Insta360's inaugural drone product, the Yingling A1, which was launched to challenge industry leader DJI, has found itself embroiled in controversy over allegedly lukewarm sales.
Insta360 founder Liu Jingkang provided data indicating that the Yingling A1 generated over 30 million yuan in sales within 48 hours in China. However, an industry insider bluntly stated that with an average unit price of 7,000-8,000 yuan, sales of 30 million yuan translate to only 3,000-4,000 units sold, remarking that "the sales figures are indeed quite modest."
As of January 4th, the Yingling A1 ranked 27th on JD.com's Top 30 Hot-Selling Drones list. Furthermore, it was completely absent from the Top 20 list on Tmall's drone best-sellers chart.
Over the past month, Liu Jingkang has made numerous statements across various platforms, alleging "abnormal competition" from DJI and vowing to "fight to the end, even unto death."
In reality, Insta360 has been grappling with a situation of increasing revenue without corresponding profit growth for several consecutive quarters. The company's net profit for the third quarter of 2025 even experienced a significant year-on-year decline of 15.9%.
The new product, criticized for its cold reception, failed to make the Top 20 lists on JD.com and Tmall.
Insta360, a company long focused on panoramic cameras, officially entered the drone market in December.
One month ago, the Yingling A1, the first panoramic drone co-developed by Insta360 and a third party, was officially launched. Its starting price was 7,999 yuan, reduced to 6,799 yuan after a national subsidy. The company claims the Yingling A1 is the first drone to integrate 360° panoramic imaging, an immersive flight perspective, and motion-sensing controls within a single system.
However, the Yingling A1, upon which Insta360 had pinned high hopes, immediately faced rumors of poor sales after its launch. Some media outlets, citing sales data from major domestic e-commerce platforms, reported that the Yingling A1's sales performance was not ideal.
An industry professional commented on this, noting that with an average price of 7,000-8,000 yuan, sales revenue of over 30 million yuan suggests approximately 3,000-4,000 units were sold. "The sales are indeed very ordinary, especially considering the premise of extensive promotional videos by numerous self-media accounts."
A review of major domestic e-commerce platforms showed that, as of January 4th, the Yingling JD.com Self-operated Flagship Store page indicated "500+ sold," while the Yingling JD.com Official Flagship Store showed "400+ sold." The Yingling Tmall Official Flagship Store page displayed "400+ sold," and the Yingling Douyin Official Flagship Store showed "100+ sold."
Additionally, as of January 4th, on JD.com's Top 30 Hot-Selling Drones list, the Yingling A1 ranked 27th, a list predominantly occupied by DJI products. On Tmall's drone best-sellers chart, the Yingling A1 was nowhere to be found within the Top 20.
Overall, as a newly launched, relatively high-priced product, the Yingling A1's sales performance might not be considered terrible. However, when compared to competitors like the dominant drone brand DJI, the overall gap remains substantial.
Furthermore, as Insta360's first drone product, some users have reported issues related to image quality and video transmission after purchase. One JD.com user stated, "I couldn't wait to open it, charge it, and take it for a flight in the afternoon, but the image quality is disappointing—it feels worse than the MINI 4K I played with before." Another Tmall user commented, "The video transmission is garbage; it cuts out with just a little obstruction. Although it auto-returns, it crashed during the auto-return process after just a few flights."
In response to user feedback on image quality, Yingling customer service explained that panoramic cameras capture 360° imagery, with pixels distributed across a virtual sphere. Therefore, when editing or viewing footage, users see only a portion of this sphere, resulting in a resolution lower than the total panoramic resolution, which is normal. Regarding transmission issues,客服 stated that the signal is affected by obstacles like buildings, mountains, trees, or electromagnetic interference sources (e.g., power substations, radar stations, communication base stations, broadcast towers) and recommended avoiding use in densely built-up or signal-interfering areas.
Is Liu Jingkang anxious? He has repeatedly claimed attacks from DJI.
Notably, Insta360 founder Liu Jingkang attributed the controversy over the Yingling A1's sales performance to attacks from DJI.
In an internal letter dated December 8th, he mentioned that the Yingling A1 faced exclusive pressure regarding its supply chain and sales channels. "This is not the first time we have faced such unfair exclusive tactics. These unconventional, intensive attacks恰恰 indicate that what we are doing has indeed shaken the existing landscape."
Furthermore, he frequently voiced his concerns on social media. On December 12th, he shared an article titled "The Supply Chain War Between DJI and Insta360" on his WeChat Moments, stating, "This is just one of five types of abnormal competition we are facing. We will fight to the end, even unto death."
