Insta360 Ace Pro Battery Life Test
For this sailing season I wanted to add another modern action camera to my arsenal. In reviewing all of the cameras out there – the battery life left some to be desired in the cameras on the market with the best features. While the image quality, usability, mounting, and other features are important to me, none of that really matters if the camera has run out of battery. On a sailboat, oftentimes I can’t easily swap out a battery – either because when we’re on a big boat I’ve got a job to do in the middle of a race and can’t easily get away to get a new battery and swap it into the camera, or on a small boat – I simply don’t have any space to take a spare battery or even keep it dry.
Reviewing all of the specs and reviews online I settled on the Insta360 Ace Pro (buy on Amazon). On paper it got 10 minutes more battery life (100 minutes) compared to the latest GoPro Hero 12 (90 minutes). But the Insta360 Ace Pro hadn’t been on the market very long and none of the reviews really mentioned the battery life other than in passing. I bought the camera and still wanted to settle the question – how long can I expect the battery to last? I had also seen some after-market batteries becoming available and wondered how those compared to the Insta360 batteries.
So I set up some tests for 30 different batteries from 15 different retailers for over 544 hours to answer those questions and I wanted to share my findings.
How Long Does the Insta360 Ace Pro Battery Last?
On average across all of the batteries tested, the camera filmed for 97.6 minutes – just shy of the 100 minutes advertised. In only 26% of the tests did the camera film for more than 100 minutes.
Insta360 has produced two batteries for the Ace Pro- those that came with the original Ace Pro and have a capacity of 1650 mAh, and the batteries that came with the AcePro 2 rated for 1800 mAh. Here’s how both batteries did in the original Ace Pro.
| Ace Pro 1 (1650 mAh) | Ace Pro 2 (1800 mAh) | |
|---|---|---|
| Average Duration | 97.2 min | 99.6 min |
| >100 min % | 15% | 18% |
Which Battery Lasted the Longest?
There were 2 batteries of the 15 brands tested that hit the 100 minute mark significantly more than the other batteries test. While that looks like a big difference on paper, the real difference is only around 4 minutes of film time. The NBZZ and REYTRIC batteries lasted much longer than any of the other batteries tested by 4-6 minutes.
Here’s the average runtime for the different brands:
And here you can see the individual performance of each of the batteries. Note the range between the minimum and maximum tests along wit the average. The Insta360 batteries are on the far right and far left.
The Batteries
- REYTRIC Upgraded 2-Pack Batteries with 3-Channel USB Charger
- NBZZ 2 Batteries Pack with Dual Fast Charge Hub
- RORALMA 1800mAh Rechargeable Battery
- Insta360 AcePro 2 Battery (1800 mAh)
- Powerextra Ace Pro Battery 1800mAh and 3-Channels Charger
- Vemico Insta360 Ace Pro Battery Charger Kits
- FirstPower Ace Pro Battery 2 pack
- Topwowe 2 Packs Batteries with Dual Fast Charge Hub
- Burflo Battery
- Insta360 Ace/Ace Pro Battery (1650 mAh)
- Probty 2200 mAh Battery for insta360 AcePro
- JHTC Replacement Insta360 Ace Pro,1800mAh 2 Pack
- COOLSHOW Ace/Ace Pro Battery Replacement 1800mAh 2 Packs
- DONGNI 2 Pack Ace Pro Battery
- Rszfnjxry Batteries(2 Pack) with Fast Charge Hub
- Artman Ace Pro Battery (2 Packs 1800mAh) and Type-C Dual Fast Charger
How did I test?
Using the settings I’d most likely be using for sailing – 4k 30 fps with horizon leveling and HDR on – I set the camera up in my living room to look at my backyard until it ran out of battery. I did this at least 11 times for each battery to get the data. All of the batteries were charged using the same 3-battery charger and the Ace Pro firmware was 1.0.27 or 1.0.62.
To see my videos created with the Insta360 Ace Pro – check out No Quarter Sailing on YouTube.
If you are interested in the battery life of the Insta360 X4 – check out a similar test I did for that camera.
Disclaimers: I purchased the camera and some of the batteries myself. Other batteries were received through the Amazon Vine Voices Program. As an affiliate in Amazon’s program I may receive a commission for product links.
John
Greta video and appreciate the efforts. Quick question do you have thoughts on the following
Have a new Insta360 and run it for mostly MTB or Road bike rides and races. Right now I’m only seeing about 1 hour and 6 or 7 minutes from any battery I try.
The settings I’ve been using are 4k 30fps Action with HDR and HIGH stabilization.
Thnk you again Bryan
Yes, as a matter of fact I’m running the same battery of tests (no pun intended) on the X4 now and will publish that in the coming weeks. I’ve been doing 8k 30fps and getting about 1h 18m with the insta360 batteries and about 1h 12m with the aftermarket ones.
Any recommended aftermarket ones so far?
Nope, none of the aftermarket X4 batteries outperformed the insta360 ones which averaged about 5 minutes more than the aftermarket ones. The aftermarket batteries all lasted about the same with none really any better than any others.