Social 360-degree media is a growing force with new applications, peripherals, and even phones built around the media becoming more and more readily available to consumers. Recent mobile 360-degree options we covered were geared to Apple and devices out of the US but there’s a new development. Insta360 is all about the creation of 360 media through mobile accessories and is planning a 360-degree clip-on for Android phones via IndieGoGo.
The Insta360 Air is a lightweight camera meant to live-stream or capture 360-degree video for sharing on social media. It has a sleek design with a few colors to choose from and it fits the aesthetic of popular smartphones. It is said to use a dual fisheye lens, captures 3k stills with 2k videos with stabilization tech, and can be paired with Insta360 Air mobile app for a gallery, capture, and 4 viewing modes (flat, VR, sphere, and planet). The app also includes editing tools for the 360-degree media.
The Insta360 Air comes in various packages on IndieGoGo , with the single device starting at $99 and a couple of them for $169. The other bundles are combinations of the device and different accessories such as an android cardboard VR viewer and tripod. There are a couple accessory- only collections as well. They asked for $20,000 to complete the project and fundraising is at $23,856 with a month left.
The Air has moved from concept to funding in a short time, with the prototype defined just in September of this year. The 2nd prototype is planned for December 10th with samples to be ready on December 30th. Though much after this will likely depend on how well the samples come out, the team is planning to preview the accessory at CES in January and start shipping out to backers in February. It’s an aggressive timeline and hardware crowdfunding projects often see unanticipated delays or costs.
