The $159.99 Insta360 Flow 2 Pro gimbal makes it easy to capture cinema-quality video from your phone. All the essential controls are arranged intuitively, the app is feature-rich, tutorials help you learn advanced techniques, and the subject tracking is excellent. We really like the built-in extension rod and tripod for those shots when you need the extra help. As solid as the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro is, the $149 DJI Osmo Mobile 7P offers many of the same features and performance, but it includes an AI tracking module that makes it our Editors' Choice winner for smartphone gimbals.

Design: Portable, Extendable, and Lockable

The Insta360 Flow 2 Pro retains the plastic build of its predecessor, the Insta360 Flow ($99), but it has a better-designed handle. It's more comfortable to hold, and that's especially noticeable over extended shooting sessions. The device feels light but sturdy, and it comes in two colors: Stone Gray or Summit White.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The gimbal measures 7.02 by 3.86 by 1.45 inches (HWD) folded and 11.11 by 4.77 by 2.13 inches unfolded, and it weighs 12.6 ounces. The separate magnetic phone clamp weighs 0.9 ounce, for a total of 13.5 ounces. It is larger and lighter than the Insta360 Flow Pro, which measures 6.38 by 3.13 by 1.42 inches folded and 10.61 by 2.90 by 2.75 inches unfolded, and weighs 14.0 ounces with its phone holder attached.

Meanwhile, the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P is slightly larger than the Flow 2 Pro. It measures 7.48 by 3.74 by 1.81 inches folded, 11.34 by 4.21 by 3.78 inches unfolded, and weighs 12.98 ounces with its magnetic phone clamp attached.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

An embedded telescoping rod gives the Flow 2 Pro an additional 8.26 inches of reach—something the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P doesn't have—and a joint at the top of the rod lets you position your phone at more angles than were available to the first-generation version. A circular tracking light indicator sits above the rod joint.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The base houses a retractable tripod, so you always have one at the ready, and has a standard 1/4-20 connector for accessories. Insta360 put a small mirror on the gimbal arm that faces your subject so they can see what you’re shooting. Conversely, you can use the mirror to frame yourself when shooting selfie footage with your phone's rear cameras, which tend to record sharper video than front-facing cameras.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

When folded, a small tab on the arm nests in a slot on the handle, keeping everything secure so the gimbal doesn't flop around in its bag, for instance. It's a small but smart feature that demonstrates how carefully Insta360 considered the gimbal's design.

Controls: Everything at Your Fingertips

Apart from the trigger, all of the controls are accessible using your thumb. The controls consist of a ring with four buttons: shutter, mode, switch, and C button (which activates 360-degree capture) with a movable joystick in the middle. The ring has markings to denote which button is which, but they are hard to see, and the ring doesn't have any textured areas to help. It's best to memorize which button does what.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The surface of the control ring responds to rotating gestures. An extended, halfway clockwise motion switches shooting modes, a similar long halfway counterclockwise motion switches to the previous mode, a short clockwise motion fast-forwards through the video, and a short counterclockwise motion rewinds it. It takes a little time to master these motions, but it’s worth the effort.

Another textured wheel around the joystick assembly rotates and zooms the camera. It turns clockwise or counterclockwise, but only to a point, because a built-in stop limits its range.

The rear trigger lets you wake up the gimbal with a single tap, recenter the gimbal with a double tap, and switch between cameras with a triple tap. In testing, all of the controls performed well.

Phone Clamp: Wide Compatibility

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The Flow 2 Pro’s clamp expands to hold phones ranging from 0.27 to 0.39 inches thick and 2.52 to 3.31 inches wide. It can support phones that weigh between 4.64 ounces and 10.56 ounces. That means you can use the gimbal with large phones like an Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (6.40 by 3.06 by 0.32 inches, 7.99 ounces) or smaller ones Samsung Galaxy S25 (5.78 by 2.78 by 0.28, 5.71 ounces).

Like the Osmo Mobile 7P, the Flow 2 Pro’s clamp relies on a strong magnet to secure your phone to the gimbal. A soft coating on the inner surface of the clamp protects your phone from scratches. The clamp won't press the buttons on the side of your phone, but they can be hard to reach when using the gimbal.

