GoPro has always announced a new flagship action camera somewhere around September, so is it wrong to assume it will do the same this year?
We have reasons to believe GoPro will overhaul its entire lineup (Black, Silver, and White) in September, given that its CEO Nick Woodman was quoted in the company's Q1 earnings call in May 2019 as saying, "I'm happy to share that we're planning an exciting refreshed lineup at all price points in Q4."
There haven't been any leaked designs or prototypes for the Hero 8 so far though, and we're not even sure if GoPro will make major design changes. After all, the design of the current lineup has proven ruggedness and durability that people have come to love.
If there's anything lacking, we'd say it's the color display on the front that's used by vloggers. The DJI Osmo Action has it, so why couldn't the Hero 8?
There could some internal enhancements though. It's possible that the Hero 8 will have a new GP2 processor. Certainly, the upcoming flagship will have an HDR video, a feature that the Hero 7 Black lacks. While GoPro's GP1 chip is technically capable of supporting HDR video, it remains to be seen whether GoPro can provide this with some form of Hypersmooth stabilization in the Hero 8 Black. If so, that'd be a very welcome upgrade.
Somewhere in GoPro forums, a lot of fans want a 960fps slo-mo mode, support for external microphones over Bluetooth, and an improved stabilization in low light. These are all pretty feasible via software improvements instead of hardware upgrades.
If GoPro really wants to trump Osmo Action, however, it could improve the video framerates to give users more creative options including 4K at 120fps.
Unfortunately, the Hero 8 Black lacks major leaks, so it's quite hard to make huge conclusions about what's it gonna be like. That being said, GoPro has a lot of opportunity to steal the spotlight from the DJI Osmo Action.
The Hero 7 Black and Osmo Action aren't exactly what you call cheap, but there isn't a huge amount to choose between the two action cams. However, GoPro has some more advantages, one of them being a more polished app. People also love the fact that you can buy GoPro accessories just about anywhere.
But of course, GoPro still has to prove that its specs are better than its rival. And maybe if it could lower its price a little bit, we could well have an outstanding action camera by September.
