Earlier this year, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman told investors that the company was working to launch the Hero 6 camera by the end of this year. The action camera maker should announce the Hero 6 soon to ensure its availability during the holiday shopping season. Ahead of the official unveiling, we may just have got out first look at the GoPro Hero 6 Black.
GoPro Hero 6 production in full swing
Folks at PhotoRumors have obtained a leaked photo of the GoPro Hero 6 Black. The picture shows the finished camera in retail packaging. It means the Hero 6 launch is imminent. Its design appears to be similar to the Hero 5. Specs mentioned on the product box suggest that it will have a 12-megapixel camera. It will be able to shoot 4K videos at 60 frames per second.
The GoPro Hero 6 Black will be water resistant up to a depth of ten meters. If its design remains similar to the Hero 5, customers will be able to use the Hero 5 accessories with the new camera. The capability to record 4K footage at 60fps will make videos smoother, and yield less blur in slow motion. The current Hero 5 Black can shoot 4K videos only at 30fps. Check out the video below to see the difference between videos recorded at 30fps and 60fps.
Japanese blog Nokoshita reported in early August the GoPro Hero 6 Black had been registered with a public agency in China. Apparently, all devices with WiFi capabilities must be registered with the agency before they could be sold in the Chinese market. The leaked picture of the fully finished GoPro Hero 6 Black indicates that it will not face any production delays like Hero 5.
GoPro hopes to return to profitability by year-end
During its second-quarter earnings call, GoPro told investors that it expected to become profitable on an adjusted basis by the end of Q3. The action camera maker said it was on track to launch the Hero 6 and a new Fusion 360 camera before the holiday season. Wedbush Securities analyst Alicia Reese said after the earnings call that demand for the existing products was strong “and that bodes well for quite a Hero 6 sell run.”
The California company expects its Q3 revenues and gross margins to be at the higher end of the $290-$310 million and 36%-38% forecast, respectively. The company told investors that the Hero 5 was the top-selling digital camera in the United States for three straight quarters, and it was closely followed by the Hero 5 Session.
GoPro has been losing money for the last several quarters. It had to shut down the entertainment division and cut more than 300 jobs. These steps coupled with strong hardware sales are expected to bring GoPro back to profitability by the end of 2017. The company had reported $297 million in revenues during Q2, a 34% jump over the same quarter a year ago. The operating losses also declined to about $30 million.
GoPro Hero 6 Black: Expected features
Besides water-resistance and 4K footage at 60fps, the upcoming GoPro Hero 6 Black is rumored to have many new features. It is expected to allow users to go live on social media with the GoPro content. Almost all major social networking sites including YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have been offering the live streaming feature. Social media users mostly rely on their phones to capture content. But there are some amazing moments that could be captured better on an action camera than on a smartphone.
If GoPro adds the live broadcasting feature, the camera could go via your smartphone to access social networks for live streaming. Nick Woodman said earlier this year, “It’ll be bitchin. You’re gonna flip. You’re gonna love it.” However, he didn’t talk about new features on the camera. We can expect the Hero 6 to offer better colors. The company has been consistently improving colors with each new flagship model. Woodman has told media that the Hero 6 would make “significant advancements in that area.”
GoPro Hero 6 price and release date
The Hero 6 is rumored to be unveiled on September 28, which is less than two weeks away. GoPro traditionally announces new cameras in September, and brings them to the market ahead of the holiday shopping season. The Hero 4 came out in September 2014, and the Hero 5 was unveiled in September 2016. The Hero camera remains GoPro’s most important product, and it is unlikely to be dethroned by Karma or Fusion in the near future.
The current Hero 5 flagship sells at $400. We expect the Hero 6 to have a similar price tag.
