- Comparison table
- What is Pivo Pod?
- What is Obsbot Me?
- Differences Between Pivo and Obsbot Me
- Bottom Line
Today everyone creates some sort of video content, whether professional, educational, or for social media. But, in terms of better content quality, people usually hire people or ask friends for help when shooting videos.
Unfortunately, not everyone can just hire a person to film them. Thankfully there are auto-tracking camera mounts that can take their place for better and more efficient video capturing.
This article will compare two popular auto-tracking camera mounts, Pivo Pod and Obsbot, to see which one is more suitable for capturing videos by yourself.
Pivo vs OBSBOT Me Comparison Table
Pivo | OBSBOT Me | |
Device Type | Auto-tracking camera mount | Auto-tracking camera mount |
Supported Devices | Smartphones iPhone 8 and newer with iOS 13.0 and newer. Premium Android phones from 2017 and newer with Android 9.0 and newer. | All smartphones |
Auto-tracking | Uses a smartphone camera combined with software to auto-track | It uses its own built-in camera sensor and AI, which enables an auto-tracking feature separate from the smartphone. |
Built-in tracking sensor | No | Yes |
Auto zoom | Yes | Yes |
Movement mechanism | Smooth | Smooth |
Mechanism powered by | n/a | Brushless motor |
Movement radius | 360° | 360° |
Have its own app | Pivo has 7 apps from which 3 are free to use | Windos and macOS software |
Supported social apps | Instagram | You can use any app |
Tripod compatible | Yes, with a 1/4″ screw. | Yes, with a 1/4″ screw. |
Available accessories | Tripods Remote controller | Selfie LED light |
Website Link |
What is Pivo Pod?
What we like
- Smooth mechanism movement
- Has automatic zoom
- Works with social apps such Instagram and TikTok
- Plenty of available eccessories
- Compatible with 1/4″ tripods
- Great for social content creators
What we don’t like
- It’s designed to use only with smartphones
- It doesn’t support that many social apps
Pivo Pod is a motorized auto-tracking camera mount that uses your smartphone and its auto-tracking software, which helps make stunning videos. It supports all popular apps, such as Instagram and TikTok, so that you can take your content to the next level.
How Does Pivo Pod Work?
Pivo Pod is very simple to use. You need to connect to Pivo through the smartphone app because the app is necessary to track the subject.
Pivo Pod auto-tracking camera mount has two sections: a base that holds three retractable hands for better stability and an upper part with a smartphone “clamp,” which is motorized and can rotate 360 degrees.
Mounting the smartphone to Pivo is easy; all you need to do is place it on the top and clamp it up so it holds firmly.
Pivo currently only supports iPhone and Android smartphones in terms of auto-tracking features and app connection.
Pivo Pod Features
Smooth Action
What makes people lose their minds is the shaking video that you can get with cheaply made tracking mounts, and some of them can also have the grinding sound of the mechanism. With Pivo, this is not the case, and generally, people are satisfied with how smooth and quiet the motorized action is without any stutter in the video whatsoever.
Auto Tracking and Zoom
When combined with the app, you can customize and set settings that work best for you, and the Pivo will do the rest and keep you centered in the frame. Moreover, there is no need for external controls or manual adjustments while capturing video because Pivo is completely automatic when used with its app. This way, you will be able to focus on creating the content.
Auto zoom is a feature that makes the video even more interesting which automatically and smoothly adjusts to your movement, whether you move closer or farther away.
Multiple Recording Modes
Pivo Pod offers fun recording modes that are easy to use and don’t require any editing experience, allowing you to make interesting and more engaging content for your viewers.
Support Tripod and Different Types of Mounts
Pivo Pod supports standard 1/4 inch tread on its base, which allows you to mount it on different-size tripods and use other accessories that can fit on 1/4 inch thread.
In terms of other accessories, Pivo offers its own mounts, including raised smartphone clap, magnet mount (MagSafe compatibility), and action mount, which is compatible with GoPro. Action mount is meant to be used with a smartphone because of the tracking feature.
Besides tripods and mounting possibilities, Pivo also offers video lighting, remote control, a wireless microphone, studio 360, a ready-made portable studio for professional product showcases, and other travel cases.
Battery Life and Charging
The Pivo Pod can provide an impressive 10 hours of usage with a full charge. However, the exact battery life will depend on which features and settings are being utilized at any given time. So with that, you will find true battery life when you use it for some time.
The Pivo has a built-in 500mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, and you can recharge it with a micro-USB cable. One full battery charge should take about 60 minutes with any standard 5V DC charger.
Customer Reviews
Besides important features, it’s also important to know if people are satisfied with the product and if it has any downsides. We checked out popular customer review sites such as Trustpilot and discovered that Pivo has an overall customer score of 3.9 out of 5, which is pretty good for a score on this site.
What is Obsbot Me?
What we like
- It doesn’t require an app for auto-tracking
- Works with all social apps
- Features gesture controls
- Natural smooth tracking because of a brushless motor
- Has a built-in wide-angle sensing camera
What we don’t like
- Don’t have a mount point for the action camera
The Obsbot is a brand of AI-powered auto-tracking mounts and cameras created by REMO TECH. They sell four versions of their mounts. Two of them have integrated cameras, so you won’t need a dedicated smartphone or cameras to film.
