Wednesday, 24 September, 2025 UTC
Summary
GoPro Max2 is an upgrade of the six-year-old handheld 360° camera to take on the competition from Insta360 and DJI.
The original GoPro Max was released in 2019,, and given its 5.6K 30fps recording, it has been significantly leapfrogged by competition from Chinese startup Insta360 and drone maker DJI.
Now, GoPro is fighting back.
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GoPro Max2 retains the same $500 price as the original, slightly undercutting the $550 price of Insta360 and DJI Osmo 360.
The camera offers the same 8K 30fps recording capability as Insta360 X5. But GoPro says that when its competitors boast "8K", they're counting overlapping or unusable pixels between the two lenses, while Max2 records "true 8K", around 20% more pixels.
"Max2 is the only True 8K 360 video capture camera on the market", GoPro claims.
It also supports recording at up to 300Mbps bitrate, when enabling advanced mode, almost twice as high as Insta360 and DJI.
Like Insta360 X5, GoPro Max2 has user-replaceable lenses, meaning if you damage them you won't have to send the camera in for repair.
| GoPro Max2 |
DJI Osmo 360 |
Insta360 X5 |
|
| 360° Video | 8K 30fps 5.6K 60fps 4K 100fps |
8K 50fps 6K 60fps 4K 100fps |
8K 30fps 5.7K 60fps 4K 120fps |
| Bitrate | 300Mbps | 170Mbps | 180Mbps |
| 10-bit HDR | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| 360° Photos | 29MP | 120MP | 72MP |
| Sensor Size | 1/2.3-inch | 1/1.1-inch | 1/1.28-inch |
| Aperture | F1.8 | F1.9 | F2.0 |
| Replaceable Lenses |
✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Battery Life | 66 minutes | 110 minutes | 88 minutes |
However, Max2 doesn't have the 8K 50fps recording capability of DJI Osmo 360, and it captures lower resolution photos than either of its main competitors.
It also has a smaller sensor compared to its competition, which means it should perform worse in low light. The aperture is slightly wider, so slightly more light should get in, but the sensor itself will capture less.
Further, it has a shorter stated battery life, at just over an hour of 8K recording, compared to around 90 minutes for its competition.
GoPro Max2GoPro Max2 launches on September 30 for $500, undercutting its competitors by $50.
None of the three companies yet offer 8K 60fps recording, but we expect that to be the next step, arriving in 2026 models. That's the current standard for professional productions, but current cameras cost tens of thousands of dollars.