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Antigravity A1 Review: Reimagining What a Drone Feels Like to Fly

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PROS:


  • Unique immersive experience with vision goggles

  • 8K 360 capture with post-flight reframing

  • Intuitive one-hand grip controller and automated modes lower the skill barrier

CONS:


  • Several pieces to carry and manage: drone, goggles, and controller

  • First-time setup and learning curve can feel overwhelming

  • Visual observer requirements in places like the U.S. limit solo flying

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Antigravity A1 turns flying a drone into a new point of view, and once you are inside it, the experience feels hard to put a price on.

Antigravity is Insta360’s bold experiment in what happens when a 360‑camera company stops thinking only about the camera and starts redesigning the entire act of flying. It is an independent drone brand, incubated by Insta360, built on the same obsession with immersive imaging and playful storytelling, but free to rethink the aircraft, the controls, and the viewing experience as one coherent object. Instead of asking how to strap a 360 camera onto a drone, Antigravity asks how to make the whole system feel like a natural extension of your point of view.

Antigravity A1 is the first expression of that idea. It is a compact 8K 360 drone that arrives as a complete kit, with Vision goggles and a single‑hand Grip controller that you steer with subtle tilts and gestures. You do not fly it by staring at a phone and juggling twin sticks. You put on the goggles, step into a 360‑degree bubble of imagery, and guide the drone by moving your hand in the direction you want to travel. What was the experience with Antigravity A1 like? We tested it to bring you that answer.

Designer: Antigravity

Aesthetics

Antigravity A1 presents itself more as a system than a single object. There is the compact drone with its dual cameras, the Vision goggles, and the one‑hand Grip controller. Visually, the aircraft itself is quite understated. Aside from the two opposing lenses and the leg that shields the lower camera on the ground, it looks like a neat, functional quadcopter. The drama is reserved for what the system does, not how the airframe shouts for attention.

The Vision goggles lean into an almost character-like, even bug-like look, especially when you fold up the black antennas on each side that resemble insect feelers. The front shell is white with two large, dark circular eyes, giving the whole front a slightly cartoonish face. In between and just above those eyes sits an inverted triangle-shaped grille with a subtle Antigravity logo, adding a small technical accent without breaking the simplicity.  The fabric strap and thick face padding sit behind this front mask. Wearing the goggles does look strange at first, but in a strangely cool way.


 
The Grip motion controller has a white plastic shell with buttons and a dial that uses color and icon cues to hint at their functions. On the back, a black trigger-style pull bar sits where your index finger naturally rests. There are additional buttons on each side. The mix of white body, black accents, and clearly marked controls makes the Grip look approachable rather than intimidating, which suits a controller that is meant to translate simple hand movements into flight.

Overall, the drone, goggles, and controller share a cohesive design language. They all use the same soft white shell, black accents, and gently rounded forms. The whole kit feels like a single, intentional system rather than three unrelated gadgets.

Ergonomics

The Vision goggles are where comfort really matters, and Antigravity has clearly spent time on fit. The goggles weigh 340 grams, yet the padding and strap geometry distribute that weight in a way that avoids obvious pressure points, even during longer sessions. The side that meets your face feels soft and accommodating, so the hardware never feels harsh. Once the 360-degree image appears, the headset fades faster than you might expect, which is exactly what you want from an immersive device. Optional corrective inserts mean many glasses wearers can enjoy a sharp view without wrestling frames under the band, which makes the experience more inclusive and less fussy.

Power for the goggles lives in a separate battery pack that you can wear on a lanyard around your neck. At 175 grams, it is not heavy, but over time, it can feel slightly cumbersome to have it hanging there, especially when you are moving around. Antigravity sells a 1.2 metre (3.9 foot) USB-C to DC power cable that lets you route the battery to a trouser pocket or bag instead, which makes the whole setup feel less dangly and more integrated.

You adjust the head strap with velcro, which works, but it is not perfect. A small buckle or hinge mechanism would make it much easier to put the goggles on or take them off while wearing a hat, without having to readjust the strap length every time. It is a minor detail, yet it shows how close the design already is. You start wishing for refinements, not fixes.

