GoPro’s Hero 9 Black to include big changes, report suggests

By Trevor Mogg September 7, 2020

The leak of apparent packaging for GoPro’s Hero 9 Black suggests that a slew of exciting changes are coming to the next iteration of the popular action camera.

With DJI’s Osmo Action and Insta360’s recently released One R system now on the market, GoPro has some serious competitors snapping at its heels, so it needs to get it right with the Hero9 Black.

WinFuture

German tech site WinFuture, which got hold of the packaging, is confident it’s the real deal. The labeling suggests the Hero9 Black will be the first GoPro in the series to have a front-facing color display, placing it alongside the Osmo Action and making it an even friendlier vlogging camera.

The image sensor will reportedly get a bump from 12 megapixels to 20 megapixels, with rumors also suggesting the device may be able to shoot 5K video, up from the current 4K. There’s no word, however, on whether GoPro will be enhancing image quality by boosting the size of the sensor to one inch to match one of the mods available with the Insta360 One R.

A decent upgrade to the battery also looks like it’s on its way, pushing it from 1,220mAh with the Hero8 Black to 1,720mAh, giving users some extra leeway before they have to start worrying about recharging or swapping — assuming the new front-facing display doesn’t gobble up all that extra power.

The GoPro Hero 9 Black is also expected to come with improved HyperSmooth electronic stabilization, a popular feature that launched with the Hero 7 Black to offer “gimbal-like” footage.

There’s no word on when GoPro will be announcing the Hero9 Black, but its habit of releasing an update every year in the fall suggests an imminent unveiling.

Digital Trends has reached out to GoPro in the vain hope of obtaining a tidbit about the expected forthcoming release and we will update this piece if we hear back.

If you’re in the market for an action camera, you’ll probably want to see what the Hero 9 Black has to offer. But if you can’t wait, then take a moment to check out Digital Trends’ current compilation of the best action cameras currently available.

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GoPro boosts Hero 10 performance with new firmware and Enduro battery

GoPro Hero 10 Front Screen.

One of my few complaints when reviewing the GoPro Hero 10 Black was its somewhat fleeting battery life, and though I haven’t personally encountered the issue, many users have reported problems limiting recording times due to overheating. GoPro seems to have heard that message loud and clear, as they have announced a major firmware update for the camera that aims to solve the problems as well as a brand new Enduro battery.

The firmware (which will be available by the end of October) introduces three new video performance modes designed to maximize the Hero 10’s performance in different scenarios. Maximum video performance mode prioritizes high resolution, frame rate, and image quality. Extended battery mode limits resolution and frame rate to maximize recording times and battery life, while tripod/stationary video mode provides high performance when the camera is stationary, and there isn’t any airflow to cool the camera.

Photography

GoPro drops teaser video for Hero10 camera ahead of Thursday’s reveal

watch gopros teaser video for the new hero10 action camera gopro hero 10

GoPro is set to reveal the latest iteration of its popular action camera on Thursday, September 16.

The California-based company has just dropped a slick teaser video (below) for the Hero10 Black. The 57-second production, titled A New Era of GoPro, shows a slew of beautifully cinematic and highly dramatic action shots (you wouldn’t really expect anything less) as GoPro attempts to create a buzz around its latest product release.

Mobile

GoPro Hero 10 Black leak reveals images and specs

GoPro Hero 10 Black.

Images of the GoPro Hero 10 Black leaked yesterday, giving us our first look at images of the device along with specs. WinFuture, a German publication that previously leaked information about the redesigned Hero 9 Black in August last year was also the source of the latest leak. A report on the website suggests the Hero 10 Black looks similar to its predecessor (Hero 9 Black) in terms of size, design, and external accessibility features. The only design difference so far can be seen in blue accents that spell out "10 Black."
The major hardware changes we're seeing are improvements to processing power with the new GP2 processor and an improved image sensor that beefs up from 20-megapixels to 23-megapixels The Hero 10 Black is also expected to support 5.3K video recording at a smooth 60 frames per second (fps), 4K videos at 120 fps, and 2.7K videos at 240 fps. The last one can help you create high-resolution slow-motion clips. This is a considerable improvement over previous models that only supported 5K recording at 30 fps and 4K recording at 60 fps.

Marketing materials seen by WinFuture hint that Hero 10 Black’s in-camera software stabilization will see an improvement to offer "gimbal-like stabilization", after being upgraded to HyperSmooth 4.0 and TimeWarp 3.0 for time-lapse videos. Users can also enjoy an auto-upload function to transfer files online at a much quicker speed. The Hero 10 Black also supports 1080p live streaming, the same as previous models. Finally, the Hero 10 Black is said to offer 10 meters deep housing, touchscreen controls, and voice accessibility. Users can also access the webcam mode along with SuperPhoto and HDR options. These features combined with the improved recording capability have the potential to be a gamechanger for streamers and on-the-scene photographers.
The company hasn’t made a formal announcement so we don’t know how much the Hero 10 Black would cost. The previous edition, Hero 9 Black was released at $450 and is currently priced at $400 (excluding the subscription), so we can expect a number around this range, perhaps a bit higher. Given the scale of the recent leaks, the launch of the Hero 10 Black is likely to be imminent.