One is simply a camera, and the last one is the Obsbot Me, which is a mount similar to Pivo, and it’s the one we will be comparing against Pivo. The Obsbot Me is also a phone mount with AI-powered auto tracking that includes gesture controls.
How Does Obsbot Me Work?
Obsbot Me is a unique auto-tracking mount system that works separately from a smartphone and doesn’t require additional apps, Bluetooth, or a smartphone camera. All this is possible because of a built-in wide-angle camera paired with an AI imaging processor that does all the tracking. This way, there are no distractions with additional apps, and you can use any social app or the phone’s camera to record yourself.
Obsbot Me Features
AI Auto-Tracking
Obsbot Me has an integrated wide-angle sensor camera that works with AI to track you. This way, you don’t need an app to track your movements.
Gesture Control
The hand gesture control makes it easier to control the auto-tracking mount. For example, by raising a hand up, it will automatically start tracking you, or you can simply click the button on the base of the Obsbot if you prefer that way.
No Need For App
Because the auto-tracking feature works separately with a built-in sensor and AI, you can use the auto-tracking feature with every app as you would usually.
This is a big plus when you consider that other devices usually don’t have tracking sensors, and to be able to use tracking features, they use a smartphone camera combined with their app to be able to work.
Smooth Mechanism
Although it doesn’t sound like something important, smooth movement or rotation can have a big impact on the quality of your video. For example, some cheap auto-tracking mounts have bad movement, and as a result, the video ends up having grinding sound in the background. For that, the Obsbot Me uses a brushless motor for fast, smooth, and quiet movement.
Expandable
The Obsbot Me base has a 1/4″ thread that you can use to mount on any compatible tripod or base. Also, on their website, you can find all accessories that can expand the use of Obsbot Me.
Battery Life and Charging
Obsbot Me has a 950mAh built-in battery, equivalent to 120 minutes of use. When it comes to charging, it can be done using a power adaptor or power bank with a USB-C cable. And to fully charge the battery, it takes 75 minutes.
Customer Reviews
For the reviews, we did not find any relevant reviews on Trustpilot and other verified review sites. We also checked out Amazon and discovered that it has an overall 4.5 score.
What are the Differences Between Pivo and Obsbot Me
When you put Pivo and Obsbot Me side by side, you can notice the differences at the start.
Size and Design
For example, the Pivo is a more compact package with smartphone mounting and movement mechanisms. There are also three retractable arms in the base, which can keep Pivo steady on flat surfaces.
The Obsbot Me is a different story; each part of the unit works separately, and it’s bigger than Pivo Pod. This doesn’t cause any problems; it brings more stability to the unit because it has a tripod that attaches to the base.
One of the real differences between these two units is in how their auto-tracking feature works.
Auto-following Feature and Apps
Pivo combines a smartphone camera with its software for auto-tracking. However, this way of working limits the use of different types of apps, and you can only use those compatible with the Pivo app.
On the other hand, Obsbot Me is much more advanced because it has its own wide-angle camera, which can track your movement without using your smartphone camera and forcing you to use additional apps that limit your use of social apps. With Obsbot Me, you can set up video recording on the smartphone as you usually do.
Auto-tracking Mechanism
As we said earlier, the tracking movement or mechanism can greatly impact the outcome of your recording, both the audio and video.
We can say with certainty that Obsbot Me has a higher quality mechanism all because of the brushless motor, which imitates natural smooth movement without sound distortions.
We are not sure which type of motor Pivo uses for its mechanism, but we did not find any problems with it. Customer reviews said it has smooth recording operation without impacting video quality.
Smartphone Mounting
Placing the phone on the mount differs between Pivo and Obsbot Me.
Pivo has an adjustable clamp that can hold your phone with the case on. To better mount your phone, you can buy a smart mount that can pivot and rotate to get your desired position.
Although it’s designed for smartphone use, we believe you could also mount a smaller tablet, but you need to use the Pivo remote controller to track yourself manually.
Obsbot Me, on the other hand, already comes with a mount capable of easily holding both smartphones and tablets.
Bottom Line
Overall, both auto-tracking camera mounts are well-made and packed with neat features, and we can certainly recommend both units. But, for example, if you are starting to make videos for social networks, then Pivo is a more affordable option and will cover all your needs.
On the other hand, OBSBOT Me is much more feature-packed, which justifies its higher price. Also, it does not require an application for the monitoring feature, which gives freedom of use regardless of the content, which greatly contributes to professional use.
Ultimately, it all comes down to how much you want to spend money on and what content you plan to create. So, consider your needs as a content creator and decide which auto-tracking unit is more suitable for you.
Abdo is a Zoopy writer who loves spending his free time outdoors, camping, and enjoying the peace that nature brings. He also enjoys fixing things - he's particularly good with electronics. His favorite movie is I Am Legend, and he's fascinated by survival gear and safety.