GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) launched Hero4 Session, a smaller and easy to use camera, in an effort to keep its supremacy in the action-camera segment. The latest camera is 50 percent smaller and carries 40 percent less weight when compared to Hero4 Black and Silver versions, according to the company.
However, the device doesn’t incorporates display for visually setting up shots, but records video when the only button is pushed by users and switches off when it is pressed again. The company also plans to launch a device for shooting 360 degree video clips that will be used in virtual-reality apps.
Adding new models might help the San Mateo, California-based company to keep its dominance in the action camera market. In June, GoPro launched a Hero model that was priced at $300. An analyst at IDC, Christopher Chute said that the company needed to expand their product portfolio at some point, to create excitement among existing customers and drive interest in new sections.
Chute added that the company’s share of the market climbed 70 percent in the last quarter of 2014, as compared to 60 percent one year ago, in spite of a push by rivals such as Sony and Xiaomi.
The latest Hero4 Session will hit the U.S market on 12th of July and will carry a price tag of $399. The new version also has the ability to shoot still photographs. The company said that it will possibly attract current GoPro users who comfortably shoot videos without seeing what is being recorded on the device.
Spokeswoman Kelly Leggoe said that the latest device doesn’t need a waterproof case as water can drain through microphone aperture. The new model will need less frequent charging as it turns off automatically when recording is finished despite the fact that it has a battery life of just two hours.