The Grip controller is where Antigravity’s ergonomic thinking really shows. It rests comfortably in one hand, with a form that supports a natural, slightly relaxed grip rather than a tense, clawed hold. For my hand, it is just a tiny bit on the large side, enough to notice but not enough to break the experience. This is very much nitpicking, and it actually underlines how well resolved the controller already is. When you are down to debating a few millimetres of girth, it means the fundamentals of comfort and control are in a very good place.

Performance

My experience with Antigravity A1 actually started at IFA in Berlin in early September. Outside the exhibition halls, I slipped on the Vision goggles while an Antigravity staff member flew the drone. As the A1 lifted and the IFA venue unfolded beneath me in every direction, my legs actually shivered a little, even though I like heights. Being wrapped in a live 360-degree view felt less like watching a screen and more like I was flying. That first taste was magical, which made me both excited and nervous to test the A1 myself later. I had almost crashed a friend’s drone years ago and had not flown since, so my piloting skills were close to none.

That magic comes with a setup phase that feels more like preparing a small system than turning on a single gadget. The first time you connect the drone, pair the Vision goggles, update firmware, and learn the grip controls, it can feel overwhelming. There are menus on the drone, options in the goggles, and status lights to decode, and they all compete for your attention at once. After a few sessions, it settles into a rhythm, but that initial ramp is something you feel before you ever lift off on your own.

Mobile app – Tutorial

Packing the Antigravity A1 means finding room for the drone, the goggles and their separate battery, and the grip controller, often in a dedicated case or carefully arranged backpack. This nudges the whole experience away from “throw it in your bag just in case” and toward “plan a proper flying session.” The result is that the A1 feels more like a deliberate outing than a casual accessory.

On paper, the A1 looks quite sensible. With the standard battery, it weighs 249 g, staying just under the 250 g threshold that works nicely with regulations in many places, and it offers up to about 24 minutes of flight time in ideal conditions. Pop in the high-capacity battery, and the weight goes over 250 g, but Antigravity quotes up to around 39 minutes in the air. In reality, you get a solid single session per pack and will want spares if you plan to film seriously.

Flight behaviour is also adjustable. There are three flight modes, Cinematic, Normal, and Sport, so you can match how the drone responds to the scene you are flying in. Together with Free Motion and FPV, that gives the A1 enough range to feel relaxed and floaty when you want it, or more direct and energetic when the shot calls for it.

Vision goggles menu

On top of those basics, Antigravity adds automated tools like Sky Genie, Deep Track, and Sky Path. Sky Genie runs preprogrammed patterns that give you smooth, cinematic moves with minimal effort. Deep Track follows a chosen subject automatically, so you can focus more on timing than stick precision. Sky Path lets you record waypoints and have the A1 repeat the route on its own, which is handy for repeated takes or for nervous pilots.

Safety and workflow sit quietly in the background, which is exactly where they should be. Obstacle sensors on the top and bottom help protect the drone when you are close to structures or changes in elevation, and one click Return to Home acts as a psychological parachute. Knowing you can call the drone back with a single command does a lot to calm the nerves, especially if your last memory of drones involves a near crash.

In the United States, FAA rules treat goggle-only flying as beyond visual line of sight, so you are meant to have a visual observer watching the drone while you are wearing the headset. That nudges the A1 away from solo, spur-of-the-moment flights and toward planned sessions with someone beside you acting as spotter.

On the imaging side, the A1 records up to 8K 360-degree video, with lower resolutions unlocking higher frame rates when you want smoother motion. Footage can be stored on internal memory or a microSD card, and you can offload it either by removing the card or plugging in via USB-C, so it slips neatly into most existing editing habits.

Vision goggle screen recording

The real leap, though, comes from the goggles. They are the thing that truly sets A1 apart from almost every other consumer drone. Instead of glancing down at a phone, you step into an immersive 360-degree view that tracks your head and surrounds your vision. The drone feels less like a gadget in the sky and more like the spot your eyes and body are occupying. A double-tap on the side button flips you into passthrough view, so you can check your surroundings without pulling the headset off, and a tiny outer display mirrors a miniature version of the live feed for people nearby.

