Insta360 just announced its new X4, which will be one of the first cameras to bring 8K to 360-degree videos. The new Insta360 camera lets you capture its highest resolution at 30 frames per second (fps) for detailed and sharp output. You can reframe the footage after shooting, and the company claims that it remains “detailed and sharp after reframing.”
The Insta360 X4 also features the ability to shoot in 4x slow-motion at 4K 100 fps, which sounds tremendous in theory. For 360-degree action shots, you also get a new 5.7K resolution at the same 60 fps for smoother and sharper shots. As with all 2024 tech hardware, the X4 includes a touch of AI – with one of the AI features letting you shoot 72MP 360-degree photos with the AI denoising feature.
The new 360-degree action camera from Insta360 can withstans temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) and be submerged up to 33 feet underwater (that extends to 164 feet with the Dive Case). It comes with removable lens guards, including the Standard Lens Guards (free with the camera) or Premium Lens Guards, which are made with tough, scratch-resistant, tempered glass.
You get a bigger touchscreen than before at 2.5 inches. The new Insta360 action camera packs a 2,290mAh battery that’s promised to last you up to 135 minutes, which is 67% longer than before. But real-world tests always challenge such claims, and it’ll be interesting to see how much the battery life has improved. You still get the benefits like the invisible selfie stick effect, where the shot looks super cool, thanks to the third-person views it creates.
While you can frame shots as you like, there’s more help for beginners. The Me Mode enables Insta360 X4 to automatically frame the subject in the shot while keeping the selfie stick invisible at 4K 30 fps or 2.7K 120 fps. Previously, it could only go up to 1080p with the X3.
Insta360 is also extending the in-app AI features to the X4, so you get all kinds of options, from one-tap, zero-effort AI edits to fully customized manual editing. The company also has an Insta360 Studio software for desktops, where you can go deeper into the edits with your footage. Both the mobile app and desktop software remain free to use.
The Insta360 X4 is now available for $500, which is $50 more than the X3’s launch price. However, the bigger battery, tougher design, better resolution, and more flexible editing could make it a compelling option.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.