GoPro has announced they are slightly delaying their previously announced GoPro Hero 11 Mini camera, which was set to start shipping today (Oct 25th). This change is fairly last-minute, as things were still on-tap to start shipping just a couple of days ago (even behind the scenes). The camera will now start shipping on November 18th, about three weeks late.
GoPro announced the change in a press release:
“HERO11 Black Mini is an incredible camera and we’re giving ourselves a little more time to perfect the product for our excited customers,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro founder and CEO. “I’m absolutely loving my Mini and cannot wait for the public to get their hands on it.”
It’s not clear exactly what caused the last-minute delay, but I’d put my money on either product availability (quantities desired for a large international release), or a last-minute bug that would have been a cluster to deal with later on, after shipping started. Either way, I don’t think a three-week delay is too big a deal, especially in this Oct-November timeframe that’s sorta a lull for travel or exciting adventures (for most people). For the Northern Hemisphere, the summer season is well past us, but the winter snow season isn’t quite here yet. Had this been a bigger delay in missing the holidays, that’d be a legit problem.
Either way – GoPro’s quarterly earnings call is next Thursday, and historically speaking they tend to be quite enlightening. So I’m sure we’ll get some clarity there, either in the prepared statements section or in the investor Q&A portion.
As for the Hero 11 Black Mini, I’ll have a full in-depth review once it does release. The design goal of the Hero 11 Black Mini is to basically take all the video performance functionality of the full-sized Hero 11 Black, but put it into a smaller case without a rear display, and save $100. It sorta aims to be like the old days of the GoPro Session, but it’s not quite that small (though, far more powerful).
If you haven’t seen my initial hands-on video, I explain all the differences between the two cameras, as there’s a lot of nuance in the details:
But again, expect a full in-depth review on/about Nov 18th, once things start shipping.
With that – thanks for reading!
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my new bike camera
Despite having positive experiences with GoPro in the past, the timing and language suggesting an issue leaves me concerned. I imagine any new launch is susceptible to bugs or issues, the 11th hour notice is the concerning piece to me. The press release is vague enough to let customers run with their imagination, myself wondering if an issue they expected to be small and addressed prior to the initial release turned into a larger problem than they expected. Ultimately, will this result in multiple delivery delays or a product not quite ready for market?
The concern that there’s a design issue only reinforces the wait and see attitude. I don’t want to be a first adopter to have a camera that has either a quality or design issue. What other competitive company products are there out there that would be a good option to buy instead?
GoPro should be responsible as a company to send out an email indicating there will be delay for those who pre ordered… I’m here checking email and looking trying to see what happen. Such simple thing and yet being in the dark isn’t a way to go GoPro
Seriously. I pre-ordered yesterday and had no idea 🤷♂️
I never received an initial order confirmation email myself, just the confirmation page once submitted. I agree an email sent to customers in queue, particularly on the same day as the press release would have been good practice. I had wonder why the $1 pending GoPro charge on my account had been removed, thinking back this might have been removed at the time the delay was realized.
I have had very positive experiences with GoPro in the past. in particular when working with their customer support regarding my Hero 9, this seems like a rare miss on their part.
well, they have sent one now. So I guess better late than never.
I pre-ordered one last sunday. But the dutch site still says 25/10:
Total
€349.98
€499.98
HERO11 Black Mini with a new 1-year GoPro Subscription¹
PRE-ORDER
This item will ship on or before 10/25.
I really hope this is not GoPro trying to hide overheating issue by delaying it to more chilly season.
Given half of YouTube’s tech media will simply set it on an indoor desk in front of an iPad and wait for something to happen, it won’t matter anyways…
You are right. I cannot wait to see your review!
I was really hoping for an updated 360 camera.
Me too. Me too…
The biggest disappointment in the GoPro Mini for me is the lack of external microphone capability. Thr small form factor is ideal for motorvlogging helmets, but without being able to wire it to an external Mike, is pretty useless.
Maybe next time?
I canceled my order. It is unacceptable to advertise four days before the release that it’s still going to release on schedule. To add insult to injury they were happy to charge my credit card for a one year subscription. What good is a subscription without the camera? Would you order and pay for a cable subscription if you didn’t have a TV? I’ve already contacted my credit card to dispute the charge.
I’m not sure I understand. When you buy the bundled camera as you did, there is no extra GoPro subscription charge now – that’s the entire point of the reduced bundled price. That one-year GoPro sub-fee doesn’t occur for a year from now.
Not true. My credit card was charged $49.99 on 10/22. It says GoPro subscription for the charge description.
GoPro actually charges the bundle as two items on the credit card used to purchase. While being bundled as a purchase, the GoPro Subscription is a separate charge on your card. This was the case when I bought my Hero 9 a couple years ago.
Unfortunately, this situation is actually written into the Terms and Conditions (I’m like most and do not read unless I have reason to look).
“If you purchase a subscription as part of your order, please note that the subscription will appear as a separate transaction and start on the day of purchase. Please note that this could be days/weeks before your pre-ordered product arrives. You will of course have full access to all the GoPro Subscription benefits during that time. ”
I would not use GoPro Subscription without a GoPro, as a company they could make a reasonable argument that a service is still provided. You “Could” store unlimited video footage from other sources (Phone, etc) I believe.
If I did not have another GoPro and was unsure how long this delay will last I would likely cancel my order and wait as well. I am teetering on that fence already.
I ordered the mini black through their app with membership and paid extra for priority shipping since I’m only home for a few days in mid November and I now this. This delay is very bad for me. I won’t be back home until late December
In the quarterly call, it was mentioned this would start shipping on Nov 7 (today) and available in retail stores (on some date before 11/18) … Any chance the full review will be avail before th 18th?
Yeah, I caught that as well while listening to it. Not sure what to say there, everything I have is aimed for the 18th. :-/
No worries .. I believe I’ll get it, but curious about the external battery options as that is my only worry.
I’m also really tempted to take the current early BF deal on the normal Hero 11, but I like the idea of the mini.
My GoPro 11 mini is arriving today 🙂
Hi Ray, thanks for keeping us updated! But do far, no signs of the review, any bigger issue? Has the camera not realized yet (don’t know, since I’m writing down her from Brazil)? What about a review for the Insta360 X3? Happy 2023!!!
July 2023 and that in depth review never dropped. Go figure.
Ya I am wondering why the review never showed up or why there was no update.
Yes there is a design issue, at least in the dealings we’ve had with it. After 3 months the camera video went wonky. We had to pay $50 to ship it back to GoPro, even so it was under warranty and should have cost us nothing. They sent us a refurbished replacement, which would not pair with the phone app, so we could not correct the date/time, nor upload footage to phones etc. They did offer a refund – but we have to spend another $50 to ship the 2nd faulty camera back. We’ve spent more time dealing with camera/GoPro admin issues then we did using the camera and we are a business supplying footage to clients and research orgs.
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