That small detail turned out to be important in Bali, where a group of local kids noticed the goggles and the moving image, wandered over, and suddenly found themselves taking turns “flying” above their own neighbourhood. Their gasps, laughter, and stunned silence were as memorable as the footage itself.

Mobile app

The magic continues even after you land. Because the A1 captures everything in 360 degrees, you can decide on your framing after the flight, which feels a bit like getting a second chance at every shot. Antigravity provides both mobile and desktop apps for this, so you can scrub through the sphere, mark angles, and carve out regular flat videos without having to nail every move in real time.

Desktop app

If you have used the Insta360 app, the Antigravity app will feel instantly familiar, with similar timelines, keyframes, and swipe-to-pan gestures. Even if you have not, it is straightforward to learn, helped by clear icons and responsive previews. There is also an AI auto-edit mode that can assemble quick cuts for you, which is handy when you just want something shareable without sinking an evening into manual reframing.

In the end, A1’s performance is not just about how long it stays in the air or how many modes it offers. Those pieces matter, and they are solid, but what you remember is the feeling of lifting off inside the goggles and the ease with which you can hand that experience to someone else. It still behaves like a well-mannered compact drone on the spec sheet, yet in use it edges closer to a shared flying machine, one that turns a patch of ground into a small, temporary viewing platform in the sky.

Sustainability

Antigravity does not make any big sustainability claims with the A1. There is no mention of recycled materials or lower-impact manufacturing, and the packaging and hardware feel very much in line with a typical consumer drone. This is not a product that sells itself on being green, and the company does not pretend otherwise. 

What you do get is some support for repairing rather than replacing. The A1 ships with spare propellers in the box, which encourages you to swap out damaged blades instead of treating minor knocks as the end of the drone. Antigravity also sells replacement lenses, so a scratched front element does not automatically become a total write-off. It is a small step, but it nudges the A1 slightly toward a longer, more fixable life rather than a purely disposable gadget.

Value

The standard Antigravity A1 bundle starts at 1599 USD, with Explorer and Infinity bundles stepping up battery count and accessories for longer, more serious flying. It is undeniably an expensive system, especially compared to regular camera drones that only give you a phone view.

At the same time, what you are really paying for is the experience of being inside the flight and reframing your shots after the fact. That sense of presence and flexibility is hard to put a number on, and for me, it nudges the A1 from “costly gadget” toward something closer to a priceless experience machine, if you know you will actually use it.

Verdict

Antigravity A1 is not the simplest drone in terms of equipment. You are managing goggles, a grip controller, multiple batteries, and in some places, you also need a visual observer if regulations require it. On top of that, the price sits firmly in premium territory. In return, you get a very different kind of flying. At first, setup and piloting can feel overwhelming, but it becomes natural surprisingly quickly, and there are plenty of automated features to help you keep the drone under control and capture cool shots. Combined with 360-degree capture and post-flight reframing in the Antigravity app, it feels less like operating hardware and more like stepping into a movable viewpoint.

If you just want straightforward aerial clips, the A1 is probably more than you need. If you care about immersive perspective and shared experiences, the mix of kit, software, and feeling it delivers starts to justify the cost. It is fussy, ambitious, and occasionally awkward, yet when you are inside that live 360-degree view, it really does reimagine what a drone can feel like to fly.

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Insta360 Just Brought Back Polaroid Printing, And It Mounts to Your Action Cam

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Any tech nerd can look at an action camera and know what it’s for. And then look at an instant camera and know that its use case, audience, and environment are completely different. There’s really no need for an action camera while taking group photos in front of the Eiffel Tower, and you never use an instant camera to capture your POV while dirt biking. Insta360 basically decided to change that.

Their latest Videography Bundle for the Ace Pro 2 features a variety of accessories, one of them being a snap-on printer that turns the action cam into a wide-angle Polaroid of sorts. Take a photo, select it, and print it out. Insta360 believes a camera is a camera is a camera, you don’t need three devices to do the same job. The Videography Bundle proves that. Heck, what’s next, a webcam attachment for the Ace Pro 2?

