GoPro is relaunching its Karma drone today, three months after the company recalled the aircraft following reports that some units suffered a power failure during flight and fell from the sky.
GoPro’s future is now tied to the revival of its Karma drone — the one that fell out of the sky last year
After a year of job cuts and shuttering its entertainment division, the drone relaunch may not be enough.
GoPro
The drone is now on sale — again. GoPro says that the power failure on its original, recalled model was due to a problem with a latch that secured its battery, a problem the company says has been resolved in the latest version of the drone.
The Karma is a foldable drone designed to mount a GoPro camera. When it was announced last fall, the drone was poised to rival DJI’s foldable drone, the Mavic Pro. But less than a month after the Karma first hit the market in October last year, all GoPro drones were recalled. Customers were issued a full refund.
2016 wasn’t a great year for the sporty camera company. The company reported in November it was cutting 200 jobs and that Tony Bates, the president of GoPro since June 2014, would step down. Before GoPro, Bates served as the CEO of Skype.
GoPro also shared last November that it was cutting its entertainment division after reporting its shares lost half their value in 2016.
Now GoPro is hoping (again) that it can revive sales with its Karma drone. Even if the drone does fly as intended this time, recovering from a total recall due to a dangerous power malfunction isn’t an easy lift. The Karma costs $800 without a GoPro camera and $1,100 with the camera.
DJI’s rival, the Mavic Pro drone, folds even smaller than the Karma and can fit in a backpack. The Karma requires its own carrying case — not ideal if you’re on a hike or some kind of outdoor adventure.
On Thursday, GoPro is expected to share its earnings from its latest quarter.
Here’s the company’s latest video of its drone.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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