Insta360 Launches $699.99 X6 Camera With 8K50 360 Video as It Marks 10 Years

Q: Did Insta360 finally introduce a new compression codec to solve the crippling 8K file sizes that plagued the X5?

No. Based on the launch materials and the added reporting, Insta360 has not confirmed any new compression codec for the X6. What the company has emphasized instead is higher capture performance and workflow improvements: 8K/60 fps 360 recording, better sensors, a new AI chip, longer battery life, and faster AI-assisted editing in the app. The coverage repeatedly mentions the X5’s pain point of very large 8K files, but none of the official X6 details provided here say Insta360 changed the recording codec to address that. That matters because a true fix for “crippling” 8K file sizes would usually require either a more efficient codec, lower bitrates at similar quality, or clearer support for formats such as H.265/HEVC, AV1, or similar next-generation compression. None of that is specified in the news story or the supporting web material. In fact, the X6 raises frame rates from the X5’s 8K/30 to as high as 8K/60. Unless Insta360 has paired that with better compression—which it has not announced in the materials here—file sizes could remain very large, and potentially grow in some modes. So the safe reading is that Insta360 focused on image quality, form factor, battery life, and editing convenience, not on publicly introducing a new codec. If codec efficiency is a deciding factor, buyers should wait for the full technical spec sheet or real-world tests of bitrate and file sizes before assuming the X5 storage problem has been solved.

3 articles · Updated · Popular Science · Aug 12

$699.99 is the starting price for Insta360’s new X6 flagship, unveiled at the company’s 10th-anniversary event as a pocket-size device combining 360 capture, action-camera shooting and gimbal-style tracking.
Dual 1/1.1-inch Sony sensors, a triple AI chip and native in-camera Dolby Vision power 8K50 360 video, 5K60 single-lens mode and on-device AI editing without first transferring footage to a phone.
Compared with the X5, the X6 adds 33% more sensor area, 4x more light intake, 500% more computing power and a replaceable-lens system with 60% lower replacement cost.
A 2,600mAh battery delivers up to 140 minutes of 8K30 recording—51% longer than the X5—while IP68 sealing to 20 meters, 47GB of internal storage and WiFi 6 target travel and sports users.
Insta360 framed the launch as part of a broader push to make 360 imaging a software-led platform that lets users “shoot first and frame later,” potentially replacing several traditional camera types.