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GoPro Drones Coming In 2015
GoPro will release a range of drones fitted with its popular action camera technology in late 2015
GoPro has established itself as one of the biggest names in the “action cam” sector and now it’s turning its attention to the consumer drones market, according to reports.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the company will enter the consumer drones market “late next year” with a range of multi-rotor helicopters. While details remain thin on the ground, the report indicates they will carry GoPro’s existing HD action camera technology and be priced between $500 and $1000.
At present the most visible players in the consumer drone market include Parrot and DJI, which have been around for some time and have a broad portfolio of popular drone products with built-in cameras. These will be GoPro’s immediate competitors and it’ll have to prove itself from the get-go, but with that said GoPro may be able to leverage its current reputation and create a powerful position for itself. The company’s products already have an emphasis on durability and high-end imaging, something which some would argue is lacking in the consumer drone space at present.
The elephant in the room is the niche nature of the consumer drone market; they’re expensive products and often viewed as “big boys toys”, so to speak –– certainly not everyone has the spare cash lying around to throw relatively large sums of money at a flying camera. So far GoPro’s success seems to have largely hinged on its popularity with sports and extreme sports enthusiasts who are already used to forking out big wads of cash on equipment for their hobbies, but there’s definitely a difference between a camera which you simply, say, attach to your helmet and then get on with your sport, and one you have to actively control via a smartphone.
Still, it will certainly be interesting to have another player in the drone space!
Paul Briden
11:33, 27 Nov 2014