China Now Owns the Action Cam Market the US Once Dominated
The action camera market, once almost entirely owned by the American company GoPro, is now dominated by Chinese companies like DJI and Insta360, which together hold nearly 90% of the market share in Japan.
As reported by Digicame-Info, Japanese retail analyst BCN+R recently published a story on GoPro’s plummeting market share, remarking on the company’s nearly continual loss of share to its Chinese rivals.
“GoPro, once synonymous with action cameras, has seen its market share plummet,” writes Ichiro Michikoshi. Back in May 2023, GoPro made over three-quarters of all action cameras sold in Japan. However, shortly thereafter, it lost its top spot to DJI, and then Insta360 took over second place. Speaking of GoPro and Insta360, the two companies remain in a legal dispute over patents.
Precisely how and why this happened is a matter of some debate, but BCN+R believes that GoPro’s failed drone business, which launched in 2016 and was killed off just a couple of years later, is a key factor. GoPro’s attempt to capitalize on a growing drone market required significant capital and investment, which BCN+R believes splintered the company’s overall R&D, something it has not yet fully recovered from.
In the meantime, as GoPro struggled to rebound from its expensive drone experiment, DJI and Insta360 invested heavily in new camera technology across their entire product lineups, including stabilization, image sensor, processing, apps, and more. Insta360 has even gone all-in on image quality by working alongside Leica for its action cameras.
While DJI and Insta360 continually release new action cameras with highlight-grabbing features, GoPro’s pace of innovation has trailed far behind the Chinese competition. GoPro does have some great cameras still, including the recent 8K GoPro Max2 360° and the impressive GoPro Hero13 Black released last year.
This is a tough time for GoPro, too, as the action camera market is growing at an incredible rate. BCN+R notes that at least in Japan, year-over-year sales have increased by double digits nearly every month over the past few years. For example, last month, sales were up about 161% while the total value of sold cameras was up 173%. So not only are DJI and Insta360 grabbing larger and larger pieces of the pie, the pie itself is growing at an impressive clip. GoPro is being left in the dust. But that can change fast; the company could absolutely rebound in a big way with an exceptional product launch or two in 2026.
Image credits: Header photo created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos. Additional images by Insta360, GoPro, and DJI.
