It's that time of year when we expect GoPro to announce a new generation of action cameras and the leaks have already started coming in. A month after the first batch of images appeared online, German tech site WinFuture has published plenty more, revealing a few more details about the upcoming action camera.
The original leak suggested that new accessories – like an LED light and an external display – could be incoming with the GoPro Hero8 Black, and one of the most important revelations from WinFuture's report indicates that users will be able to attach two accessories to the next GoPro at the same time.
It's being called a 'media module', and when slipped into the Hero8 Black, it will add two hot shoes to the body of the camera – one on the top and another on the side. The media module also seems to have a microphone already built-in, but the two hot shoes will allow users to not only slip on an LED lamp, but also a better mic if they deem it necessary (or even an external display).
Another important addition that's reportedly coming to the GoPro Hero8 Black is the hinged mounting plate built into the bottom of the camera. The rounded fingers of the mounting plate fold down when not in use, but can be employed to attach the shooter to gimbals.
The addition of the mounting plate means the flap to open the battery and memory card housing has been moved to right edge of the camera body, unlike the bottom right corner on the GoPro Hero7 Black.
The folding mounting plate on the GoPro Hero8 Black
As far as the rest of the design goes, WinFuture says there isn't much difference between the GoPro Hero7 Black and its upcoming successor. Overall size remains more or less the same, while the touch display is also unchanged at two inches. Even battery life is unlikely to change, with an identical 1,220mAh battery supposedly making its way to the Hero8 Black.
According to WinFuture, the Hero8 Black will house a 12MP sensor – the same megapixel count we saw in both the Hero7 Black and the Hero6 Black. And while initial reports of the GoPro Hero8 Black claimed the new camera will be capable of recording 4K video at up to 120fps, WinFuture is reporting that 4K resolution will top out at 60fps, although it will be capable of recording at 240fps if the resolution is dropped down to 1080p. That means the Hero8 Black will be able to record slow motion.
Floaty makes a comeback
Looks like Floaty is getting a redesign
WinFuture is also reporting that the GoPro Hero8 Black will retain the previous model's water resistance to a depth of 10 meters. However, going by the image shared on the German site, the GoPro-branded camera lifejacket has been redesigned.
The original Floaty – used to ensure the device doesn't sink and can easily be seen thanks to its bright orange color – attaches to the frame backdoor on previous models, meaning it didn't cover the entire camera. However, the Floaty possibly arriving alongside the Hero8 will slip on like a jacket, providing better protection from bumps and falls, while also making sure the camera stays buoyant.
While there's still no news on when the official reveal will be, WinFuture says the Hero8 Black will have an expected price of €470 (that's about $ 520 / £422 / AU$ 757), so you might want to start saving now if you want to get your hands on the latest generation of GoPro.