GoPro has become synonymous with action cameras and, historically, every year the company released a new series of magnificent perch in September. The GoPro Hero6 Black arrived at the end of September 2017, while the GoPro Hero7 Black (along with its cheaper siblings, Hero7 Silver and Hero7 White) arrived exactly one year later in 2018.
So it's probably surprising that rumors and leaks about the next generation have, in principle, begun to rear their heads.
Today, photo news site Photo Rumors unearthed that being GoPro Hero8 snapper. During these shots, not particularly spicy, gray rice. 8 on the side does hint that this is the next generation of the GoPro camera. Photos also show that GoPro has redesigned the Hero8 to accommodate new optional accessories, including a microphone, external display, and LED lighting.
We've heard hints of a redesign before. Back in May, GoPro and CEO Nick Woodman revealed that the company wants to upgrade its entire range across all price points. It could also mean that we'll see not just a drastically revised GoPro Hero8 black camera, but possibly Hero8 silver and Hero8 white as well.
Expect even more oily-smooth video
The upcoming GoPro Hero8 range cameras will retain their predecessors' 4K video shooting capabilities, but rumors suggest it will be a double ante, with the Hero8 Black potentially capable of recording at 120fps at 4K resolution (as opposed to 60fps on the Hero7 Black ), while full high-definition 1080p video can be captured at up to 480 fps.
It is also expected that the eighth generation action camera will have a new GP2 series processor under the hood. If that's the case, then we should see a noticeable improvement in performance over the (admittedly excellent) GoPro Hero7 black. The new processor can improve the camera's low light and make the superb HyperSmooth image stabilization feature even silkier.
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360 degree view
When discussing the company's Q1 2019 financial results in May, Woodward also noted that he is waiting to announce the next generation of the spherical camera in Q2019 2018. If true, then it will likely be the successor to the GoPro fusion cameras, which was released in mid-XNUMX.
We didn't have any word on what the Merge 2 would be like, but the original is capable of shooting 5.2k video at up to 30fps. However, modern cameras' over-the-top capture feature - which decomposes 360-degree material into conventional widescreen video - is quite labor intensive because this product is arguably best suited for professionals. Hope that GoPro will make the next more user-friendly to give it a basic appeal.
This is all speculation for now, of course, but if GoPro sticks to its usual routine, then most likely the official announcement of the eighth generation of action cameras (and possibly even a merger 2) is somewhere in a month.
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