The GoPro Hero 13 Black just leaked with a bigger battery and interesting upgrades

The next generation of GoPro is nearly here. Don't expect a radical new action cam but there are some worthwhile upgrades incoming

GoPro Hero 12 Black
(Image credit: GoPro)
Carrie Marshall
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Quick Summary

Marketing images and packaging for the GoPro Hero 13 Black have leaked and indicate a larger battery and some new lens options. The camera's launch is expected in September 2024.

The GoPro Hero 12 Black is pretty much perfect: we gave it the full five stars in our GoPro Hero 12 Black review. GoPro has a winning formula here, and that means new versions are a bit like new iPhones: they tend to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes, refining what's already a very accomplished camera. And that pattern appears to be repeating with the imminent GoPro Hero 13 Black, which has just leaked.

The leaked details suggest that we're going to see some useful improvements but nothing too radical: this is the same GoPro Hero that you love, but it's been tweaked slightly to make it even better.

GoPro Hero 13 Black: what we know so far

The leak comes via reputable leaker Igor Bogdanov on X, the former Twitter, who's revealed several photos of what appear to be the new GoPro. The body looks very slightly taller, and there's a new grille on the front. The image sensor appears to be the same as in the current model but there are some key changes to what you can do with it, including HLG HDR video. The leak also promises enhanced audio, although it doesn't go into detail.

That slightly taller body could be there to make room for a bigger battery. Bogdanov says that the battery has been increased from the current 1,720mAh to 1,900mAh. "This will give the Hero 13 over 3 hours of 1080p30 and over 1.5 hours when recording 4K30 or 5.3K30 video," he says. 

There appear to be some new Lens Mod accessories too including a Macro lens and a new Ultra Wide lens. The leak doesn't go into detail about those so as yet we don't know how the ultrawide differs from the current Mod. And there appears to be auto-detection for Lens Mods, which indicates automatic configuration when you swap lenses.

The packaging, which has also leaked, says there will be an Anamorphic lens option. That's interesting because that's an option GoPro doesn't currently offer, with third party manufacturers plugging the gap instead. Anamorphic lenses are great for more cinematic video.

That's not the only Hero leak that Bogdanov has published this week. He's also posted an image of a new, more affordable 4K GoPro that may be called the GoPro Hero. Both new products are expected to launch in September 2024.

Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

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