Insta360 launches a cheaper version of its wireless mics with color screens

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

Following the launch of its wireless Mic Pro system last May featuring built-in color E Ink screens for custom branding and an array of three microphones to emulate different pickup patterns, Insta360 has announced a cheaper alternative that skips a few features many content creators might not miss.

The new Insta360 Mic sits between the company’s Mic Pro and the budget-friendly Mic Air, which uses much smaller screenless transmitters. While the Mic Pro is priced at $329.99 for a kit that includes two microphone transmitters, one wireless receiver, and a charging case, the Insta360 Mic costs $249.99 for a similar bundle. Insta360 sells the microphones individually since they can directly connect to smartphones and many of the company’s cameras (including the X6, X5, and Luna Ultra) over Bluetooth. The Mic Pro transmitter on its own costs $99.99, while the new Insta360 Mic is $79.99.

The design and functionality of the Insta360 Mic is very similar to the Mic Pro. It has the same 1.22-inch, six-color E Ink display on the front that can be customized with logos, photos, or solid colors to help it blend into clothing. The transmitters have a range of up to 400 meters when paired with Insta360’s wireless receiver that can connect to professional cameras, laptops, or other recording devices using a built-in USB-C connector. The Insta360 Mic also features AI-powered noise canceling to reduce background noise and automatic gain control modes that adjust recording levels on the fly to help prevent clipping if things suddenly get too loud.

So what are you missing out on when choosing the cheaper Insta360 Mic? The biggest downgrade is that the transmitters have just a single mic instead of the triple mic array in the Mic Pro, so you cannot select from multiple pickup patterns; omnidirectional is the only option. However, that simplified hardware makes the transmitters slightly lighter than the Mic Pro’s — 19.4 grams compared with 19.7 grams — and battery life increases from up to 10 hours to up to 13 hours, which can be boosted to 34 hours with the charging case.

The Mic Pro’s transmitters come with 32GB of built-in storage for creating a backup recording. The Insta360 Mic transmitters don’t have any built-in storage, but you can enable backup recording by sticking a microSD card inside each one. As with the lighter design and improved battery life, the microSD option also feels like an upgrade for the Insta360 Mic if you want more than 32GB of storage.

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