Two flagship 360 cameras launched 23 hours apart this week, and one of them quietly put 3D Gaussian Splatting inside a phone app. The Insta360 X6 shipped August 12 at $699.99 with a new Spatial Capture feature that generates Gaussian splats from 360 footage - and it works on the X5 and X4 too. DJI answered a day later with the Osmo 360 II at roughly $460, available in China only, with no US store page. Meanwhile the portal fights kept grinding: Compass reportedly told NYC agents to pull listings from StreetEasy, and Zillow signed an MLS data deal that caps how broker-created data can be used to train AI.

Here is this week's roundup for real estate photographers and 3D capture pros:

1) Insta360 brings Gaussian Splatting to the X6 with Spatial Capture - and it works on the X5 and X4

The X6 launched with a new feature called Spatial Capture that reconstructs a 3D Gaussian splat from a 360 capture. The processing does not run on the camera. Captured data is uploaded from the Insta360 app to an external processing vendor, Remy Innovation Technology (Shenzhen), which performs the 3D reconstruction and returns the model to the app. Remy is the same team behind KIRI Engine. Finished models can be viewed in the app with gyro and joystick controls, shared through web links that can expire, and explored on desktop with WASD controls.

The detail worth reading twice: Insta360's product page states that Spatial Capture currently supports the X6, X5 and X4 in select modes, with more devices in future updates. Insta360 has not published the full list of supported capture modes, the pricing or quota structure, or every region where the feature is available, and the terms of service reserve the right to adjust monthly quota allocation and consumption methods. One report indicates the US will not be supported for Gaussian splatting at launch, though that is a single unconfirmed source and worth verifying before you plan around it.

Why this matters to WGAN Members: This is the most significant thing to happen to 3DGS accessibility all year. Until now, producing a usable Gaussian splat meant a desktop pipeline, a capable GPU, and a real learning curve. If Spatial Capture works as described, a member who already owns an X5 can shoot a space, upload from their phone, and get back a navigable 3D scene without buying anything new. That is a genuinely new deliverable to put in front of a client.

Temper the excitement with the fine print, though. This is a cloud service processed by a third-party vendor in Shenzhen, with no published price, no published quota, and terms that explicitly allow those quotas to change. Before you sell it to a client, confirm it is available in your region, find out what it costs at volume, and shoot a test property to see whether the output quality holds up on a real interior rather than a demo reel. A deliverable you cannot price is not yet a product.

Read more: Radiance Fields

2) Insta360 X6 ships worldwide at $699.99 with dual 1/1.1-inch sensors and native Dolby Vision

The X6 went on sale August 12 through the Insta360 Official Store, Amazon and authorized retailers, starting at US$699.99, with immediate worldwide availability including the United States. It uses custom dual Sony 1/1.1-inch square sensors, which Insta360 footnotes as delivering an imaging area equivalent to a 1-inch sensor. The company claims 33 percent more sensor area than the X5 and roughly four times the light intake per frame. Behind the sensors sits a triple AI chip rated at 500 percent more computing power than the X5 with 35 percent lower power draw. The camera records 8K 360 video at 50fps and 120MP 360 photos, adds native in-camera Dolby Vision, and includes 47GB of usable onboard storage out of 64GB total.

The $699.99 price is a $150 increase over the X5, which launched at $549.99 in April 2025. Early reviewers have flagged two rough edges: the companion app has been buggy at launch, and 8K footage consumes roughly 1GB per minute, which fills that 47GB of internal storage faster than the spec sheet suggests.

Why this matters to WGAN Members: Sensor area and light intake are the specs that decide whether a dim interior comes back usable, and a claimed four times light intake per frame is a meaningful jump rather than a marketing rounding error. Note the sensor language carefully, though. These are 1/1.1-inch square sensors described as 1-inch equivalent in imaging area, which is not the same claim as a 1-inch sensor, and you will see both phrasings floating around this week.

The practical advice for anyone holding an X5: this is not an automatic upgrade. If your X5 files already clear client expectations, the honest reason to buy an X6 is Spatial Capture or low-light performance you can actually see in a side-by-side, not a bigger number on a box. Wait for real sample files from a real property. Related discussion on WGAN: Insta360 X5 360 Camera Announced Today

Read more: Insta360

3) DJI Osmo 360 II launches with 8K60 - and no US store page

DJI put the Osmo 360 II on sale in China on August 13, one day after the X6 reveal. Reported pricing varies by source and market, with the standard package at 3,299 yuan (roughly $460) in mainland China and other outlets citing figures closer to $499. The camera records native 8K panoramic video at up to 60fps, meters up to 14.5 stops of dynamic range by DJI's lab numbers, takes user-replaceable lenses, and ships with 105GB of internal storage.

DJI's US store returned a 404 for the product minutes after the reveal. The FCC added all foreign-made drones and drone components to its Covered List on December 22, 2025, blocking new equipment authorizations, and DJI's non-drone catalog has repeatedly skipped the US since: the Osmo Pocket 4 in April, the O4 Wide Air Unit in June, the Osmo Pocket 4P in July. International availability for the Osmo 360 II is now expected around September, though DJI has confirmed nothing.

