Leaptic Cube Brings 8K Madness to a Thumb-Sized Camera

CES 2026 has barely opened its doors and someone already decided subtlety was overrated. Dreame Technology, better known for making very smart things that clean floors while judging your life choices, has officially entered the action camera arena with the LEAPTIC Cube, its first 8K AI tiny action camera, as we could read from their Press Release.

And no, this is not one of those “8K on the box, vibes in the footage” situations. Dreame is swinging hard, with serious hardware, aggressive AI, and an ecosystem that feels like it escaped from a sci-fi storyboard.

For DroneXL readers, especially those who live somewhere between drones, cameras, and unnecessary tech curiosity, this one is worth slowing down for.

An 8K Core That Refuses to Be Small-Minded

At the center of the LEAPTIC Cube is a bold decision that immediately separates it from most tiny action cameras. Dreame went with a 1 over 1.3 inch CMOS sensor, which puts it among the largest sensors currently found in flagship action cams. Bigger sensor means more light, better dynamic range, and far fewer excuses when footage looks bad.

The Cube records 8K at 30fps, 4K at 60fps with HDR, 4K Hyper Night video, and captures 50 megapixel photos for those moments when video feels too fleeting.

A claimed 13.5 stops of dynamic range keeps highlights from detonating while shadows retain actual information, not just wishful darkness.

Powering all this is a 4nm Qualcomm 8 core AI image processor pushing up to 48 TOPS of AI performance, which is the kind of number usually followed by buzzwords and a dramatic pause. In this case, it actually matters, because real time 8K encoding and decoding is not something you casually ask a tiny camera to do unless you enjoy thermal experiments.

The lens is equally overqualified. A 155 degree super wide angle optic built from 1G plus 1GM plus 6P aspheric glass elements, with nano coating and spin coating to reduce glare and boost light transmission.

Translation for normal humans. This thing is designed to stay sharp, wide, and clean, even when the sun is doing its best to ruin your shot.

If this were just about specs, the LEAPTIC Cube would already be interesting. But Dreame clearly got bored there and decided to add a brain.

AI That Actually Understands the Scene, Not Just the Buzzwords

Dreame is leaning heavily into AI here, but not in the usual “tap a button and hope” way. The LEAPTIC Cube integrates AI across the entire creative pipeline, before, during, and after capture, and this is where things start to feel different.

Before you even hit record, the camera acts as a voice controlled shooting assistant called “Moko”. You can power it on or off, start recording, take photos, switch modes, add markers, and adjust settings using natural speech. No rigid command phrases, no shouting at a cube like it owes you money.

One small cultural speed bump though, and Spanish speakers will hear it immediately. The LEAPTIC Cube’s AI assistant is called Moko, which sounds friendly and futuristic in English, but in Spanish it translates roughly to… booger. As in nasal. As in something you aggressively do not want directing your cinematic masterpiece.

It is not a dealbreaker, but it does feel like one of those moments where someone should have tapped a Spanish speaker on the shoulder before locking the name. Either way, if Moko tells you to start recording, just remember it is an AI assistant, not a seasonal allergy.

During recording, the Cube uses a multimodal large model to perform real time scene awareness at millisecond speed. This is not just object detection. It does not stop at identifying a person, the sky, or a beach. It understands context.

A smiling face running during golden hour on a beach is treated differently than a static portrait indoors, with priorities shifting toward facial clarity, balanced exposure, and skin tones that do not look like they were processed by a nervous algorithm.

Post processing is where Dreame goes full director mode. The AI performs pixel level orchestration, adjusting color, skin tones, dynamic range, and detail together, instead of stacking disconnected effects. The idea is to enhance the image holistically, based on what is actually happening in the frame, not just what the preset thinks should happen.

In short, the LEAPTIC Cube does not just capture footage. It tries to understand it, and then politely improve it without asking you to babysit sliders.

Power, Control, and an Ecosystem That Wants to Follow You Everywhere

Beyond image quality, Dreame focused hard on usability, power, and long sessions, which is where many tiny cameras quietly fall apart.

The Cube uses ProSync transmission technology, a proprietary connection between the camera and its docking station that delivers stable, low latency monitoring without the usual Bluetooth drama. Dreame claims five to ten times the distance and stability of conventional Bluetooth, with no noticeable lag or disconnections. That is a bold claim, but one DroneXL will be watching closely once real world testing begins.

The interface borrows inspiration from dynamic screen concepts, offering fully customizable shortcuts so frequently used settings are always one tap away. Less menu diving, more actual recording.

Power comes from a magnetically attached external battery dock, which extends runtime from 90 minutes standalone to 220 minutes combined, while simultaneously providing stable data transfer. In practical terms, it means long drone sessions, extended POV shots, or time lapses without constantly swapping batteries like a caffeinated raccoon.

Portrait shooters also get a dedicated professional portrait beautification system, enhancing skin translucency, facial depth, and detail clarity. This will either be your favorite feature or something you quietly disable, depending on your relationship with reality.

Then there is the ecosystem, which Dreame unveiled alongside the Cube. The Intelligent Imaging Ecosystem includes AI Glasses and an AI Ring, and yes, this is where it starts sounding like a cyberpunk accessory catalog.

The AI Ring acts as an invisible control hub. Subtle gestures or touches let you start recording, switch modes, or mark highlights without touching the camera. The AI Glasses function as a display hub, projecting the live view directly into your field of vision, freeing your hands and letting you stay immersed while cycling, flying, or moving through the world without staring down at a screen.

At the center of it all, the LEAPTIC Cube becomes the recording engine, responding instantly to ring commands and capturing exactly what you are seeing through the glasses. All devices communicate through low power data links and a unified AI hub, forming a seamless loop of see, control, and record.

Dreame calls it recording as natural as breathing. Marketing poetry aside, it is an ambitious and genuinely interesting approach.

Pricing is set at $439.99 for the 64GB version and $459.99 for the 128GB version, with North American availability expected in 2026.

DroneXL’s Take

The LEAPTIC Cube feels like Dreame looked at the action camera market, sighed deeply, and decided to skip incremental updates entirely. An 8K sensor this large, paired with serious AI processing and a genuinely thought out ecosystem, is not a casual first attempt.

For drone pilots, creators, and anyone tired of tiny cameras that promise everything and deliver compromises, this could be a real shakeup, assuming the real world footage lives up to the spec sheet bravado. If Dreame pulls this off, the Cube will not just record your adventures, it will quietly judge other action cameras while doing it.

Photo credit: Dreame LEAPTIC