Insta360 has introduced the Mic Pro, a new lapel microphone with a customizable E-Ink display. It seems that while other companies are scaling back their transmitters, Insta360 is making the size of its mics a feature instead.
Lapel microphones are ubiquitous among content creators, appearing frequently in videos as they are difficult to hide while in use. DJI recently announced interchangeable magnetic covers for its Mic Mini 2 transmitters, allowing users to at least customize their transmitter with different colors. However, these covers still retain the company logo, and have a limited number of hues to choose from.
E-Ink’s Insta360 Mic Pro display takes such customization a few steps further, giving users greater control over the appearance of their lapel mic. Its customizable display allows you to completely remove the Insta360 logo and replace it with any image, from words and symbols to complex images. The Mic Pro has outward facing icons marking its power and recording buttons, which seem unnecessary and distract from the user’s chosen design. Fortunately, most of the sender’s virtual space is still at your disposal.
Credit: Mashable composite / Insta360
In terms of construction, the Mic Pro transmitter is slightly larger than its predecessor the Mic Air, and weighs more than twice at 19.7 grams without its attachment clip. The clip can be removed in favor of the magnet, though Mashable found that it took a surprising amount of effort to do so on our first viewing. However, users will prefer the magnet, as the weight of the sender drags down the shirt collars when using the clip. Both Insta360 microphones offer 10 hours of battery life on a single charge; however, the Mic Pro’s new quick-charge storage case makes it easy to refill on the go.
Credit: Insta360
Like the DJI Mic 3, the Insta360 Mic Pro has 32GB of internal memory and can range from 24-bit audio files to 32-bit floating internal recordings. Insta360 says the Mic Pro can record up to 22.2 hours of 32-bit stereo audio or 60 hours of 24-bit mono, with a 48kHz sampling frequency. It also has USB-C ports on the transmitters themselves, a feature missing from the Mic 3.
Mashable Light Speed
However, the biggest appeal of the Insta360 Mic Pro is its E-Ink display.
DJI introduces the Mic Mini 2. But there’s a catch.
How to change Insta360 Mic Pro’s E-Ink display
Credit: Mashable
Replacing the Mic Pro’s E-Ink display is straightforward and easy. Simply connect the transmitter to the Insta360 mobile app, and you’ll be presented with a screen showing its current display, along with information such as the current battery percentage and remaining capacity. From here, you can tap “Custom wallpaper” to choose from a variety of preloaded images or upload your own.
After uploading your photo, you can reposition and zoom in on it to make sure the Mic Pro frames you the way you want. You also have to choose between using a detailed, low-pixel rendering of your chosen image, or using a filter that simplifies it into blocks of color, intended for images such as simple logos. Mashable’s test found the former option to look better, as the filter that simplifies it tends to use color palettes that don’t reflect the uploaded image.
Once you’ve finalized your selection, you can use a custom display on the Mic Pro’s E-Ink display. It will briefly flash yellow and black to refresh the screen as it does to remove any ghosting, then freeze. The image will remain on the Mic Pro display until you change it, even after you turn off the transmitter.
Credit: Insta360
Your customized wallpaper will also be saved in the Insta360 app, so you can easily change it back and forth or use it on other Mic Pro transmitters. The app allows you to give your wallpapers an easily editable text label as well, which you can choose to display on the Mic Pro’s E-Ink display.
The Insta360 Mic Pro is available now for $99.99 for a single transmitter, $199.99 to add a receiver, and $329.99 for two transmitters and a receiver in a charging case.