Designer: Insta360

The Pocket Printer is the accessory getting most of the attention, and for good reason. It’s a compact wireless module that connects to the Ace Pro 2 via Bluetooth and physically mounts to the camera using the new Xplorer Grip Pro. The quick-release system on the grip’s base lets you snap the printer on and off, so you’re not permanently committed to carrying extra bulk when you just want a lightweight action cam. When attached, the whole setup looks like someone strapped a chunky instant camera to a grip handle, which is essentially what it is, except this instant camera can also shoot 8K video and survive conditions that would destroy a vintage Polaroid.

The printer uses Zink technology, the same zero-ink printing process found in portable printers from Canon and Fujifilm. Prints come out at roughly 2×3 inches, dry to the touch, smudge-resistant, and durable enough to toss in a bag without worrying about them getting ruined. The paper itself contains dye crystals that activate when heat is applied, so there’s no ink cartridge to replace or messy film packs to load in the dark. You just buy Zink paper refills when you run out, pop them in, and keep printing. It’s a recurring cost similar to Instax film, but the prints themselves are more practical for everyday handling.

What makes this more interesting than just “action cam plus printer” is that Insta360 clearly designed the experience around actual photographic flexibility. The Ace Pro 2 captures 48MP stills and 8K video using a Leica co-engineered sensor, so the image quality you’re working with is leagues beyond what a traditional instant camera can produce. You can shoot a whole sequence, review the images on the camera’s flip screen, edit or crop if needed, and then choose which ones deserve to become physical prints. That selective printing capability is the key difference between this and a true Polaroid experience, where every shutter press costs you a piece of film whether the shot worked or not.

The $600 Videography Bundle includes more than just the printer. You get the Ace Pro 2 body, the Xplorer Grip Pro, the Pocket Printer, a flip screen hood for outdoor visibility, and a leather case that gives the whole setup a vintage aesthetic. Insta360 also launched the bundle alongside three new Leica co-engineered lenses and various ND filters, expanding the camera’s capabilities for serious videography work. The bundle is clearly trying to position the Ace Pro 2 as more than just an action cam, it’s a hybrid content creation tool that can handle extreme sports footage, casual street photography, and instant social prints from the same device.

Practicality questions remain. The Ace Pro 2 is waterproof and built for harsh conditions, but the printer module is likely only splash-resistant at best. That means you probably shouldn’t take it on a whitewater rafting trip while attached, though the camera itself would handle it fine. Battery life is another consideration, the printer has its own power supply and charges via USB-C, but adding another device to your charging routine might be annoying for people who value simplicity. The grip and printer combo also adds noticeable weight and bulk, transforming a pocketable action cam into something closer to a small handheld camcorder.

But maybe that’s the point. Insta360 isn’t trying to make the perfect streamlined action camera, they’re trying to make one camera that can adapt to wildly different shooting scenarios without requiring you to own separate devices. The cynic might say this is just accessory upselling, and sure, that’s part of it. But there’s something genuinely novel about a camera ecosystem that can switch from recording mountain bike footage to printing birthday party snapshots without even changing the core device. Whether people actually want that level of versatility in a single piece of hardware is a different question, but Insta360 is betting that at least some users would rather carry one adaptable camera than juggle multiple specialized ones. The Videography Bundle suggests they’re willing to push that concept pretty far, and the printer attachment is just the beginning of what could become a much weirder, more interesting product category.

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Insta360’s Design Chief Says Your ‘Perfect’ Product is Already Too Late

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Welcome to a new creative space at Yanko Design, where we explore the minds behind the products that shape our world. We are thrilled to introduce our new podcast, Design Mindset, your weekly dive into the philosophies and frameworks that drive modern innovation. Every Friday, host Radhika Seth sits down with leaders, creators, and thinkers who are redefining their industries. In our ninth episode, we explore a fascinating concept: the invisible grid. These are the seamless systems and technologies that, when designed perfectly, fade into the background, allowing pure creativity to flourish without constraint.

