartphone camera app you prefer. For those who don’t request pro features the Flow 2 could beryllium a much affordable alternative, but it’s inactive much costly than DJI’s $89 Osmo Mobile 7 that launched past February.

Like the pro version, the Insta360 Flow 2 features a built-in extending selfie stick, a acceptable of abbreviated metallic tripod legs truthful it tin basal connected its own, and up to 10 hours of usage from its 1,100mAh artillery which volition beryllium reduced erstwhile utilizing the gimbal successful handheld mode fixed it requires continuous stabilization.

Using NFC the Flow 2 tin automatically link to smartphones implicit Bluetooth and motorboat the Insta360 app which features the company’s Deep Track 4.0 exertion that tin support idiosyncratic subjects oregon groups of radical successful frame, adjacent erstwhile temporarily obstructed by things similar passing cars. The app besides features a caller teleprompter diagnostic that volition automatically scroll a publication portion signaling and tracking you.

So what are you sacrificing by choosing the Flow 2 implicit the Flow 2 Pro and redeeming $50? The cheaper gimbal doesn’t person a selfie reflector connected the backmost of the smartphone equine that lets you spot yourself portion signaling selfie videos utilizing a phone’s rear camera, and it doesn’t person the Pro’s glowing ringing airy that makes it easier to spot erstwhile tracking is working.

The Flow 2 besides doesn’t person infinite 360-degree panning, truthful it can’t support you successful framework portion you’re walking successful circles astir the gimbal. But the astir notable omission is that it doesn’t enactment Apple’s DockKit framework which allows the Flow 2 Pro to way subjects utilizing iOS’ autochthonal camera app and third-party alternatives. You’ll request to instrumentality with Insta360’s app erstwhile utilizing the Flow 2, oregon wage an other $20 for the dedicated tracking add-on if you privation to usage your preferred camera app.