DJI has finally launched its highly anticipated Osmo Pocket 4P camera worldwide, the first dual-lens model in the company’s popular pocket gimbal lineup, but American content creators will once again be left watching from the sidelines as US regulatory restrictions keep the device off store shelves domestically.
A Long-Awaited Global Launch
DJI set the worldwide launch for July 30, 2026, closing a roughly six-week gap between the camera’s initial debut in China on June 15 and its rollout elsewhere. The Pocket 4P first became public knowledge in May, when DJI unveiled it at the Cannes Film Festival, choosing the world’s most prestigious film event as a deliberate signal of the camera’s cinema-tier ambitions. That initial reveal confirmed the product’s existence and marketing positioning but withheld full specifications, pricing, and availability details, which arrived only once the camera actually launched in China weeks later.
Since its Chinese debut, DJI has gradually expanded availability to additional markets, including Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore. In China, the camera is priced at approximately 3,799 yuan, or roughly $562.
A Genuine Leap for the Pocket Lineup
The Osmo Pocket 4P represents the most significant upgrade yet to DJI’s popular Pocket series, marking the first time the lineup has featured a dual-lens design. The main camera houses a 1-inch sensor paired with a 20mm-equivalent f/2.0 lens, claiming an impressive 17 stops of dynamic range thanks to DJI’s LOFIC sensor technology. A second module offers a 60mm-equivalent f/1.8 telephoto lens on a smaller sensor, delivering genuine 3x optical zoom and functioning as a dedicated portrait lens with less distortion and stronger background separation than the main wide-angle camera alone.
Additional headline features include 4K video capture at up to 240 frames per second from the main camera and up to 200 fps on the telephoto, upgraded ActiveTrack subject-tracking, a 10-bit D-Log 2 color profile aimed at professional grading workflows, built-in timecode support for multi-camera setups, and 103GB of built-in storage. The camera weighs roughly 230 grams, or about 8.1 ounces.
The US Regulatory Wall
Despite the camera’s impressive specifications, American creators have no clear path to purchasing one through official retail channels, continuing a pattern that has now affected multiple recent DJI product launches. The root cause traces back to December 22, 2025, when the Federal Communications Commission added DJI to its Covered List, a designation that blocks the equipment authorization required for new radio-equipped hardware to be legally sold in the United States. That restriction has already prevented the standard Osmo Pocket 4, which launched internationally in April 2026, from receiving an official US price or release, leaving American buyers stuck with DJI’s aging existing product catalog.
Notably, owning one of these restricted cameras is not illegal in the US; DJI simply cannot sell them domestically, leaving would-be American buyers in a strange limbo where they must rely on third-party importers if they want access to the company’s newest hardware. Adding to DJI’s regulatory challenges, the company remains embroiled in ongoing litigation against the US Department of Defense after being designated a “Chinese military company,” a label DJI has repeatedly disputed.
A Curious Software Loophole
In an unusual twist, while the Pocket 4P’s hardware remains blocked from US sale, DJI’s companion editing app, Mimo, has continued to receive updates on the American App Store specifically supporting the new camera’s features, including new color presets and editing tools. That’s because the FCC’s restrictions apply to hardware equipment authorization rather than software distribution, meaning American owners of older DJI cameras can access new editing capabilities even though they cannot legally purchase the camera those features were built for.
Limited Alternatives for US Buyers
For American creators seeking a comparable dual-lens pocket camera this year, options remain scarce. A recent comparison found that rival Insta360’s Luna Ultra, which launched in the US in June 2026, stands as essentially the only legally purchasable dual-lens pocket camera currently available to American consumers, underscoring how DJI’s regulatory troubles have created an opening for competitors in a product category the company has long dominated.
What Comes Next
With no public timeline for US regulatory clearance and DJI’s broader legal battles with the US government still unresolved, American creators appear likely to face continued uncertainty around access to the company’s newest camera hardware for the foreseeable future, even as DJI continues expanding the Pocket 4P’s availability across international markets.
