GoPro’s successor to the Hero 7 is likely coming on October 1, as the action camera maker has posted to its official website a teaser with the date. The tagline “This is Action.” appears over a fast-cut mash-up of a variety of shots, including off-road racing, underwater diving and what looks like close-up footage of Frank Zapata (or someone else with a jetpack) flying around, along with the date.
The mostly shadowed image above is the closest we get to an official product shot, but we’ve seen leaks sourced from photo-focused rumor site Photo Rumors that suggest a redesign with added expandability options for advanced accessories, including front-facing display monitors and external flash. These leaks also include some potential specs, like a new GP2 chip to help with on-board image stabilization, better lenses and image quality and a new 12MP sensor, in addition to the new optional housing and accessories.
GoPro’s Hero 7 introduced HyperSmooth stabilization, which provides gimbal-like results without the actual gimbal thanks to advanced digital stabilization technology that GoPro developed in-house. But the company also saw the introduction of its strongest-yet competitor in the market this year with the DJI Osmo Action, a GoPro-like action camera from drone and gimbal-maker DJI, which is at least on par with the Hero 7 in terms of stabilization and quality, with added features aimed at the vlogging market, like a built-in front-facing display.
The slogan “This is Action.” could actually be interpreted as a dig against its newest rival, as Action is capitalized and the DJI camera is literally named the “Osmo Action.” Hopefully GoPro does indeed get a little spicy about its competitor, as it’s a market that could definitely stand to benefit from some genuine competition in the higher end of the category.