IDC: Global shipments of handheld smart cameras are expected to surge by 83% in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20% over the next five years.

According to the latest "Global Quarterly Handheld Smart Camera Market Tracking Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2025" released by International Data Corporation (IDC), the global shipment volume of handheld smart cameras in 2025 reached as high as 16.65 million units, a year-on-year increase of 83%. Sales revenue exceeded 46.1 billion RMB, an 86% increase year-on-year. IDC predicts that by 2030, the global handheld smart camera market size is expected to exceed 40 million units, with a five-year compound growth rate approaching 20%. In terms of the major competitive manufacturers in the global handheld smart camera market in 2025, DJI ranked first with a 62% market share in shipment volume, leading the market significantly with the release of competitive new products in the panorama camera and "thumb camera" (defined by IDC as detachable action cameras) areas, accelerating global expansion. Insta360 maintained its leading position in the global panorama camera and "thumb camera" markets, with the release of the detachable action camera Go Ultra and innovative game kits from the Ace series breaking into new user segments. GoPro faced significant challenges in both panorama and action camera fields under pressure from DJI and Insta360, with a noticeable contraction in shipment volume. Action Camera Market: In 2025, global action camera shipments exceeded 8 million units, a 61% year-on-year increase. DJI and Insta360 achieved good performance with their popular products, significantly increasing their market share in shipment volume, while GoPro faced strong competitive pressures. Among them, the detachable action camera, or "thumb camera," saw shipments of over 1.3 million units in 2025, with a significant growth rate. Insta360 maintained its leading position with first-mover advantage in this field, while DJI entered the market in the second half of the year with strong performance from its new product Osmo Nano. Gimbal Camera Market: In 2025, global gimbal camera shipments increased by over 100% year-on-year, with DJI having a significant advantage in this market. Handheld gimbal cameras accurately positioned for Vlog shooting scenes received wide acclaim and fervent pursuit from user groups. The Pocket has become synonymous with this market and attracted attention from different industry players. The market may witness new players and competitions in 2026. Panorama Camera Market: Global shipments exceeded 2.5 million units in 2025, a year-on-year growth of over 50%. Insta360 has been developing and maintaining its leading position in the panorama camera field for many years. DJI entered the panorama market in the second half of the year with the successful release of the Osmo 360, achieving significant growth in market share for the whole year. DJI: In 2025, global shipments exceeded 10 million units for the first time, with impressive performance across all product lines and a continuously expanding market leadership advantage. The gimbal camera Pocket 3 dominated a significant position in the segmented market with outstanding product performance and precise positioning; action camera shipments increased by over 150%, maintaining rapid growth through new product releases, continuous iterations, and effective market strategies. The Action 5 Pro quickly replaced the previous product, with the Action 6 released to drive global shipments, capturing nearly 50% of the market share in action camera shipments, surpassing the traditional giant GoPro by a wide margin. The "thumb camera" Osmo Nano, defined by IDC as detachable action camera, exceeded 600,000 shipments in just four months after its release, holding over 65% of the market share in the fourth quarter of 2025. Additionally, the company entered the panorama camera market with its flagship single product Osmo 360, capturing over 35% of the shipments in the fourth quarter of 2025. Insta360: In 2025, global shipments exceeded 3.4 million units (based on IDC research methodology, final results may vary based on official financial reports of listed companies). As a global leader in the panorama camera market, Insta360 achieved nearly 60% year-on-year growth in panorama camera shipments, holding over 65% of the shipments in the market, steadily increasing its competitiveness in overseas markets. In 2025, Insta360 completed the iteration of its flagship products: the flagship X5 was launched, while the X4 was simultaneously optimized in terms of pricing to strengthen its position in the mid-to-high-end market; by the end of the year, the Air series, a lightweight new product, performed well in the market below 2500 RMB. The main action camera Ace Pro2, with its flip screen and multiple filter design, combined with innovative street photography kits, received positive responses from consumers, with the wide-angle camera Ace series shipments increasing by over 200%, steadily improving its market competitiveness. In 2025, Insta360 maintained its leading position with over 50% of the shipments in the "thumb camera" market, with the Go 3S being a best-selling product. In the second half of the year, the company released a higher-configuration model, the Go Ultra, providing consumers with a more powerful shooting experience. Additionally, the company actively invested in research and development in new areas such as drones, gimbal cameras to seek new growth points. GoPro: Facing strong global competition from Chinese manufacturers, GoPro's global market continued to shrink, with weakening performance in terms of product hardware, software, channels, ecology, and regional presence. Despite slow iterations such as the release of the panorama camera Max2 and a low-priced, lightweight Action Lite Hero, the market response was tepid. The sales share in the Chinese market significantly contracted, prompting a shift to the European and American markets, where GoPro trailed behind its competitors. Looking back at the global handheld smart camera market in 2025 and anticipating future market developments, the following features emerge: 1. The market size and penetration rate still have ample room for growth Compared to the large sales volumes of mature smart terminal devices, the handheld smart camera market still has significant room for development in terms of market size and user penetration. With continuously improving user experience and gradually decreasing unit prices, IDC predicts that by 2030, the global handheld smart camera market size is expected to exceed 40 million units, with a five-year compound growth rate approaching 20%. 2. Supply chain faces challenges, short-term performance growth under pressure Memory prices have skyrocketed with no hope for short-term recovery. Handheld smart cameras have a higher proportion of memory costs compared to other smart devices with an average price below 2800 RMB, which may have a greater impact. Core manufacturers have stocked up on inventory extensively, with larger volumes giving them stronger bargaining power upstream, allowing them to partially absorb cost pressures. However, facing fierce market competition, their profit margins are squeezed, leading to performance pressure in 2026. 3. Camera manufacturers' image output software algorithms gradually show the strong becoming stronger, with smart editing becoming increasingly important for consumers Image stabilization, depth of field blur, HDR, night scene, noise reduction, and other image quality aspects, as well as post-video editing, depend on camera algorithms, manufacturer apps, or third-party software. Although traditional cameras and smartphones already have mature algorithms, they need to accumulate a large amount of user data in sports cameras and panorama cameras to drive algorithm and hardware compatibility, optimizing imaging effects. With the rapid expansion of the handheld smart camera market and a surge in user numbers, the algorithmic advantage of top manufacturers has become a core competitive strength. IDC believes that hardware innovation remains at the core of industry competition. Leading companies collaborate with upstream supply chains to develop custom CMOS chips, achieving technological breakthroughs in imaging parameters; adopting solutions with main control SoC plus independent AI chips can effectively enhance image quality, stabilization, noise reduction, and panoramic stitching capabilities. Currently, most action cameras adopt a wide-angle fixed aperture scheme, which is mature and reliable but lacks depth of field and blur capabilities. The introduction of variable aperture technology in the industry effectively addresses this limitation, gradually narrowing the gap with traditional imaging devices. Despite significant differences in shooting scenes between handheld smart cameras and traditional imaging devices, consumer demands for higher image quality remain strong, making image hardware upgrades a continued focus of industry competition.