GoPro Hero 6 leaked information, images, and more

Just days after the unreleased, unofficially announced GoPro Hero 6 Black appeared in the wild for the first time, another one has now popped up at a Best Buy in Canada, and with detail. These new pictures seem to confirm that GoPro’s new camera will carry over the Hero 5 Black’s design (which means it will be waterproof up to 33 feet out of the box) and will offer spec bumps across the board.

The most major of those will be that the camera can now shoot 4K footage at 60 frames per second, something professional users have been begging GoPro for for years. But it will also shoot 1080p footage at 240 frames per second, according to these new images, meaning it can capture slow motion footage that is 10 times slower than real time. The camera will retail for $649 in Canada, according to the pictures, which is roughly in line with a $499 US price tag plus tax. And it seems like GoPro will go with a dual announce / release date of September 28th.

GoPro is most likely dropping Ambarella, which has supplied the processors dating back to some of the company’s earliest cameras. This time around, GoPro will use a custom processor known internally as “GP1,” which backs up some previous reporting on the anticipated split between the two companies. So while the Hero 6 Black won’t look too different on the outside or on a spec sheet, it could be an important camera for the company. Controlling more of the image processing pipeline could mean GoPro will be able to squeeze even better quality or battery life out of the camera, much like how Apple’s nearly full control over the iPhone stack gives the company such an advantage.

We know GoPro plans to expand the rollout of Fusion, its consumer 360-degree camera, later this year, so that’s likely to be part of this late September event as well. Karma won’t be forgotten, either. While we’re probably not going to see the next generation that CEO Nick Woodman has said the company is working on, firmware that the Karma system will get a software update that adds a “follow me” mode similar to what’s found on DJI’s drones.

The Karma stabilizer grip, which lets users shoot with the drone’s gimbal in a more handheld fashion, will also get a physical update. The new version will have more options, like a joystick for aiming the camera, that also bring it in line with DJI’s offerings.

There’s not likely to be an update to the Session, GoPro’s tiny cube camera.