On April 10, Belkin released the world's first Apple DockKit accessory, Belkin Auto-Tracking Gimbal. DockKit is Apple's new API for its imaging system in iOS 17, DockKit, which uses the camera to track the position of faces and bodies in videos to provide users with hands-free shooting capabilities.
The Belkin Auto Tracking gimbal supports 360° rotation and 90° tilt vertically, and supports MagSafe 15W fast charging. It can continuously power the phone when it is plugged in, and it can power the phone for 5 hours even after the power is off.
In the process of use, there is no need to install additional APP, it supports all kinds of APP that can call the iPhone camera, including WeChat, Douyin, various meetings, etc., just attach the mobile phone to the gimbal to complete the seamless connection.
The Belkin Auto Tracking Gimbal supports up to 16 iPhone memory pairings, and it also supports Apple Watch control shooting, and can be used with a tripod (standard 4/1 nut).
It's worth mentioning that Belkin also offers $2,500 device insurance per user, and if the electronic device is damaged while properly connected to the charger, Belkin will provide services such as repairing or replacing the device.
In addition, the Belkin Auto Tracking Gimbal won the Best CES Product Award from CNN, T3, Digital Trends, and other media outlets at CES 2024.
At the new product experience meeting, Belkin also conducted a group interview, where on-site media teachers and reporters could ask questions to Belkin's Chris. We've put together some of the issues in the field, which are roughly as follows:
Question 1: Compared with DJI's handheld gimbal, what are the advantages of Belkin's auto-tracking gimbal?
Belkin's Chris said that compared to Belkin's auto-tracking gimbal, the DJI Osmo gimbal camera can only record video in the DJI app and does not support recording in other apps. There is also the fact that the DJI iOS app does not do face recognition. The DJI Osmo gimbal camera doesn't have features that Belkin auto-tracking gimbal does.
Question 2: What is the logic behind the charging of Belkin's Auto-Tracking Gimbal?
Belkin's Chris said that if the phone has only 10% of the battery left, then the Belkin Auto-Tracking Gimbal will run out of power in one go. As a result, the gimbal will not work properly. To prevent this from happening, we set a threshold, such as when the iPhone's battery drops below 50%, the Belkin Auto Gimbal will charge the phone a little bit to it.
Generally speaking, most users charge their phones at home, so we don't position Belkin Auto Tracking Gimbal as a power bank.
Question 3: The mainstream fast charging power of mobile phones is basically above 50W, and some even exceed 100W, and the maximum charging power of Belkin Auto-Tracking Gimbal is only 15W, will the charging speed be very slow?
Belkin's Chris said that because our product is designed for iPhones, only iPhones can use it. Because the maximum wireless charging power of the iPhone is only 15W, even if we increase the charging power of the product to 100W, the iPhone can only charge at 15W.
Belkin has been working with Apple for 40 years, and they have very high requirements for the quality of their accessories, and if a product doesn't meet their requirements, the product won't be released, so we also pay attention to quality.
Question 4: What is the model of cooperation between Belkin and Apple, and will Apple share data with Belkin?
Belkin's Chris said that when we talk to Apple, it's really a back-and-forth brainstorming mode. We will make some suggestions, for example, we think that consumers will have such a demand, and the target set at 3 billion in early March is more reasonable. Then, Apple will judge, because they are experts in the field of mobile phones, and they can receive a lot of consumer appeals in the field of accessories. This is a great test of our ability to evaluate the product, how to position this accessory, which scenarios will be used by users, these are all issues that we need to consider in advance.
Question 5: What is Belkin's future strategy, and what is its plan and deployment for the content creator market?
Belkin Chris said that the future strategy is to continue to cooperate with Apple, Apple hopes to use mobile phones for video creation, and even filming, so we also hope to work with Apple to develop more mobile phone shooting-related accessories. After working with Apple for so many years, we have the ability to provide Apple with better iPhone-related accessories. The most important thing is that we want to explore more smart home related applications through this data, and we will study and discuss many related scenarios.
Belkin delivers on its Be Ready for Today brand proposition through innovative technologies and cutting-edge products. Belkin's auto-tracking gimbal, its innovative design of gimbal + wireless fast charging 2-in-1, further streamlines the creator's gear library. Combined with Apple's human-friendly minimalist operations, the video creation workflow will also be streamlined.
The advent of Belkin's auto-tracking gimbal will bring a lot of convenience to content creators. In the future, Belkin will also work with Apple to bring more high-quality accessories to users, enabling new creativity and possibilities for content creation.