DJI Osmo Mobile 6: Two-minute review
While DJI is best known as a market leader in consumer drones, it also has a strong tradition in content creation accessories. This includes smartphone stabilizers, of which the Osmo Mobile 6 is the current flagship. Designed to keep your smartphone level and stable while you record video, the Osmo Mobile 6 is basically a grip with a 3-axis gimbal (and an extendable selfie stick).
Some of the best phone gimbals feel too big and bulky and therefore awkward to carry, or too small and fiddly and therefore difficult to hold comfortably, but the OM 6 is just right for me: folded up, it almost fits in your pocket, but unfolded with a phone attached, it feels well-balanced and comfortably secure in my hand. It also comes with a mini tripod that screws into the standard tripod mount on the bottom of the handle. Also in the box is a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging the battery, a magnetic clamp, and a soft microfiber drawstring pouch to keep it all together.
Whichever phone you’re using (the OM 6 is compatible with a variety of the best Android phones and iPhones, but you should check DJI’s list of compatible phones), it attaches to the gimbal arm via the magnetic clamp: the clamp squeezes tightly across the width of the phone, and the powerful magnet in the center locks onto the arm with a reassuring click. think. I never felt like my iPhone would come loose while using the gimbal, no matter how much I swung it around, and thanks to the magnet, I was able to quickly remove it from the clamp and use it when I got a call or was done filming.
I found unfolding and folding the OM 6 took a little getting used to, but once I’d mastered the process, I was happy to be able to get the stabilizer up and running in seconds. The quick start feature turns the power on immediately when the gimbal arm is unfolded, and automatically launches the Mimo companion app on your phone (assuming you’re using a MagSafe iPhone and it’s been paired with the OM 6 via Bluetooth at least once before) when the magnetic clamp clicks into place. This meant I didn’t have to waste much time setting the thing up – I could pull it out of my pocket, unfold it, attach my phone, and start filming in seconds.
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DJI Osmo Mobile 6 – key specifications
Dimensions when folded: 189 x 84.5 x 44 mm
Dimensions unfolded: 276 x 111.5 x 99 mm
Weight (including magnetic clamp): 330g
Weight of handle stand: 72g
Compatible phone weight: 170 to 290 g
Compatible phone thickness: 6.9 to 10 mm
Compatible phone width: 67 to 84 mm
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1 and USB-C
Battery life: approx. 6.5 hours
The control scheme is refreshingly simple. The M button lets you switch between gimbal modes, or you can hold it to turn the OM 6 on and off. Below that are a video and shutter button. Below that is the toggle button: a single press switches between the phone’s rear and front cameras, a double press switches between portrait and landscape modes, and a triple press switches between photo and video recording. To the left of these buttons is a thumbstick used to manually control gimbal movement. On the left side of the grip is the zoom and focus wheel, new to the Osmo Mobile series; pressing it activates manual focus, while rotating it zooms in and out of the camera view. Finally, a shutter button on the front can be double-tapped to reset the gimbal position, or held down to “lock” the view in place.
This may sound like a lot of effort, but I found it easy to understand while operating most of the most commonly used controls. Everything else that needs to be customized is covered by the Mimo app’s menus and camera controls.
Stabilization from the gimbal is excellent, at least it was on my iPhone 13. The gimbal automatically levels the phone (though it can be quickly recalibrated in the Mimo settings menu if you think it’s off) and moves it according to the currently selected gimbal mode. “Follow” is the general-purpose mode where the camera view follows the gimbal’s movements while remaining level with the horizon. “Tilt Locked” is similar, but the view doesn’t tilt up or down. “FPV” pans, tilts, and rolls the camera view according to the gimbal’s movement, and is good for dynamic motion shots. Finally, “SpinShot” allows the user to rotate the camera view with the joystick while pointing in the same direction; it can create some dramatic effects, but probably won’t be the most used option.
The gimbal movements feel smooth and, for lack of a better word, “logical.” By that I mean they didn’t surprise me and generally went where I wanted them to. Combined with the comfortable, balanced grip (which can be extended by screwing in the collapsible mini tripod), this made for an intuitive, responsive and all-around enjoyable experience.
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DJI’s Mimo camera app feels polished and intuitive. The UI layout is simple and easy to understand. Shooting modes are shown at the bottom and can be selected by swiping left and right. In addition to video and photo modes, Mimo allows the OM 6 to capture automatically stitched panoramic photos, as well as slow motion, hyperlapse, time lapse, and “Dyna Zoom” videos (the latter are essentially Hitchcock dolly zooms). It also offers two special modes: “Parents & Kids” for automatically recording family interactions from a static position, and “Story” for filming and editing (including transitions, music, and color correction) short videos that can be instantly shared on social media.
The OM 6 also features ActiveTrack 6.0, DJI’s object tracking system. This automatically detects and tracks faces, but any object can be tracked by drawing a box around it in the camera view. Then, when the object moves, the gimbal adjusts the camera view to keep it in frame. This is great for vlogging, either when walking with the gimbal or when it’s set up on its tripod nearby, as the vlogger can move around without worrying about going out of frame. That being said, the Insta360 Flow Pro’s tracking is faster and smoother, and its design allows it to track an object “infinitely” as it moves around it; the OM 6 will rotate to a certain extent, but then reach its limit and can no longer follow when its subject leaves the frame.
Price and availability of the DJI Osmo Mobile 6
The DJI Osmo Mobile 6 is available now and starts at £125 on the DJI UK website and $139 on Amazon US. It comes in two colourways (slate grey and platinum grey) and can be purchased bundled with the first generation DJI microphone for £344.
In fact, there are a few other areas where I found the newer, slightly more expensive Insta360 Flow Pro a bit more impressive than the Osmo Mobile 6. The Flow Pro has longer battery life (around 10 hours compared to the OM 6’s 6.5 hours) and a second USB-C port that lets it act as a power bank and share its battery with a phone or other device. The Flow Pro also supports Apple’s DockKit framework for iPhones, meaning it supports subject tracking not only through its companion app, but also the iPhone’s native Camera app and over 200 camera-related apps (including TikTok, Zoom, and Blackmagic Camera). On the OM 6, tracking only works through the Mimo app.
However, the OM 6 is more pleasant to use, with better placement of the physical controls and smoother movement of the gimbal stabilizer, so it doesn’t feel like a distant runner-up to the Insta360 Flow Pro, but more like a worthy alternative that some users may prefer.
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DJI Osmo Mobile 6: Also consider
Should I buy the DJI Osmo Mobile 6?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
This is how I tested the DJI Osmo Mobile 6
- One week of use
- Tested with iPhone 13
- Used for B-roll and vlogs
I used the Osmo Mobile 6 for a week in various situations with my iPhone 13. I tested all the video and photo modes available in the Mimo app both outdoors and indoors and found the OM 6’s compact size and light weight to be a huge advantage for vlogging on the go.
First reviewed in August 2024
