The Next Generation of GoPros Will be Powered by This New AI-Enhanced Processor

With SXSW and NAB right around the corner, there’s a lot of industry insights and innovations to be explored over the next few weeks. However, one innovation, from the action camera team at GoPro, has already been revealed and is forecasted to be released here in the next few months.

GoPro has announced its next-generation, AI-enhanced GP3 processor, which promises to set a new image quality standard in low-light capture, as well as offer some advanced runtimes and thermal performance.

Let’s take a look at this new 5-nanometer “system-on-a-chip” and explore what it might have to offer for the next-gen of GoPro action cams.

GoPro’s New GP3 Processor

With a name that sounds like a weight loss drug, make no mistake—this new GoPro GP3 processor is going to pack a punch. Announced as an exclusive new processor to GoPro devices, the GP3is a 5-nanometer System-on-a-Chip (SoC) that is set to deliver more than 2X the pixel processing power and superior AI-driven image quality and low-light performance over its predecessor, the GP2 processor.

What’s most intriguing about the new GP3 processor will be its power efficiency and thermal performance, which are both expected to significantly outperform its competition and result in some industry-leading runtimes in the most demanding environmental conditions.

The company also shares that the goal of the GP3 is to help usher in a new era of professional-level image quality, low-light performance, resolution, and frame rates for small form-factor camera markets, including action cameras, 360 cameras, vlogging cameras, and ultra-premium, compact cinema-grade cameras.

Price and Availability

GoPro has not shared any additional details about plans for the next-gen models of GoPro action cameras or any other details on how this new GP3 processor will be used. However, we do get a few quotes that give some more insights.

"We expect our new, exclusive GP3 processor to lead in every performance area—image quality, resolution, frame rates, low-light performance and power and thermal efficiency. Launching in our new products in Q2, GP3 provides a scalable, proprietary foundation we can leverage to power GoPro cameras across existing and future product categories. Our markets demand the very best performance, and we believe this sets the stage for GP3 to serve as a growth catalyst for GoPro." — Pablo Lema, GoPro's Senior Vice President of Product Management.

"GP3's bleeding-edge, cinema-grade performance will enable GoPro to enter the ultra-premium end of the imaging market this year, serving the needs of a new, higher-end market segment that can grow GoPro's business and brand. We're excited for GP3 to empower GoPro as both an innovator and disrupter as we look to grow our business through market-leading technology and performance." — Nicholas Woodman, GoPro's founder and CEO.

From there, all we know is that the GP3 will debut in new GoPro cameras as early as Q2 of this year. So stay tuned for more news as soon as it's available.