The GoPro Hero 11 Black is not only the best action camera you can buy right now for vlogging, but it's also one of the best GoPros, and that means there's a lot of excitement around its imminent successor, the GoPro Hero 12 Black. And it looks like there's good news and bad news on that front. The GoPro Hero 12 Black does include some significant upgrades, but the core camera hasn't really changed.
That's according to WinFuture.de, who have got their hands on the spec sheet. And in all honesty, we're not surprised: in our Hero 11 Black review, we said that it was in many ways "the ultimate in incremental evolution"; while there were indeed some useful improvements, "it's almost identical [to the Hero 10] in most of the other ways you can measure.
So what incremental excitement can we expect this time around?
GoPro Hero 12 Black: key upgrades for 2023
According to WinFuture, the 12 retains the 5.3K resolution and 1/1.9" sensor of the current model; despite rumours of a new 1-inch sensor and a new edge-to-edge display, neither of those things have arrived in this model. According to the datasheets, the spec of the sensor hasn't changed: you can extract 27-megapixel stills and do 8-bit and 10-bit videos.
There is a significant software update, however. GoPro calls it HyperSmooth 6.0 and promises even better image stabilisation than in the current Hero.
The other big change here is in battery life, which now appears to be 9 minutes longer when recording at 5.3K resolution. That might not sound like much, but it means 70 minutes of maximum recording time; if you drop down to 30fps, you can still shoot in the same resolution, but you can up the recording time to more than 90 minutes. Drop down to the lowest setting, Full HD at 30fps, and you should be good for more than 150 minutes. That's 13 minutes more than before.
As WinFuture puts it, this is clearly a "cautious upgrade". But if you're serious about shooting, then time is money, and the new GoPro clearly gives you more time to capture that compelling content.
The GoPro Hero 12 Black is expected to launch on or around 13 September with a price similar to the existing model, which is currently £399.
