DJI Is Still Keeping Most of the Osmo Pocket 4P Details Under Wraps

The Osmo Pocket 4P is starting to get more visible online as DJI is putting it into the hands of reviewers and content creators this week. That said, most of this camera is still a mystery — and that’s the way DJI wants it.

The launch strategy of the Pocket 4P has been unusual and, frankly, disjointed. First, DJI launched the Osmo Pocket 4 in April and immediately spilled the beans on its dual-camera alternative the same day through a photo on its website. It’s hard not to think that revealing a higher-end version of the handheld camera the same day as the highly anticipated successor launched may have hurt sales. In a time when money is tight, users are going to want to make more careful purchasing decisions.

But that wasn’t the “official” launch. That wouldn’t come until a month later when DJI showcased it at the “Vision Unveiled” event at Cannes. But even then, no real information about the camera was shared. All anyone knew was that it was handheld, that it had a lot in common as far as design with the Osmo Pocket 4, and that it had two cameras.

Now, nearly another month has gone by, and DJI is still holding almost all information about the camera back.

PetaPixel has its hands on a unit, but is being asked to only specifically reveal two facts about the Osmo Pocket 4P: it comes equipped with DJI D-Log2 and has a promised 17 stops of dynamic range. Feel free to glean any other details from the photos of the device, but that’s the most we’re allowed to say explicitly.

Looking around online, you’ll find a similar story: those with one in hand can show you what it looks like and talk about D-Log2 and dynamic range, but that’s all. Mentioning what it can capture is the extent of it, as reviewers aren’t allowed to share footage taken with the Pocket 4P yet.

It’s still unclear when actual information about this device will be shareable. DJI hasn’t provided a launch time, nor has it revealed a price for the Pocket 4P either. So, despite the camera getting into the hands of more creators around the world, what we actually know about this camera hasn’t changed much over the last two months.

PetaPixel‘s Take

Taking a step back and looking at a wider view of the industry, there is a pretty obvious reason why DJI is playing the Pocket 4P launch the way it is: Insta360.

The Insta360 Luna has also been the subject of a slow, drip-feed rollout over the last couple of months since its reveal at NAB in Las Vegas. It feels like both companies are engaged in a global game of chicken. Even though neither company can make any changes to the actual hardware of the devices at this point, both can flex accessories and pricing to beat out the other. Whoever reveals the camera first will very likely get undercut by the other. DJI typically has no problem taking a loss on a product to take out a competitor, but this time it faces Insta360, which likely feels that it can finally do the same. It’s the first stalemate DJI has ever encountered.

Despite this, it’ll likely be Insta360 that blinks first.

Because DJI can’t sell the Osmo Pocket 4P (or the original Osmo Pocket 4) in the United States, Insta360 already has a major advantage. With one of the most profitable regions in hand, Insta360 will likely feel as though it can fully reveal its dual-camera Luna before DJI does. Even if DJI then comes in cheaper, it won’t matter in one of the most important sales regions on the planet. Insta360 can then dynamically adjust its pricing in other regions to keep DJI on its back foot.

This is a war between two corporations, and the result isn’t exactly a smooth or pretty product launch. It’s annoying as a spectator to watch this all unfold, but it’s very likely that this whole situation will come to a head before the dog days of summer.

Image credits: Photos by Jordan Drake for PetaPixel