Review: DJI Osmo Mobile 4

Modern smartphones are truly remarkable devices. Their processors are more powerful than the ones that landed men on the moon, and the onboard cameras boast higher resolution than those used to make cinema’s masterpieces. So why aren't we all flying into space and filming Bergman-inspired classics?

I can't help you get to the moon. But if you want to seriously up your filming prowess, what you need is not a better camera but a better way of holding the camera that's already in your pocket. That's where DJI’s Osmo Mobile 4 comes in. It's a gimbal—a tri-axis device you wrap around your phone that tilts, pans, and pitches to compensate for body movement, bumps in the road, and even shaky hands.

It's what your GoPro is trying to simulate with software. And while GoPro's software gets better every year, nothing beats a physical gimbal for smoothing out your shots and saving you from uploading the next Blair Witch Project.

Photograph: DJI

The Osmo Mobile 4 looks a lot like last year's Osmo Mobile 3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends), save for one big change: the new magnetic grip. There are two ways you can use this grip. The first is to use the much-slimmed-down clamp system, which grabs the sides of your phone and then attaches to the gimbal via a magnet.

Depending on the button positioning of your device though, this may not be ideal. That's why there's a second way. Stick a ring-style holder (it looks like a PopSocket) on the back of your phone, and it snaps into the magnetic attachment system. Not only does this leave the edges of your phone unencumbered, it also makes getting your phone in and out of the Osmo much faster and easier. My phone never fell off using the latter method.

The clamp-free system has another advantage—less calibration. Every time you put your phone in the clamp, the gimbal needs to know where the level is and requires recalibration. The ring magnetic mount eliminates that by ensuring your phone is always exactly where it was. You only need to calibrate once, and, provided you don't remove the sticky mount from your phone, you won't need to calibrate again for that session.

As with the previous model, DJI's folding gimbal design is still the best and most compact I've used. The single-piece gimbal extends and folds up as simply as a Transformer, and even with the new magnetic attachment, you can still fold it up with your device still attached. At about 1 pound, it's a couple of ounces heavier than the last one, but it's slightly smaller, packing down to a 7- by-4-inch package when folded.

One thing that has changed is there's no bundle kit with a hardshell case. Instead, the OM 4, as DJI refers to it, comes with a new add-on that turns the gimbal into a desktop tripod. It's basic but sturdy enough to serve you well for a seated shot at a desk or table. The same quarter-inch thread can be used to mount the Osmo on your own tripod. Nice as that is, I miss the case, especially since the OM 4 costs the same as the OM 3 bundle.

DJI claims it gets 15 hours of battery life, like its predecessor, and that tracks well with my testing. That's unless you're charging your device from the gimbal, which will obviously drain it much faster. It takes about two hours to fully recharge.

Photograph: DJI

If you have an iPhone, DJI's Mimo app is awesome. That's to say that, first and foremost, the frame rates and shooting capabilities are determined by your phone. With the latest iPhone, that means up to 4K at 60 frames per second.

Unfortunately, the situation is not quite as nice for Android users. The app and even the options within the app vary considerably from phone to phone, and some of the gimbal's hardware buttons that work seamlessly on the iPhone don't work at all in Android. (The button to toggle cameras never worked for me on any of the Android phones I tested.) DJI is aware of these issues and says it's working on a solution, but for now, be aware that the quality of the Mimo app will greatly depend on your phone.

The good thing is, you don't technically need the app if you just want stabilized footage. You can use whichever video software you like to shoot with. But the Mimo app lets you tap into most of the intelligent filming features adapted from the company's drones. That means features like ActiveTrack, Hyperlapse, and Motionlapse to get great videos you wouldn't otherwise be able to do with your phone.

Photograph: DJI

ActiveTrack, in particular, is perfectly suited to a gimbal. Tap and drag a box over the object you want to track, and the app will pan the gimbal to keep it on the screen while stabilizing your shot. It's not perfect—it consistently lost my dogs running by at full speed—but I never had any trouble tracking people walking. I find it most useful for keeping the frame centered on an object during a pullback shot, something that's very tricky to do on your phone without a gimbal.

There's a new feature in the Mimo app for the OM 4 called DynamicZoom, which mimics the cinema effect that keeps a subject in the same position but the background gets smaller or larger. Frankly, it's not a great effect even when you have a $100,000 film camera set up, and what you get from the app tends to feel stiff and awkward even with the stabilization.

The Osmo Mobile 4's magnetic system is nice, but it might not be enough to warrant an upgrade from the Osmo Mobile 3. If you've made it this far with the 3, presumably you're OK with the mounting mechanism on it. On the other hand, if you're looking to improve your vlogging, then the OM 4 is leaps and bounds beyond its competitors. My only real gripe continues to be the limitations of the Mimo app on Android phones.