Why this matters to WGAN Members: On paper the Osmo 360 II beats the X6 on frame rate and undercuts it by roughly $200. For US-based members, that comparison is currently academic, because you cannot buy one. It is worth saying plainly rather than running a spec table nobody can act on: as of today, if you are in the US and you want a current-generation flagship 360 camera, the X6 is the option that exists.

For members outside the US, the calculus is different and the DJI is genuinely competitive - especially the user-replaceable lenses, which address the most common durability complaint about the first generation. Either way, do not preorder anything through a gray-market reseller on the assumption that US availability is coming. That has not gone well for the last three DJI releases.

Read more: DroneXL

4) Compass reportedly advises NYC agents to pull listings from StreetEasy

The Real Deal reported that executives at Compass, including CEO Robert Reffkin, lobbied top New York City agents to temporarily remove their listings from StreetEasy, Zillow's NYC-specialist portal, during August. The Real Deal also saw a marketing playbook emailed to Compass agents in which the first step of a refreshed listings strategy was to delist from StreetEasy. Compass said agents have a fiduciary duty to represent their clients' best interests and that giving sellers choices about how to market their properties helps them meet their goals. A StreetEasy spokesperson characterized the move as Compass pulling listings from open platforms to consolidate buyers into its own channels. One Compass agent said he pulls listings in August every year because it is a slow month in New York and that is what sellers want.

Why this matters to WGAN Members: Every listing pulled off a public portal is a listing where the media you produced reaches a smaller audience. That is not an abstract concern - it is the direct mechanism by which the value of premium capture gets harder to argue. If the private and exclusive-inventory trend keeps expanding beyond New York, the pitch shifts from "your listing will be seen by more people" to "your listing will convert better among the people who see it." Photographers who can speak to engagement and conversion rather than reach are better positioned for that conversation.

Read more: Online Marketplaces

5) Zillow's new MLS data deal caps how broker-created data can be used in AI models

Zillow signed a modernised data licensing agreement with Realtracs, the Nashville-based MLS serving more than 20,000 agents across six southeastern states, ending a stand-off over access to Tennessee's largest listings pool. The licence caps how Zillow can use broker-created data in AI models and market analytics, and requires the portal to flag when an agent trips its listing suppression thresholds. Zillow's Listing Access Standards, the policy at the root of these disputes, were not modified. Realtracs president and CEO Stuart White said the agreement establishes clearly defined use rights and stronger protections for broker-created data. Separately, MRED in Chicago cut Zillow's IDX and VOW feeds, erasing over half the portal's active Chicago inventory within hours, and that litigation remains under advisement.

Why this matters to WGAN Members: Listing photos, floor plans and virtual tours are broker-created data. This is the first widely reported MLS contract to put explicit limits on how a portal may use that data to train AI models, and it establishes a template other MLSs will copy. If you have ever wondered whether your imagery is quietly training a portal's AI, the answer is now going to depend on which MLS contract governs the listing. Worth tracking, and worth asking about in your own market.

Read more: Online Marketplaces

6) On the calendar: Zillow and Redfin go to trial against the FTC on August 24

A two-week trial is scheduled to begin August 24 in Alexandria, Virginia, in the FTC's antitrust case over the February 2025 agreement in which Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to become the exclusive provider of apartment rental listings from Redfin's properties. Redfin exited the apartment-listing market entirely as part of the deal, shutting down Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com. A federal judge declined the FTC's request to decide key questions before trial, ruling that too many factual disputes remained.

Why this matters to WGAN Members: Not news from this week, but it is on the calendar and it matters if rental media is part of your revenue. The outcome shapes how concentrated the rental listing market becomes, and concentration on the buyer side of media eventually shows up in what that media pays.

Read more: Propmodo

WGAN Marketing Partner Spotlight: Giraffe360

Giraffe360 combines a proprietary robotic camera with an AI software platform that produces a complete media kit from a single property visit - HDR photography, LiDAR-based 2D and 3D floor plans, virtual tours, video, virtual staging and a property website. In a week where the deliverable list keeps expanding, a single-capture workflow is worth a look: Learn more about Giraffe360

The takeaway

The headline this week is not that two cameras launched. It is that 3D Gaussian Splatting just became something you can attempt from a phone with hardware many of you already own. That is a bigger shift than any sensor spec on either box, and it is the first item on this list worth spending a Saturday testing.

Two cautions to carry with it. Spatial Capture is a cloud service with no published price, no published quota, and unclear regional availability, so treat it as a promising experiment rather than a service line until you have shot a real property and seen a real invoice. And for US-based members, the DJI comparison everyone is running this week is a comparison to a camera you cannot buy.

Have you tested Spatial Capture yet? If you have run a splat from an X5 or X4, post your results - the community would learn more from one real interior than from a week of spec sheets.

Last week's roundup: What's New In Proptech: August 7, 2026