Battery Life: Should Survive Long Shoots

The gimbal is powered by a 1,100mAh cell. Insta360 claims a battery life of 10 hours and says it takes two hours to fully charge the gimbal using its USB-C port. Thankfully, you can operate the gimbal while charging. A USB-C output near the phone-clamp magnet lets you use the gimbal's battery to power your phone or accessories.

Setup: Comprehensive and Educational

The box has a setup guide printed directly on it, so it’s the first thing you see when you open the package. It explains how to download the gimbal’s free app (available for Android and iOS), assemble the gimbal, fold it for storage, and use the various shooting positions.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

When you open the Insta360 app for the first time, it walks you through an optional tutorial that explains the basics well. The app’s main menu sits at the bottom, with tabs for Explore (which contains shooting guides and tutorials), Album, Camera, Edit, and Me (with device information and help). You’ll spend most of your time in Insta360’s camera app, which is information-dense but well laid out. There are settings for resolution, frame rate, gesture recognition, and more.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The app also offers a prompter mode if you’d like to read a script while shooting. It works well, though viewers may notice your eyes reading from your phone's screen instead of looking at the camera.

Recording: Smooth, Steadicam-Like Video

The gimbal automatically turns on when you unfold it. After the initial setup, the gimbal and your phone automatically reconnect so you can get right to shooting. If you have an issue connecting, tapping the Bluetooth symbol prompts the gimbal to repair with the last connected phone, though I didn’t experience any issues in testing.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

I used a Samsung Galaxy S24 and an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max with the Flow 2 Pro. Both phones feature optical image stabilization (OIS) via their rear cameras, but not their front-facing ones. I ran around with each phone, both with and without the Flow 2 Pro. The gimbal did an excellent job of substantially removing hand shake and improving smoothness compared with the phones' built-in OIS. The difference is even more pronounced with video from the front-facing cameras. Without the gimbal, footage looks shaky and jarring. With it, footage is more stable, though I'd still use the rear cameras when possible for the best possible results.

As long as you set up the Flow 2 Pro properly, it’s really simple to capture good footage out of the box. With a little practice running through the tutorials, you can create beautifully smooth videos with advanced motions.

Tracking: Reliable and Persistent

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The Insta360’s tracking feature performs fantastically. Once you turn tracking on—either with a gesture or a tap—the Flow 2 Pro locks on to your subject and the tracking indicator light turns green. If your subject steps out of the frame for a few seconds, the Flow 2 Pro can reacquire them once they reenter the frame. For comparison, the Osmo Mobile 7P’s native app struggles to recognize subjects after they are obscured, although its external AI tracker module handles that scenario better.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The Live mode lets you use your phone's native video app rather than Insta360's and keeps you trackable. This feature works well. You select the mode, open the app you want to use, frame your subject, and tap the rear trigger. The gimbal moves the phone in a cross pattern to scan the surroundings, then chimes and lights up green to confirm it’s tracking your subject. Once it locks onto you, you’re good to go unless you quickly move out of frame. The Insta360 app performs better at recognizing returning subjects than Live mode does.

The Insta360 app integrates Apple’s DockKit, which gives it some degree of control over more than 200 iOS apps, including Apple’s default Camera app. I found that tapping the record button worked in the Camera app, but I couldn’t do much else, like zoom in or out. It’s a welcome bonus for iOS users, though it would be great to see similar support for Android.

Insta360 also sells an AI tracking module separately for $39.99, or as part of a $179.99 bundle that promises enhanced tracking. I didn’t test this accessory. The Osmo Mobile 7P includes DJI's AI tracker at no extra cost.

Extras: A Remote Control

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The smartphone remote control mode also stands out. Tap the icon that shows two phones, and the Insta360 app displays a QR code. Scan it with a second device to open a web-based remote control that replicates the Insta360’s camera interface, including live video. The second phone does not need the Insta360 app installed, either. The feature works with little latency, even at a distance of 35 feet.