On September 16, 2021, the newest member of GoPro was released, the GoPro HERO 10 Black. A year after the release of the GoPro HERO 9 black, a successor is already ready. Has so much changed in a year and is it necessary to upgrade your HERO 9 to the latest model? We want to give you a clear answer with this GoPro HERO 10 vs GoPro HERO 9.
In this article you will not only learn everything about the new features of the GoPro HERO 10. At the same time, we also compare this new GoPro with the HERO 9 so that you immediately get an idea of the differences and similarities. That way you can decide whether an upgrade or new purchase is a good idea in your case.
In the table below you will immediately discover the main differences between the GoPro HERO 10 and HERO 9. More details about these differences and the similarities between the two GoPro action cams can be found further on.
| GoPro HERO 10 | GoPro HERO 9 | |
| Processor | GP2 | GP1 |
| Video | 5,3K/60fps – 4K/120fps – 2,7K/240fps | 5K/30fps – 4K/60fps – 2,7K /120fps |
| Foto | 23 Mpx | 20MpX |
| Screen captures | 19,6 Mpx | 12-14 Mpx |
| Stabilisatie | Hypersmooth 4.0 | Hypersmooth 3.0 |
| Slow Motion | 2,7K – 1080p (8x) | 1080p (8x) |
| Wake on voice | – | Ja |
| Meerdere foto’s na elkaar nemen | – | Ja |
| Gewicht | 153gr | 158gr |
| Front Screen | 1,4″ kleurenscherm met betere resolutie | 1,4″ kleurenscherm |
| Touchscreen achteraan | Ja, verbeterd en sneller | Ja |
| “Natural” instelling | Ja | – |
| GoPro app koppelen | Ja, sneller | Ja, trager |
| Livestreaming | Ja, met hypersmooth 4.0 | Ja |
| Hydrophobic coating op het lenskapje | Ja | Nee, lenskapje van HERO 10 past er wel op |
| Wifi downloads | Ja, 30% sneller | Ja |
| GoPro HERO kopen? | Check price >> | Check price >> |
GoPro HERO 10 vs HERO 9: These are the main differences
A GoPro HERO action cam naturally has a lot of possibilities, functions and options. It goes without saying that those functions and possibilities are getting better and better with the release of a new GoPro HERO. That is also the case with the GoPRO HERO 10. Whether those differences are important in function of, for example, your route videos is still the question. Of course, a lot depends on how much and how often you work with videos and their quality.
The new HERO 10 received several upgrades and adjustments compared to the HERO 9. However, the upgrades are certainly not earth-shattering, so that you immediately have to put your GoPro HERO 9 or older GoPro HERO model aside. Still, there are some notable differences or improvements that make the GoPro HERO 10 one of a kind.
New GP2 chipset in the GoPro HERO 10 Black
The HERO 10 uses the GP2 chipset. This is a system that GoPro has designed themselves on which all their GoPro cameras run. The HERO 9 still used the GP1 chipset. The reason why there is now a GP2 chipset in the GoPro HERO 10 is because the GP1 chip was used at its extreme limit with the HERO 9.
The upgrade of the chipset means that the stabilization and frame rates can increase again. And let that be the most important assets of the new HERO 10. The GP2 chipset in the HERO 10 ensures that the frame rate has been doubled and the overall speed of the device and system has been greatly improved. This benefits not only the visual aspect and result, but also the general ease of use.
Improved image quality with the “natural” setting
If you already own a GoPro HERO and have already made images with it, you will notice that the result of those images often looks a bit “washed out” or pale and matte. In plain language, this means that the images look slightly different from reality. For example, the green along the side can look a bit gray or a beautiful flower can look a bit grayer in your images.
If you wanted to throw the most beautiful images online, you still had some “editing” work to do before the final version of your video could be online. Of course this is not necessary because this is often only a point for trained (professional) eyes.
Especially for people who work a lot with video editing or who really need to get the best results, this was often a bit of extra work. With the new GoPro HERO, you don’t have to worry about this anymore. A significant improvement, because in principle your images can be online immediately (apart from the cutting and pasting that is often needed to make a good video).
