Insta360 Link is a gimbal-mounted 4K webcam with AI assistance
Half-inching towards smarter livestreaming
After locking down the 360-degree camera game with killer models like the Insta360 One RS and the newer 1-inch sensor version, Insta360 isn’t resting on its imaging laurels. The next market sector in the Chinese company’s sights? Webcams. The way it’s going to get it? The Insta360 Link.
Insta360’s first webcam (available to order today, priced from £319) is coming right out of the gates with some big, impressive specs. Using a relatively large 1/2in sensor, it captures and streams 4K footage at up to 30fps, or 1080p footage at up to 60fps if you’re looking for smoothness over raw detail.
It also offers HDR (requiring a drop to 1080p or 720p resolution and 30fps or lower frame rate), phase-detection autofocus, dual noise-cancelling microphones and a 3-axis gimbal to keep itself steady. Impressive for something that weighs just 106g and easily fits in the palm of your hand.
There’s a nice premium look and feel to it too, with a built-in clip to secure it to the top of your monitor, a lens that can rotate into portrait mode for wannabe TikTok and Reels stars and a standard tripod mount on the bottom to expand your mounting options.
But the Link’s true appeal may well lie in its AI-assisted software features. It can track the user’s movements, keeping them centred at all times and automatically framing and zooming as necessary. It also supports gesture controls and a variety of special modes like DeskView (toggling between a user’s face and their desktop) and Whiteboard Mode (which zooms in on and enhances a designated area to share with a meeting’s participants). It’s fully compatible with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Skype, and is also designed with game streamers in mind.
We have a review sample of the Insta360 Link in our possession already, so look out for a full review soon.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
