GoPro Karma drone relaunches: Minor adjustment resulted in major improvement

The GoPro Karma drone is back, and the company says it’s more ready than ever. Units of the infamous drone had to be pulled out in November of last year, just over two weeks after it was launched. The recall was one of the biggest tech blunders of the year 2016.

According to GoPro, the resurrected Karma is still the same product but only to the naked eye. The company says that it has tweaked a few things internally and has restructured the battery latch. GoPro believes that the minor adjustments resulted in major improvements.

“In November 2016 we had to make the difficult, but necessary, decision to voluntarily withdraw Karma from the market,” says GoPro. “Safety is our biggest priority, so this decision came after we learned that a small number of Karma units were experiencing power loss mid-flight. We knew we had to move quickly.”

Although the recall was an easy choice for the company, announcing the decision wasn’t. It was all downhill after that. GoPro suffered devastating financial losses due to the Karma drone. To make things worse, the Hero-maker announced by the end of November that it was cutting 15 percent of its labor force.

The downsizing affected more than 200 workers. GoPro’s whole entertainment division was scrapped. Company president Tony Bates vacated his position by the end of 2016 after spending a little over two years at GoPro.

The company took a massive blow as the Karma recall was initiated just before the holidays, when most businesses take advantage of the season’s shopping craze. GoPro tried to stop the bleeding by making the Karma Grip available on its own, but it never got the company the results it wanted. The standalone handheld stabiliser was deemed too expensive at $640.

The relaunched Karma drone has a US$799.99 (AU$1,054.99) price tag. Units bundled with the Hero5 Black cost US$1,099.99 (AU$1,449.99). Harnesses that make the drone compatible with Hero4 Black, Hero4 Silver and Hero5 Session are sold separately.

“Karma is the ultimate aerial, handheld and wearable stabilisation solution for the GoPro community,” says Nick Woodman, GoPro founder and CEO. “As the consumer drone market continues to grow, Karma delivers the most versatile solution at a very accessible price.”

GoPro is also working on a Flight Kit for those who bought the Karma Grip alone and the company is set to provide further details about it soon. The new and improved Karma drone is now available in the US. The UK, Australia and other international markets will have to wait a few months for the latest version of the Karma drone.

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