Why GoPro Is Already Losing to China

We spent a day exploring China's camera industry, and it's clearer than ever there's a real innovation race happening here. I upgraded my Osmo 360 from Gen 1 to Gen 2 at the DJI Store in Grandview Mall, and while we were there, I went through DJI's full product lineup — cameras, microphones, and drones. Quick tip if you're a foreigner shopping in China: make sure you claim the 9% tax refund on eligible purchases — most visitors have no idea it exists. From there, we headed to Insta360 to compare. They're not really a drone company like DJI, but their camera lineup is genuinely competitive, and they've branched into some interesting extras — a selfie screen for phones and webcams built for live streaming. Having two strong companies compete like this is good news for consumers — better prices, faster innovation. Unlike GoPro, which started earlier but has fallen noticeably behind, DJI and Insta360 both build across multiple product categories instead of staying narrowly focused, and it shows in the quality. We also stopped by the Honor store to check out their new "robot phone" — a device with a built-in stabilizer, similar in concept to DJI and Insta360's pocket cameras. It's genuinely impressive engineering, even if not the most practical thing you'd carry daily. It reminded me of how different phones used to look 15 years ago, before everything converged into the same rectangular slab. Not every phone needs to look like this, but it's a good reminder that real innovation is still happening. While we were there, we caught something completely unplanned — a Chinese customer loudly complaining about Honor's build quality, right on the spot. Genuinely unstaged, and it says something real about how tough the competition is in this market. 📍 Grandview Mall, Guangzhou #dji #insta360 #djidrone #camera #dji360 #djiglobal #insta360camera #djicamera #china #chinavlog #chinatravel #chinatech #chinatechnology #technology #tech More China walk-and-talks:    • Walk & Talk with Xim   🪮Yao Secret - Xim's own hair care brand: https://yaosecret.com/collections/all... ☕Ko-Fi – Support Xim if you enjoy his work: https://ko-fi.com/ximtopian 🚶🏻‍♂️‍➡️TikTok – Daily engaging IRL live streams:   / ximtopian   🗣️Discord – Join our lovely community:   / discord   🔗 Linktree – Find Xim's socials: https://linktr.ee/ximtopian