GoPro Karma drone is set for a 2017 global relaunch, company to provide details by February

The GoPro Karma recall was one of the biggest tech blunders of 2016. GoPro had to pull out all units of its drone last November just over two weeks after the Karma was launched. Now, the company says it plans to relaunch the Karma sometime this year.

GoPro had a rough 2016 to say the least. The company suffered tremendous financial losses due to the recall of the Karma drone. GoPro was forced to take action and launch a refund programme when some units of the Karma reportedly lost power mid-flight. To make matters worse, the company announced by the end of November that it was cutting 15 percent of its workforce due to the Karma drone mishap.

The layoffs impacted more than 200 workers. The entire entertainment division of the company was abolished. Its president, Tony Bates, left his position by the end of the year after just a little over two years at GoPro.

The company’s third quarter sales were, to simply put, very disappointing. As TechCrunch noted, consumers simply ran out of reasons to purchase new GoPro cameras. Most owners of older GoPro Hero models refuse to upgrade their units due to the simple fact that they’re working just fine.

The Karma recall proved to be the dagger for the company. The pull-out was initiated just before the holidays, when most corporations cash in on the season’s shopping bonanzas. GoPro tried to salvage the situation by making the Karma Grip available by its lonesome, but so far, nothing satisfactory has resulted from that. The standalone handheld stabiliser that initially came with the Karma drone is deemed as too expensive at $640.

GoPro says it will provide more information about the Karma drone’s global relaunch in February after it’s done testing. It’s safe to say that the company is dying to get the Karma back on the market to make up for lost revenue.

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