Introducing Flow 2 from Insta360: the evolution of the selfie stick for content creators

Once upon a time, there was the pole for taking photos, the selfie stick. There still is but it is now considered amateurish, a tool for last-minute tourists. The evolution are devices to which you connect your smartphone that stabilise the shot, automatically take in the subject and directly transmit the video to your channels. selfie sticks. They have many names, the simplest being gimbals for smartphones. Basically they are devices that use motors and sensors to stabilise the mobile phone on multiple axes (usually 3 axes: pan, tilt and roll). This allows for extremely smooth and vibration-free videos, even when walking or moving. There are not many of these around, but content creators have been using them for some time, especially when they are 'outdoors'.

One of the most popular is Insta360's Flow 2. The device looks like a simplified and cheaper version of the Flow 2 Pro gimbal. It is designed for smartphone shooters looking for a compact tool for stabilising videos, tracking moving subjects and recording without hands. Unlike the Pro model, the Flow 2 focuses on essential features with the aim of maintaining a low price. It costs 1499 euro.

Hardware-wise, Flow 2 is a folding gimbal with three-axis mechanical stabilisation. It integrates an extendable selfie stick and a built-in metal tripod. The battery has a claimed battery life of 10 hours and can be used to charge the smartphone while shooting. The exact weight and dimensions are not stated in the release, but the device is described as being portable in a pocket or backpack.

One of the distinguishing features is the quick start and connection system: thanks to the 'One-Tap NFC Shooting' function, compatible Android phones can directly access the Insta360 app's shooting interface with a single tap, without having to go through Bluetooth pairing. For those with an Android smartphone, there is also a quick start mode that automatically opens the smartphone camera when opening the gimbal.

The technological heart of the product is the upgraded version of the Deep Track 4.0 intelligent tracking system, which uses computer vision algorithms to follow subjects even when they are partially covered by objects or people. Group tracking is optimised to keep multiple subjects within the frame. The user can choose to activate tracking with automatic zoom, useful in situations such as group video calls or dynamic vlogs.