Our guest for this exploration is Edward Mao, a product design lead and the head of the integrated design department at Insta360. Edward brings a global perspective to his work, having studied and lived across the US, Sweden, and Schengen. He leads teams that build the very systems millions of creators depend on daily. Insta360 is known for its groundbreaking 360-degree cameras and action cameras, particularly its “invisible selfie stick” technology, which serves as a perfect metaphor for our conversation. The best systems, like the best tools, should empower the user to the point where they are no longer thinking about the tool itself, but only about what they want to create.

Click Here to learn more about Insta360’s latest X5 Camera

The Innovator’s Mindset: Redefining the Rules of the Game

What truly separates an innovator from a follower? According to Edward, it transcends simple risk-taking and digs deep into one’s fundamental mindset. An innovator is driven by a desire to establish entirely new rules, to create categories that never existed before, and to set the benchmarks that will define the market for years to come. Their focus is on impact and purpose, a relentless pursuit of a unique vision that pushes the entire industry forward. Edward explains that this path is inherently harder, but the reward is a profound sense of satisfaction that cannot be replicated. As he puts it, “innovating makes you unique… the payoff, you can get the sense of purpose, the sense of satisfaction, right? It’s way bigger than the comfort of staying safe.” It’s a conscious choice to author the next chapter rather than simply editing a page in someone else’s book.

Conversely, the follower’s path is often a strategic one, focused on efficiency and execution. They excel at optimizing proven formulas and competing on established metrics like price and features, a strategy that allows them to catch up quickly and capture market share. However, this approach has a natural limit. Edward notes that many successful creators and companies eventually hit a “growth ceiling,” a point where the old formulas no longer yield the same results. This is the critical juncture where the question shifts from “How can we do this better?” to “What’s next?” This moment of stagnation often becomes the catalyst for a radical shift in thinking, forcing even the most dedicated follower to consider the daunting but necessary leap into the unknown territory of innovation, where the potential for true differentiation lies.

The Disappearing Act: When Great Technology Becomes Invisible

The ultimate goal of great design is to render itself invisible. This is the central philosophy Edward champions, where technology becomes so intuitive and seamless that it dissolves into the background, leaving only the user and their creative vision. The tool ceases to be an object of focus and instead becomes a natural extension of the user’s intent. Insta360’s “invisible selfie stick” is the perfect embodiment of this principle. When a creator uses it, they are not thinking about the pole in their hand or the mechanics of the software erasing it. They are thinking about capturing an impossible, drone-like shot, fully immersed in the act of creation. This is the magic moment Edward strives for, when “the tech basically disappears and the creativity takes over… that’s when you know you have built something truly invisible.” The technology becomes a silent partner, empowering the user without ever demanding their attention.

Achieving this level of invisibility is not a matter of adding more features, but of ruthless simplification and a return to first principles. Instead of asking how to build a better version of an existing product, the innovator asks what the user’s ultimate goal is and what the absolute, unchangeable constraints are. This approach fundamentally reframes the problem, steering the design process away from incremental improvements and toward breakthrough solutions that address the core need. By focusing on the “why” behind the user’s actions, designers can build tools that anticipate needs and remove friction points before they are even noticed. This frees the creator’s mind from the burden of technical problem-solving, allowing them to dedicate all their cognitive energy to what truly matters: storytelling, expression, and bringing their unique vision to life.

Paying the ‘Tuition’: The Unseen Investment of a Pioneer

Embarking on a path of true innovation is an expensive education, and as Edward suggests, the early struggles are the “tuition” paid for a future advantage that cannot be bought. Pioneering is a slow, arduous process, much like pushing a heavy flywheel. The initial effort is immense, with little visible momentum to show for it. These early phases are filled with setbacks, costly mistakes, and the constant feeling of pushing against inertia. However, this upfront investment in learning, testing, and overcoming unforeseen obstacles builds a deep well of experience-based knowledge. This hard-won wisdom becomes a strategic moat, a defensible asset that late-coming competitors cannot easily replicate. They may be able to copy the final product, but they cannot copy the years of struggle and learning that made it possible.

