Insta360 Wave AI Speakerphone Review

With the Insta360 Wave, the company is branching out with a focus on AI-powered collaborative tools. The Wave is a speakerphone that leverages the power of AI, aimed at remote workers and creators who can find value in a single device that handles meetings and podcasts, all while recording and even transcribing what it hears. Additionally, it pairs with the existing Link 2 to become an even more versatile solution. It’s an interesting direction for Insta360 to move in, so how has it fared during my testing? Here is my Insta360 Wave review.

Sounds impressive

Jumping into the specs rundown, there are a few things worth highlighting. First, the “3D” 8-mic array is noteworthy in its effectiveness. It can pick up voices as far as 16ft away, which is great if the Wave is being used for large conference calls. However, the mic also has a super-focused pickup pattern which is great for solo speakers looking to get great audio quality. 

For noisy environments, the Wave cancels out unwanted sounds effectively, which I tested using my large office fan. I usually have to turn this off entirely for meetings, but the Wave’s noise cancellation was so impressive that I could keep it on the lower setting. If you work in a home office without air conditioning, this could be very useful during the summer months. 

Grab it and go

Also worthy of highlighting is the 32 GB of built-in storage. This means you can take the Wave with you on the go, record a meeting directly to the device, and then transfer it later. Recordings can then be summarized by the AI or, if users have questions about particular parts of what was discussed, the AI can answer specific queries.

The Insta360 Wave stands out with its futuristic, but not over-the-top, design. It has a rising motion that places the microphone array higher above the table, to better pick up desired sounds. The small touchscreen display is a nice touch, too, allowing for the quick toggling of settings while also providing visual feedback of recordings. 

Audio quality is surprisingly good, even when speaking a few feet away. It’s better than I expected and I’m happy to confirm that solo users can bring the mic close for almost broadcast quality sound. I think you could just about get away with using this for a podcast. The speaker quality is good, too. 

AI is here

The AI functions are also impressive, with transcriptions appearing quickly. Multiple speakers are labelled clearly and, in my multiple uses, it has been very accurate, even when there are people whose voices sound quite similar. The AI summaries are good, too, though I would note how a subscription will be offered for more extensive use of this feature.

The AI transcriptions, while quick to appear and with accurate labelling of multiple speakers, can fail to recognise more uncommon or technical words. I used the Wave in a meeting where we were discussing various topics around search engine optimization and the backend of our websites, and it didn’t quite understand all terms being used, which made for some confusing transcribed notes and summaries.

Disclosure: Review sample provided by Insta360.