GoPro has become a name synonymous with action cameras and each year the company released a new line of its beautiful snappers in September. The GoPro Hero6 Black arrived in late September 2017, while the GoPro Hero7 Black (as well as its cheaper brothers and sisters, Hero7 Silver and Hero7 White) arrived exactly one year later, in 2018.
So it's probably not surprising that rumors and leaks of the next generation of GoPros are starting to surface.
Today, photography news site Photo Rumors has unearthed images of what appears to be a GoPro Hero8 snapper. Although the images that were leaked are not particularly sharp, a gray figure 8 makes it clear that it is the next-gen GoPro camera. The images also indicate that GoPro has redesigned the Hero8 to accommodate new optional accessories, including a microphone, external display, and LEDs.
(Image credit: photo rumors)
We've already heard suggestions for a redesign. Last May, Nick Woodman, GoPro CEO, revealed that the company was looking to update the entire price range. This could also mean that we will not only see a radically revised GoPro Hero8 Black, but also a Silver Hero8 and a White Hero8.
Expect an even smoother video
The upcoming GoPro Hero8 range will retain the 4K video recording capabilities of its predecessors, but rumors suggest it will double the stakes, with the Hero8 Black potentially capable of recording up to 120 images. per second at 4K (as opposed to 60fps on Hero7 Black), Full HD 1080p movies can be recorded at 480 frames per second.
The 2th-gen action camera is also expected to house the new GP7 processor under the hood. If this is the case, we should see a significant improvement in performance compared to the GoPro HeroXNUMX Black (admittedly already excellent). The new processor could potentially improve camera performance compared to reduced brightness and make the excellent HyperSmooth image stabilization feature even silkier.
360 degree view
While discussing the company's results for the first quarter of 2019 in May, Woodward also announced plans to announce a next-generation spherical camera in the fourth quarter of 2019. If that is true, it is likely that this camera will be successful with the GoPro Fusion released mid-2018.
We don't know what the Fusion 2 will be, but the original is capable of recording video at 5.2K resolution at 30fps. However, the current camera's over-capture feature (which converts 360-degree footage into ordinary panoramic video) is time consuming, so it may be a better product for professionals. Hope GoPro makes a more user-friendly tracking to give it general appeal.
Of course, this is all speculation, but if GoPro sticks to its usual routine, we'll probably have an official announcement for the 2th-gen action cameras (and maybe even the Fusion XNUMX) next month.