This pioneering journey is fueled by more than just resilience; it is powered by profound empathy. Edward emphasizes that the most insightful innovators are often their own most demanding users. They relentlessly stress-test their own creations in the messy, unpredictable real world, uncovering failure points and latent needs that would never surface in a controlled lab or a market research report. This hands-on process builds an intuitive understanding of the user experience. Furthermore, this journey requires a pragmatic acceptance of imperfection. The goal is not to launch a flawless product from day one. Instead, the strategy is to release a solid, valuable minimum viable product and then iterate relentlessly with the market. As Edward advises, “perfection comes later iteration by iteration i think it’s less scary that way.” In this model, the community of users becomes a collaborative partner in the design process, their feedback shaping the product’s evolution.

Beyond the Product: Why Sustainable Innovation Lives in Ecosystems

In today’s hyper-competitive market, a single breakthrough product is no longer enough to guarantee long-term success. A brilliant feature can be copied, a clever design can be replicated. True, durable advantage, as Edward argues, comes from building a comprehensive ecosystem around the product. This system of interconnected value is far more difficult for competitors to duplicate. For a company like Insta360, this means the camera itself is just the beginning. The real strength lies in the surrounding ecosystem: the intuitive editing software that simplifies complex workflows, the active user communities that provide support and inspiration, the extensive library of tutorials that flatten the learning curve, and the wide array of accessories that expand the product’s capabilities. This holistic approach creates a sticky, high-friction-to-exit experience that compounds the product’s value over time, turning customers into loyal advocates.

This powerful principle of ecosystem thinking is not just for large corporations; it is equally critical for individual creators striving to build a sustainable career. A viral video or a popular design is fleeting, easily lost in the endless stream of digital content. A career built on an ecosystem, however, is enduring. Edward advises creators to think beyond the next piece of content and instead focus on building systems around their work. This could manifest as developing mentorship programs to nurture emerging talent, creating collaborative workflows with other artists to cross-pollinate audiences, or productizing their expertise through workshops and digital assets. By building a network of value around their core creative output, they transform their work from a series of replaceable artifacts into a resilient, interconnected enterprise that can withstand the unpredictable shifts of trends and algorithms.

From Follower to Leader: A Practical Guide to Making the Leap

The transition from a follower to an innovator can feel like a terrifying leap into the abyss, especially when a proven formula is already paying the bills. The fear of abandoning what works is a powerful deterrent. However, Edward’s advice demystifies this process, transforming the reckless gamble into a series of calculated, manageable steps. The core principle is to de-risk innovation by starting small. Instead of betting the entire farm on an unproven idea, he advocates for experimenting on the periphery with “low-stakes side projects.” This approach allows a creator or a company to explore new technologies, test radical ideas, and build new skills without jeopardizing their main source of income or alienating their core audience. As he simply states, “start small always start small.” It’s a strategy of quiet evolution, building the future in the background while continuing to deliver consistency in the foreground.

To guide this process, Edward offers a practical three-part test to determine if an innovative idea is worth pursuing. First, can the concept be explained in a single, simple sentence? This is a test of clarity and focus, ensuring the idea isn’t convoluted. Second, does it create a unique experience that nothing else currently offers? This validates its potential for true market differentiation. And third, does it address common user complaints? This is the most crucial test, as it confirms that the innovation is solving a real, pre-existing problem, signaling a clear and unmet demand. By using this framework, innovation shifts from being a blind bet to a strategic, evidence-based pursuit. It encourages prototyping, running small user tests, and co-creating with the community, allowing the audience to help guide the direction of progress and ensuring that when you do finally push the boundaries, you bring them along with you.

To hear more about Edward’s work and his systematic approach to creativity, you can follow him at “designer mr mao” on red note and tiktok, or go check out how Insta360 is revolutionizing how we capture our world. Be sure to tune in to Design Mindset next Friday for another look into the minds shaping our creative world.

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