Insta360's Antigravity A1 drone has landed here are 5 things you need to
know about the worlds first 360 drone

Date:
Thu, 14 Aug 2025 13:15:00 +0000

Description:
The Antigravity A1 has just been announced, and these are the main things potential buyers need to be aware of, including safety, release dates and control methods.

FULL STORY ======================================================================The Antigravity A1 drone has just been officially announced It can shoot 8K 360 footage with first-person flight The drone has a sub-250g weight for restriction-free flying

Today sees the official announcement of the Antigravity A1 drone and its a bit of a game-changer.

Billed as the worlds first 360 drone, the A1 is a small, lightweight flying camera with similar 360-shooting skills to an Insta360 X5 . And no wonder, given that its been co-developed by Insta360.

Our cameras editor Tim Coleman has already had some hands-on time with the drone, and you can read his initial Antigravity A1 impressions but if you just want the straight need-to-know facts on the drone, weve assembled the
key info below. 1. Its the worlds first 360 drone (sort of) The DJI Osmo 360 proves that DJI knows how to make a superb 360-degree camera (Image credit: Antigravity)

Antigravity are touting the A1 as the worlds first 360 drone, and thats correct technically, at least. It is the first all-in-one 8K 360 drone to be announced as of the time of writing.

It has, however, been possible to add 360 video capture to certain DJI drones via the Insta360 Sphere, a 2022-released accessory that works in much the
same way as the A1s camera setup.

Its fair to say that the Sphere was Insta360s precursor to what were seeing
in todays A1 launch but far less polished. You can see what our resident drone expert James Abbot made of it in his hands-on Insta360 Sphere review . 2. It flies a lot like the DJI Avata (Image credit: Antigravity)

The Antigravity A1 is designed to be flown using the Vision goggles and Grip controller, which sound a lot like the user-friendly FPV flying method pioneered by the DJI Avata and Avata 2 .

Manual FPV flight is a highly tricky skill to master, and mistakes can spell
a catastrophic plunge into the ground. But the Avatas method of using a head-tracking controller and motion-tracking sensor just point the on-screen target where you want the drone to fly made FPV-style flight a lot simpler and a lot less risky.

The A1 seems to take a similar approach, but with less speed than the Avata. In our hands-on preview, Tim Coleman described the resulting flight
experience as childs play:

Use the joystick to point the little '+' symbol to where you want to fly and the drone adjusts its path. Motion also works point the controller up to ascend, extend it sideways to turn, and so on. It's not quite FPV flight thrills, especially given the drone's modest top speeds, but it is a fine introduction to drone piloting. 3. Youll need an app to create shareable videos (Image credit: Antigravity)

With a traditional camera drone, the video is wherever youve pointed the camera. With the A1, everything around it is recorded, so youll need to point the (virtual) camera in post-production.

This is done with an app. In a pre-release event, Tim turned to the Insta360 Studio app, which will be familiar with users of the Insta360 X5 and other X series cameras, to reframe his 360 footage into dynamic camera moves. You can use the app to flip the horizon, create a tiny planet by zooming right out,
or put the viewer in the pilots seat by using an FPV-style angle.

Insta360s mobile app will presumably also be compatible, and if so, you can expect AI-assisted editing too. This takes over shot selection, reframing, transitions and even adds background music, serving up a shareable clip in a matter of seconds. 4. It doesnt skimp on safety

The A1 is designed with new drone pilots and families in mind, and as such comes with obstacle avoidance and automatic return-to-home to ensure it
doesnt fall foul of aerial mishaps. It even includes a payload detector that prevents take-off if unauthorized modifications or extra weight is added.

And theres good news for those who want extra protection. Antigravity has
also informed us that it's working on propeller guards for the A1, which will be available as an optional accessory. 5. It will launch globally in January 2026 but the price remains TBC (Image credit: Antigravity)

Antigravity is remaining tight-lipped about the final pricing, launch bundles and regional availability of the A1, but will say that its scheduled to
launch globally in January of next year.

Thats a long time to wait, but in the meantime the company is running a co-creation project , inviting creators to submit their best ideas for how to use the drone and its capabilities.

Successful applicants will be sent a pre-release A1 drone to test and use for content creation, and will have the chance to win a share of a $20,000 prize fund. You might also like I test drones for a living here's why Insta360's Antigravity debut is the most exciting one for years DJI Osmo 360 vs Insta360 X5: the premium 360 cameras battle it out in a hands-on test Will DJI drones be banned in the US? DJI says the clock is ticking and it urgently needs its fans to help



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/cameras/drones/insta360s-antigravity-a1-drone-has-la nded-here-are-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-worlds-first-360-drone


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