Good news for owners of GoPro HERO9 and HERO10 cameras: The company is releasing a new high-performance battery called Enduro. The new battery, GoPro says, “significantly increases cold temperature performance and extends video recording times in all conditions.” Plus, there’s a firmware upgrade en route for the HERO10.
The HERO10 and HERO9 are awesome action cameras – and are favored by many First-Person-View pilots. But if there’s one complaint you hear from time to time, it’s that the battery life isn’t quite as good as users would like.
GoPro has listened. And a new battery is on the way.
The new GoPro Enduro battery
GoPro is pretty excited about the new battery. And if it performs up to the claims listed in a news release sent today, with good reason. According to the release, the battery upgrade “features revolutionary technology that dramatically improves HERO10 and HERO9 Black camera performance in cold temperatures (snow sports, for example) while also significantly extending recording times in moderate temperatures.”
That’s a big win, and the numbers provided by GoPro are pretty impressive.
What difference will the GoPro Enduro battery make?
Plenty, according to GoPro. But before we go there, let’s take a look at this tiny beast:
A lot of GoPro users are involved with snow sports. And even some casual users like to pull out these cameras when it’s cold out. But when it’s cold, batteries don’t last as long. Even GoPro admits this has long been an “Achilles heel” of the product line. The Enduro will change that.
If the battery temperature is 14F (-10C), with a HERO10 Black you’ll be able to record an amazing 56 minutes of 5.3K60 video. If you’re recording 4K120, you’ll get 50 minutes. When set to 4K60 you’ll get 76 minutes of recording time, and a whopping 115 minutes when shooting 1080p30 video. That’s pretty amazing.
Remember, too, that’s the battery temperature. It could be even colder outside.
Will Enduro improve GoPro recording times in normal temps?
Yup. In moderate temperatures, say 77F (25C), here’s what you’ll get with the HERO10 Black:
- 60 minutes of 5.6K60 video (a 28 per cent improvement over the current battery)
- 51 minutes of 4K120 video (a 40 per cent improvement)
- 71 minutes of 4K60 video (a 13 per cent gain)
- 120 minutes of 1080p30 video
You’ll be able to purchase the new Enduro battery via GoPro.com as of November 30 – just in time for winter in the northern hemisphere.
Wait, there’s more!
Remember we mentioned a firmware upgrade? Well, here’s the scoop.
By the end of October, GoPro will release a HERO10 Black firmware upgrade that will introduce three “Video Performance Modes.” These are designed to maximize performance and also help with keeping the camera cooler. Here are the modes, direct from the GoPro release.
- Maximum Video Performance – Maximum resolution and frame rates for the very best image quality and ultra-slow-motion video.
- Extended Battery – Optimal resolutions and frame rates for the longest possible video recording times and maximum battery life.
- Tripod / Stationary Video — Optimized for recording long video clips at the highest resolutions and frame rates when the camera is stationary without motion or airflow to cool the camera. GPS and HyperSmooth video stabilization are turned OFF in this mode.
How much difference will the GoPro firmware upgrade make?
Plenty. As users will know, when there’s no airflow on a decently warm day the camera can get warm. Battery life also suffers. The new firmware upgrade, according to GoPro, will really make a difference. How much? Well, if the camera is static and in Tripod/Stationary Video mode recording a single continuous clip, here’s what GoPro says you can expect at 77F (25C):
- 5.3K60 – 47% more runtime than previous for an average of 29-minute-long clips
- 5.3K30 – 11% more runtime than previous for an average of 44-minute-long clips
- 4K120 – 52% more runtime than previous for an average of 26-minute-long clips
- 4K60 – 154% more runtime than previous for an average of 63-minute-long clips
- 4K30 – 35% more runtime than previous for an average of 50-minute-long clips
That’s pretty astonishing. What’s more, the company says a future firmware upgrade will allow for even longer clip lengths when in 5.3K30 and 4K30 modes. If you happen to be shooting 2.7K or 1080p, you’ll get even longer clip lengths, providing you’re using the new Extended Battery or Maximum Video Performance modes.
DroneDJ’s take
We’re used to firmware upgrades offering modest performance boosts. The claimed performance enhancements offered by the firmware upgrade (HERO10 Black only) and the new Enduro battery (HERO10 and HERO9) are really, really impressive. We look forward to both the firmware and the new Enduro battery.
If you don’t have one of these cameras, we have to say they’re pretty awesome. They provide great video quality that fits in your hand and now offer new features and extended run times. If you’re considering purchasing, we’d appreciate it if you used our Amazon affiliate links, which keep the lights on and the servers humming.
You can buy HERO10 Black from the Amazon GoPro store here, and the HERO9 Black here.
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