Insta360 X5 launches with three AI chips and user-replaceable lenses

Insta360 has unveiled the new Insta360 X5, its flagship 360º action camera, featuring sensors that are 144% larger, an upgraded battery, and—at last—user-removable and replaceable lenses.

The X5 also boasts enhanced waterproofing, the introduction of PureVideo mode, and a powerful triple AI chip.

In addition, it also introduces InstaFrame, a new tool designed to help users better frame their shots during filming, streamlining the editing process, and an Ace Pro compatible magnetic mount base for fast switching of mounts.

The X5 might look the same as the X4, but it weighs just 200g, 3g lighter than the 4 and only 41g more than a GoPro HERO13.

Insta360 describes its new camera as “the toughest 360° camera ever”, with lenses that were crafted from newly used kind of “ultra-durable glass”.

And probably the standout feature of the new Insta360 is the face that that these lenses are now user-replaceable, a welcome addition for anyone who has ever scratched their lens and had to ship it away to be repaired.

Insta360 provides a dedicated kit with all the tools you need to safely remove and replace the lenses, along with advice on how to do it - recommending low humid levels when carrying out the work.

While the video frame rates remain largely consistent with the Insta360 X4, the X5 now offers support for 5.7K Active HDR video at 60fps.

As mentioned, the sensor is also much larger: 40% larger than the one in the X4 at 1/1.28”. Insta says the resulting shadows are cleaner, noise is significantly reduced, and colour tones are more subtly handled.

The battery capacity has also been increased from 2290MAh on the X4 to 2400mAh in order to power the three new AI chips inside the camera.

In case you're wondering about the AI capabilities, they power tools like PureVideo, an all-new mode geared towards low-light capture.

In addition there's also a newly created InstaFrame Mode that “simultaneously captures an auto-framed, ready-to-share flat video and a full 360° video to fine-tune later”.

Finally, the Insta360 X5 also comes with a new built-in wind guard to help deliver better audio in challenging conditions, and improvements to the camera’s waterproof capabilities, now up to 14 metres.