In the early 1980s, Kim Wilde warned us that a new wave was coming. Of course, she was singing about the nightlife and emerging music trends that were tempting the kids in America. In 2025, there really is a new Wave. It's a speakerphone from Insta360 with a unique style and AI features that will no doubt tempt the Pro AV space.
Unlike traditional speakerphones, which tend to resemble hockey pucks, the Wave stands upright. Think cylindrical tower speaker with a circumference of a mini soda can. A bright, thin LED indicator light offers color-coded status updates, including green for power and red for mute.
Above the USB-C port on the back of the base is the power button. Press that button and the Wave doesn't just turn on—it announces itself to world. The speaker rises up from its base with its own intro music to expose a compact, circular touchscreen interface. Don't worry, you can shut off the chime in the settings, but the speakerphone will rise or fall with each power toggle.
It's about 9.75 inches when fully elongated (you have three height choices). The top of the unit was also designed as a perch for the company's Link 2 4K webcam, which has a magnetic base, but that means you need at least another 2.5 inches of clearance, so be careful with that desk hutch.
The Wave comes with a sturdy USB-C cable, USB-A to USB-C adapter, wireless dongle, quick start guide and other documentation, and a padded carry bag that offers some protection during transport. An integrated suction cup keeps the Wave in place, but a table mount is also available separately.
Audio Options
I tend to keep my speakerphone plugged into my computer or dock, but the Wave offers wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the included dongle, which can be stored conveniently (and magnetically) on top of the unit. Audio is saved as MP3 files by default. You have the option to record lossless WAV files, but that will result in larger files. Either way, the Wave has 32 GB of built-in storage, so you won't be worried about storage anytime soon.
There are eight microphones strategically placed on the unit, four around the body of the cylinder and four on top. You also have the option of two audio modes, one that captures all sound (you choose the pickup pattern) and another with noise reduction that's designed for meetings. I opted for noise reduction—and then had a videoconference in the middle of a thunderstorm. The South Florida rain was hammering the skylights and the thunder clapped loudly, but the person on the other side of the Google Meet never heard a thing.
The touchscreen interface makes it easy to mute your mic, adjust the playback volume, or start and stop recordings. You can also see the time, displayed in military time presumably for less confusing file names, and the date. A small on-screen arrow provides you with access to files, audio modes, and other settings.
As far as speakerphones go, it's solid. The audio is crisp and clear. I was told I sounded good, even when I was 8 feet away from the unit, and there were no problems with vocal pops. It's also a good speaker for playing music, though it could use some help with the low end. Perhaps an EQ is in Insta360's firmware upgrade pipeline.
When the unit arrives, you'll need to remove a couple of protective stickers and then connect it to your computer. Getting connected takes a little effort. There's a File Transfer option under the USB Mode in the settings menu. That'll help you access the software for download on your PC or laptop.
Once it's installed and you've created an account, it's time to access InSight, Insta360's cloud-based AI agent. It's where your audio files are automatically uploaded. From here, you can listen to your recordings, summarize them, get transcriptions in multiple languages, and customize your experience.
Like similar transcription services, there is a free basic plan that provides a few hours of transcription per month. Want more? The Pro plan offers 1,200 minutes of transcription per month and increased functionality for about $100 per year, or you can buy blocks of transcription time in increments as small as two hours.
I recorded that previously mentioned conversation, plus I recorded a short excerpt from an audiobook presentation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The transcriptions weren't perfect—AI will be stumbling over names and less common words for the foreseeable future—but they were solid and did provide mostly accurate speaker identifications.
Summarizing the Summaries
Now, let's talk about those AI summaries. I had access to the Pro plan for this review. There are more than a dozen summary templates that simulate various types of meetings, from interviews to brainstorming sessions, and present the content based on those parameters as easily digestible paragraphs and bullet points. You can even create a custom template for more specialized results.
Generating a summary will take a few seconds, and that time increases as your files/meetings get larger, but InSight produces a transcript at the same time. You don't get one without the other. You can also update the summary using a different template, but that will take more time.
The summary functionality is a bit of an acquired taste. Like other AI-based content generators, it tends to lean toward verbosity. Yes, results will vary based on the template you choose, but you can train it to deliver the results you want.
For example, I had a 24-second clip that included three sentences of me pondering out loud if this experiment was going to work, followed by two sentences from the Wave's instruction book. Using the "Keynote Presentation" template, the generated summary was more than 400 words and included a general summary, key themes summary, three bulleted lists, and a to-do list with one item. For reference, the transcript of my recorded file was 67 words.
To be fair, the AI was clearly trying to make lemonade out of very small lemons. Also, I simply told it to create the summary without making any changes to the prompt. In another test, I read the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. Using the same template, the summary for this two-minute monologue was significantly more useful. (FYI, the transcription was excellent, too.)
The lesson here is that you'll need to find the template that works best for you and tailor it to your purposes. Speaking of tailored, you can enhance your transcriptions with industry glossaries, improving accuracy with terminology from health, legal, technology, and other fields. You can even create a custom glossary.
[Editorial: More AI Action and Frustration]
The Insta360 Wave retails for about $300 and is available in graphite black or arctic white. On the surface, you're getting a sharp looking speakerphone that delivers quality audio. Beneath that unique exterior, you're also harnessing AI technologies that deliver customized meeting summaries and transcriptions. In other words, the Wave provides the tools to help you communicate clearly and then actually do something constructive with your conversations.
