GoPro created a lot of buzz around one their latest products. It was supposed to be revolutionary. It was supposed to put GoPro back on the map. It was supposed to work…
Perhaps rushed to market a bit too quickly, GoPro announced a recall in November that left every Karma drone grounded. The cause? They were literally falling from the sky. Obviously, any sort of failure to a heavy device piloting above our heads is unacceptable, so GoPro took them all back without word on when they might return to the air. Today, an announcement on the GoPro site indicates that they are back up and running thanks to a new battery latch. GoPro doesn’t say what specifically was happening to the drones, but if you read between the lines it would seem that the old battery latch might have allowed the battery to become disconnected, cutting off power to the drone mid flight. The new latch seems to have fixed that, and they are airworthy once more.
Karma drones are available for $799 for the drone and required kit, or $1099 for the drone bundled with a GoPro Hero5 Black. GoPro also mentions that they are working on a flight kit so users who have already purchased the Karma Grip alone don’t have to buy another one with the drone if they want to take to the sky.