On December 22nd, Insta360's legal department issued a statement claiming that within two weeks of the Yingling drone's launch, over 2,500 pieces of false and malicious content had集中 emerged online, with related evidence already secured and reported to authorities. Liu Jingkang subsequently reposted Insta360's statement soliciting clues about "black PR" on his Moments, commenting, "Did a quick count; we've only sent 6 or 7 people to jail in the past 3 years.估计 2026 will see a sharp increase."
However, regarding Liu Jingkang's claims of being attacked by DJI, DJI has not publicly responded.
But DJI has not been completely inactive. On July 28, 2025, the Yingling brand was officially announced. Merely three days later, DJI released the Osmo 360 panoramic camera, a move perceived as an incursion into Insta360's core business territory.
Beyond accusing DJI of attacks, Liu Jingkang has also repeatedly made seemingly sarcastic remarks ("阴阳") about DJI and its founder, Frank Wang. In October 2025, when DJI faced questions over price cuts for multiple products, Liu Jingkang suggested that DJI's降价 might be partly related to Insta360 and offered users a 100-yuan no-threshold voucher.
In late October 2025, Liu Jingkang also mentioned DJI founder Frank Wang in his WeChat Moments: "Those who please themselves are invincible, sincere respect. The unparalleled king who has achieved monopoly in consumer electronics and goods, unprecedented and likely to remain so."
In the view of industry insiders, this statement, framed as a tribute, was actually sarcastic. This post-90s founder is not only skilled in technology but also very adept at marketing, though he has also stumbled due to marketing missteps. In August, on the day the Yingling A1 began public testing, Liu Jingkang was criticized for ostentatious wealth after scattering 200,000 yuan in cash during an internal team-building event, sparking market controversy. Subsequently, Insta360 had to issue a public apology, stating that it had educated employees and management to ensure their言行 aligned with the public image expected of a listed company.
In a recent interview with Luo Yonghao, Liu Jingkang apologized again, saying, "It was indeed wrong. Emotionally, it hurt a lot of people, and I have reflected on it myself. Now, instead of scattering cash, I give out red envelopes."
Stuck in a cycle of revenue growth without profit increase for multiple quarters.
To fund its entry into the drone market, Insta360 has faced a situation of rising revenue without corresponding profit growth for several quarters.
In the first quarter of 2025, Insta360's revenue was 1.355 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.7%. However, net profit was 176 million yuan, down 2.5% year-on-year. For the first half of 2025, Insta360's operating revenue was 3.671 billion yuan, up 51.17% year-on-year, while net profit was 520 million yuan, showing a mere 0.25% increase.
This trend continued into the third quarter of 2025.
For the first three quarters combined, Insta360's operating revenue reached 6.611 billion yuan, a significant 67.18% year-on-year increase. However, net profit was 792 million yuan, representing a 5.95% decrease compared to the same period last year. Looking solely at the third quarter, revenue was 2.940 billion yuan, surging 92.64% year-on-year, but net profit fell 15.9% to 272 million yuan.
Insta360 explained that the company places high importance on R&D investment and business diversification, with substantial amounts allocated to custom chip development and strategic projects. It claimed that if the impact of these investments were excluded, profit indicators for the third quarter of 2025 would have shown improvement compared to the same period last year.
Specifically, in the first three quarters of 2025, both Insta360's sales expenses and R&D expenses grew significantly, outpacing revenue growth. Sales expenses soared 102.60% year-on-year to 1.130 billion yuan, while R&D expenses jumped 127.02% year-on-year to 1.085 billion yuan.
During an earnings conference call, Liu Jingkang also addressed the issue of profit not keeping pace with revenue. He stated that the company views net profit more as a dynamic variable influenced by factors like R&D investment, marketing节奏, and product category布局. He emphasized the company's commitment to long-term missions while rationally managing short-term operational metrics. Under the strategic framework of "doing what is right in the long term," the company explicitly considers some short-term expenses as necessary investments for future competitiveness. Therefore, he characterized this phenomenon as a阶段性 feature of proactive strategic adjustment, rather than passively being trapped in an "increasing revenue without increasing profit" dilemma.
However, Insta360's investment in the drone sector has just begun. Beyond the co-developed panoramic drone brand Yingling, the company also plans to launch its own drone brand. This implies that Insta360's net profit will likely face continued downward pressure for some time to come.
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