16 | FORBES ASIA MAY 2017CONSUMING VIRTUAL REALITY
content in 2017, whether it’s via budget
devices like the Samsung Gear VR or
through pricier products like the Ocu-
lus Rift, is a bit of a mixed bag. Sure,
the first blast of imagery often does de-
liver a jolt of “whoa,” but after 15 min-
utes you’ll have a headache or strained
eyes. And the resolution of even high-
end VR goggles is a bit too low for true
immersion (VR won’t truly take off
until 5G is here in 2020).
Looking at VR content without a headset, however, is usually a
more practical and headache-saving experience. Sure, it’s less im-
mersive, but you still get the full picture—you just have to tilt your
phone or scroll with a finger. There are quite a few 360-degree cam-
eras on the market right now, but the most affordable and portable
one is probably the Insta360 Air.
Made by a Shenzhen startup ( just about all tech hardware comes
from Shenzhen these days), the Air is basically a tiny rubber ball
(weighing 26.5g) that you plug into your phone. Then just download
the Insta360 app and you’re ready to go. The device uses your phone
for power and storage, so the Air does not require charg-
ing. It’s literally a plug-and-play gadget. This means the
Air isn’t the most powerful 360-degree camera out there. It
can’t shoot videos in 4K resolution, for example, and there’s
no mic, so your videos are going to get the Charlie Chaplin
treatment. But it’s only $129, compared with double that for
other 360-degree cameras from Samsung or Nikon.
If you’re a serious videographer, you’ll want to pay the
extra dough for the better-quality videos. But the Air is
perfectly adequate for the other 95% who just want to take
immersive photos during their travels: Its dual camera
snaps photos with a resolution of 3008 x 1504, which is
quite good. When you shoot videos, the resolution drops to
1920 x 960, a tad below 1080p. The result is still more than
enough for average users.
The Insta360 app is intuitive and easy to use. Snapping
photos and videos is just a matter of one tap, and you can
instantly share them to social media platforms like Face-
book or YouTube. There are even Instagram-style filters
built in if you want to give your photos a makeover. Overall
the app’s interface is clean and coherent.
Photo quality, as mentioned earlier, is quite good—if
there’s enough light. As you’d expect, if you shoot on a
dimly lit street at night, the photo or video
will have a ton of noise. But in daylight or
venues with good lighting, the image looks
vibrant and quite detailed.
The Air is for Android only right now.
But Insta360 has a smaller version called
the Nano for iOS. And if you’re thinking the
specs and video/photo quality just aren’t
up to par, well, Insta360 has a pro version
that matches top-tier cameras spec for spec,
including 8K VR content.
If there’s one complaint I have, it’s that
because the device is attached to the phone’s
bottom and you must tap the on-screen but-
ton to capture an image/video, you will be
in the shot every time. You guys know how
much I don’t like selfies, and this is effec-
tively only for 360-degree selfies. But if you
travel or socialize a lot and want a quick and
cheap option to take fun 360-degree photos
or videos, the Insta360, at $129, is hard to
beat.BALL OF FUN
BEN SIN IS A HONG KONG-BASED CONTRIBUTOR TO FORBES.COM WHO WRITES ABOUT CONSUMER TECH. THOMAS KUHLENBECK FOR FORBES (TOP)
TECHNOLOGY BEN SIN // GADGETMAN
FThe chubby Insta360 Air is literally a plug-and-play gadget.F