GoPro's Karma drone slated to launch in 2016

GoPro has announced that it is working on a drone called Karma, which will be released in the first half of 2016. In October, the company teased that it had a drone in the works. At a December 10 conference at Wedbush Securities, though, VP of Corporate Development Colin Born said the company is working on a “flying camera.” When questioned, Born explained that he was talking about a quadcopter that would likely have a camera attached.

Referring to it as a “flying camera” reveals how GoPro thinks of drones: They are simply another vehicle for making use of the company’s main product—action cameras. Jeff Brown, the company’s VP of communications, said at the same conference that there are about 750,000 to 800,000 recreational quadcopters in the US, of which 70 to 75 percent have cameras. “What's driving this hockey stick in adoption of quadcopter is not radio-controlled flight,” he said. “It is jaw-dropping video of your wedding; of your kids' surf [s]ession; of a soccer game. It is jaw-dropping video perspectives that are driving drone use right now; it's not love of flight.”

GoPro knows that many cameras used with drones these days are its own, but now the company wants to get into the drone market itself to create a singular experience. China’s DJI has also realized the potential here. While it was a drone maker first, it now produces its own camera. It is clear that the most value offered by recreational drones at present is their video capability. Smaller China manufacturers are already focusing on HD video recording on their drones. This device from Winky Industry, for example, advertises a built-in 1080-pixel camera. However, being able to switch out cameras is a feature consumers will likely appreciate. The definition for “high definition video” is also changing. It might not be long before a 1080-pixel resolution is no longer enough and consumers will be looking for devices that are at least capable of recording 4K video. Of course, China manufacturers are working on that, too.