DJI Osmo Action 6 borrows a coveted iPhone 17 camera feature before Android phones could

DJI, a household name for drone and action cameras, has announced its newest 4K action camera for the global markets. The Osmo Action 6 introduces a few changes over the Osmo 5 Pro, and two of those changes stand out in particular. First, the Action 6 features a new 1/1.1-inch sensor, as opposed to the 1/1.3-inch sensor found on the Action 5 Pro and the Action 4.

Despite the minor increase in sensor size, the more significant change is the shape. Action 6 now uses a square CMOS sensor, rather than a traditional one with a 4:3 aspect ratio, and that allows for more flexibility in terms of shooting. That means you don’t have to worry about shooting in portrait or landscape mode and can defer the decision until you edit the clips.

Apple recently adopted a similar square sensor for the front camera on the iPhone 17 series, enabling different field of view options for selfies. Notably, DJI’s Osmo360 used a square sensor before the iPhone 17, although GoPro has offered nearly square 8:7 sensors on its Hero 11 and Hero 12 action cameras for the same utility.

DJI insists that the larger sensor also allows for more light. However, it may not necessarily translate to the same video quality because shooting in traditional aspect ratios, such as 16:9, would crop into the sensor’s area.

The other significant change we witness here is the addition of variable aperture, supporting sizes between f/2.0 and f/4.0, as opposed to the Action 5 Pro’s fixed f/2.8 aperture. While the larger f/2.0 aperture would allow more light and a shallow depth of field, the smaller f/4.0 opening would enable focusing on subjects that are up close to the camera.

DJI adds that the Macro Lens can further reduce the focal distance from 35cm (using the Action 5 Pro) to just 11cm. Meanwhile, an FOV Boost Lens attachment expands the field of view from the default 155º to 182º.

There hasn’t been a significant change in terms of other aspects for the video, as the Action 6 still allows 4K video recording at up to 120fps — although the video is cropped at 4:3. Like the older Osmo Action cameras, the new Action 6 also allows shooting in 10-bit LOG (called D-LOG by DJI), which allows preserving natural colors or applying LUTs while editing. You can also preview these changes before you start recording.

For stabilization, the Osmo Action 6 still uses the same RockSteady 3.0 technology, but it has now been expanded to 4K@60fps mode, rather than being limited to 2.7K on the Action 5 Pro. Additional features introduced by Action 6 include 2x lossless zoom and portrait mode.

Besides these changes, the Osmo Action 6 also receives a subtle upgrade in terms of onboard storage, now offering 50GB instead of the previously 47 GB. Like other DJI cameras, the Osmo Action 3 easily pairs with DJI’s microphones, allowing for simultaneous recording from two sources. Even when a dedicated microphone is not in use, the three-mic array enables rich, stereo audio recording. Additionally, the DJI is

Despite sharing these details about its new action camera, DJI has omitted two crucial aspects. First is the price, which remains concealed at the time of writing. In China, where the Action 6 was recently launched, it starts at CNY 2,998 (~$422), though we don’t expect prices to convert directly.

The second is availability, as DJI says it has yet to decide on the availability for the US. We’ll add those details once we get a clearer picture from the company.