GoPro Hero 12 Black price, release date, specs and new features

After weeks of leaks, the GoPro Hero 12 Black is officially here – and it’s one of the smallest updates we’ve seen to GoPro’s flagship action camera.

While there’s nothing quite as radical as a new 1-inch sensor, the Hero 12 Black does deliver a handful of new upgrades to the Hero 11 Black that are mainly aimed at more advanced video shooters.

These include support for two-channel audio, HyperSmooth 6.0 stabilization, a new built-in tripod thread, and much-improved battery life (at least on paper). You can also now use the full 8:7 sensor area in all shooting modes, which is useful for TikTok and social media.

This also means that much remains unchanged, including the 1/1.7-inch sensor (which is smaller than the one in the DJI Osmo Action 4), 5.3K video recording, and the body design, which is at least compatible comes with all the usual media mods and accessories.

Speaking of which, GoPro also announced a new Media Mod 2.0 that offers an ultra-wide 177-degree field of view and, most interestingly, a new GoPro Quik desktop app (which will be available in November 2023). So when will the Hero 12 Black be available and will it maintain GoPro’s long-standing reign at the top of our guide to the best action cameras? Here’s everything you need to know.

GoPro Hero 12 Black: Get started right away

• What is it? GoPro’s latest flagship action camera.
• When is it available? Now from the GoPro store, starting September 13 in stores worldwide.
• How much is it? The Hero 12 Black costs $399 / £399 / AU$649, and is also available bundled with the Max Lens Mod 2.0 for $479 / £479 / AU$785.

GoPro Hero 12 Black price and release date

The GoPro Hero 12 Black is now available for pre-order from the GoPro store in three different bundles, and will be available for purchase in stores around the world from September 13.

If you just need the action cam itself, it costs $399 / £399 / AU$649. That’s the same price that the Hero 11 Black launched last year when bought with a GoPro subscription. This time around, you don’t need a subscription to get that price, which is a bonus for those who don’t want to be tied down by monthly payments.

The other two bundles are an accessory bundle (which gets you an extra Enduro battery, Handler tripod and head strap) for $449 / £449 / AU$729, and a bundle that includes the Max Lens Mod 2.0 for $479 / £479 / AU$785.

The new GoPro Quik desktop app is part of the GoPro subscription and will be available from November 2023. We’re checking to see if there’s a version of the app for non-subscribers and will update this page as soon as we hear back.

GoPro Hero 12 Black features and battery life

The GoPro Hero 12 Black is a fairly minor upgrade over its predecessor, and one of the smallest updates we’ve seen to its flagship action camera. But there are five key upgrades that might encourage you to opt for it over the cheaper Hero 11 Black or the new DJI Osmo Action 4.

Perhaps the biggest, especially for vloggers or social media recordings, is support for two-channel audio. As the name suggests, it lets you record two audio tracks at the same time, say one from the GoPro’s Media Mod and another from an external microphone.

In addition, the Hero 12 Black now also has support for any wireless Bluetooth microphone, including Apple AirPods, and you can connect it to four Bluetooth devices at the same time. This can be especially useful if you want to add voiceovers or just listen to recording notifications through your earphones.

Another major quality-of-life upgrade is what GoPro claims: vastly improved battery life. It still uses the same Enduro batteries as the Hero 11 Black, but GoPro says improved power management can deliver up to 70 minutes of continuous 5K/60p video recording, even with HyperSmooth 6.0 enabled. That’s quite a leap over its predecessor in theory, but we’ll have to test it in practice.

While the Hero 12 Black uses the same 1/1.9in sensor (with a versatile 8:7 aspect ratio) as before, in addition to the GP2 processor we first saw on the Hero 10 Black, it packs a few new image quality tricks. The video resolution and frame rates are the same as before, but you can now use the full 8:7 sensor area in all shooting modes. That means it’s possible to record TimeWarps, Time Lapses, Night Lapses, and Night Effects in a TikTok-friendly vertical format.

A more professional new feature is the addition of GP-Log encoding, which when combined with 10-bit recording color graders should give additional dynamic range and color variations to play with during video editing.

Finally, the bottom of the Hero 12 Black now houses an industry-standard 1/4-inch tripod thread, between the usual mounting fingers. Okay, it’s not exactly a revolutionary addition, but it’s useful if you regularly use a standard tripod with your action cams or don’t want to cut back on extra accessories.

GoPro Hero 12 Black: Early Thoughts

Given the early rumors and our original wish list for the Hero 12 Black, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed – we’d hoped for a 1-inch sensor and an edge-to-edge screen, but what we got instead is a slightly improved Hero 11 Black with the same sensor, processor and design (apart from that new tripod thread).

It’s clear that GoPro is struggling to develop its action cam hardware and that could make the battle with the DJI Osmo Action 4 the closest we’ve seen yet. But if you dig through the Hero 12 Black’s spec sheet, you’ll find little bonuses that could still make it the most attractive choice for professionals who need a super-rugged B-cam – including two-channel audio and GP-Log encoding for color graders.

We’re looking forward to putting the battery life claims to the test and also seeing GoPro’s new Quik desktop app in action, even though the latter is free for subscribers only. Until then, we’d suggest looking at some of the best GoPros of the recent past if you need a more affordable action camera, as they’ll likely offer much of the same polish and image quality as the Hero 12 Black for less.