Leaked GoPro Hero 9 Black protective replacement lens cover suggests that GoPro has listened to its fans
by Alex AldersonGoPro made several strides forwards with last year's Hero 8 Black, but the removal of the protective replacement lens cover was not one of them. Effectively, this change made it difficult to remove the lens cover from the Hero 8 Black, as The Verge discovered during its review of the action camera. GoPro has addressed this with this year's camera, the Hero 9 Black, though. It is unclear why GoPro has u-turned on this, but the volume of complaints about the removal of the lens cover suggests that GoPro has listened to its fans.
The news comes courtesy of Roland Quandt, who tweeted a picture of the new protective replacement lens cover on Friday. The lens cover will protect the Hero 9 Black's 23.6 MP camera, which is an upgrade on the 12 MP sensor in the Hero 8 Black. The new camera will allow the Hero 9 Black to shoot in up to 5K at 30 FPS like last year's Hero Max. Additionally, the Hero 9 Black will support newer versions of HyperSmooth and TimeWarp technologies.
Another big change for the next GoPro Hero will be the switch to a colour front display. It is unclear how this display will be utilised, but it is larger than the one that GoPro included on the Hero 8 Black. Similarly, the Hero 9 Black will feature a 41% larger battery than its predecessor, which will have a capacity of 1,720 mAh. While the Hero 9 Black sound like a substantial upgrade over the Hero 8 Black, the former's price reflects these changes. According to Quandt, GoPro will price the Hero 9 Black at €479 - over 11% more than the launch price of the Hero 8 Black.
