Could this ingenious smartphone accessory spell the end of bad selfies? Insta360 Snap puts your mobile's front cameras to work at last

Insta360 Snap being used by Ariane Sherine.

The new Insta360 Snap is a very particular device for content creators with a unique purpose. It is a snap-on touchscreen that lets you treat the superior main cameras on your phone as selfie cameras, and Insta360 has introduced not one, but two versions...

The light around the rim of the screen can be turned on and off, and has three color temperature settings. (Image credit: Future)

If you've ever tried capturing a picture of yourself with any of your phone's main cameras – except perhaps an exceptionally wide-angled one – you'll likely have found that framing the shot is near impossible.

The Insta360 Snap is a 3.5-inch touchscreen that connects to most mainstream phones via a USB-C cable – including the iPhone 16 and 17 – and acts as a second monitor, offering real-time preview. It essentially is the phone's camera app, seen from the other side.

The screen has a reversible cover which protects it when not in use, but flips around the 7.3mm thick screen and covers most of your phone's main touchscreen when you are casting to the Snap, meaning

Other features include a power button (enabling you to leave it attached to your phone even when not using it, and a 'mirror' button, allowing you to flip the image to whichever way is most comfortable to work.

Case closed! (Image credit: Future)

At the base of the more expensive 'Selfie Screen with Light' – developed with Amiro – are two additional buttons, allowing the control of the brightness between five levels (and off), and the color temperature.

The key advantages of the design are that, by using USB-C, it has low lag compared to Bluetooth alternatives, requires no battery, and offers touch control. It has a 60Hz refresh rate and 550 nits of brightness.

A full list of compatible phones can be seen on the Insta360 Store FAQ, but it includes all the best camera phones of the last few years (iPhone 15 was the first with USB-C). If your phone doesn't support MagSafe charging, a sticky magnetic ring can be attached.

The Insta360 Snap Selfie Screen is available now, and I will be posting my full review shortly (I'm testing the version with a light). It is priced at $79.99 / £72.99 / AU$139.99, or $89.99 / £82.99 / AU$154.99 if you want the version with the light.