The GoPro HERO 10 was given a feature called “natural” that eliminates the need for post-processing. This standard setting ensures that your shot images are no longer blurry or matte. In addition, the images will not have too much contrast and color and the images will look like in reality. Less work afterwards if you want to share the only the best quality.
5.3K and doubled frame rates
With the GoPro HERO 9 you already had the option of filming in 5K quality, just a bit sharper and tighter than 4K. Whether your and my eyes notice the difference, I’ll leave it up to you. The GoPro HERO 10 goes one step further and allows you to film in 5.3K. Only a minor upgrade or improvement, BUT the biggest asset of the new HERO 10 lies in the frame rates.
Frame rate refers to the refresh rate of the screen you are looking at and determines how many images you see per second. With the HERO 10, frame rates were doubled at each resolution. For example, the 5K/30fps of the HERO 9 now became 5.3K/60fps with the HERO 10, 4K/60fps became 4K/120fps, 2.7K/120fps became 2.7K/240fps.
The HERO 10 can therefore film in a resolution of 5.3K at 60 frames per second and with full stabilization. These are values that professional cameras often barely achieve or can handle. So there is quite a lot of “power” in this small device.
19.6 Mpx screen captures and 23 Mpx photos
An additional advantage of such high resolutions is that you can get fantastic images from your video. IF there is a specific image in the video that is so bold or beautiful that you would like a photo of it, then you can. Of course this was also possible with the HERO 9 and its predecessors, but the HERO 10 excels just a little more in this regard.
The images you get from videos from the GoPro HERO 10 have a resolution of 19.6 MPx, which is ridiculously high. So high, in fact, that in principle you no longer have to take pictures and therefore no longer have to pose to get a good shot.
In addition, this function is very useful for creating rock-solid thumbnails for YouTube or featured images for a website or article.
Compared to the HERO 9, there is a clear difference in the quality of the screen captures. The images from the HERO 9 only reached 12 to 14 megapixels.
If you like to take some photos with the HERO 10, you can do so with no less than 23 Mpx, a small improvement over the GoPro HERO 9 that shoots 20 Mpx photos. You get the 23 Mpx in all modes except the liveburst mode.
Improved slow motion
Another direct result of the excellent resolution and frame rates of the HERO 10 are the slow motion images. You now make it in 2.7K. This gives you super quality images in slow motion. With the HERO 9 you made slow motion footage at 1080p. With the HERO 10, you no longer have to compromise on image quality. With both the HERO 10 and 9, you can slow down images up to 8 times.
Improved low-light performance
Does the sun stay behind during your rides, holidays or sporting adventures? Don’t worry, thanks to the improved performance in poor or low light, your images with the HERO 10 will still look very good. Even in the morning or in the evening when the light is slightly different than during the day, you can count on the quality of the GoPro HERO 10 and your images will always look good.
Hyper Smooth 4.0
When we introduced the GoPro HERO 7, we were introduced to the Hypersmooth stabilization of these action cams. With this function you get smooth images that you can keep looking at without any problems. Stable images are therefore really important with an action cam. Especially when you share the images and actually want someone to view them (completely).
In the meantime, the Hypersmooth function received a small upgrade with every release and this was also the case with the GoPro HERO 10. In the meantime we are working on Hypersmooth 4.0 which can only be found on the GoPro HERO 10. In theory, this should be the best image stabilization of all available GoPro cameras. In practice, and certainly on a bicycle or mountain bike, the question is whether you will actually see or notice a difference.
When you use a chest mount to take pictures of your MTB rides, runs or other adventures, there are always bumps and bumps that look strange on the image, even with image stabilization or Hypersmooth. This is no different with the GoPro HERO 10, although the Hypersmooth 4.0 is an improvement compared to the Hypersmooth 3.0 on the HERO 9. Although a small improvement.
The GoPro chin mount is also increasingly being used to shoot action images. With this mount you get really cool and beautiful and stable images. But it must be said that this was also the case with the previous GoPro HERO cameras, so also with the HERO 9.
Even more differences between the HERO 10 and HERO 9
In addition to the above innovations and upgrades, there are still some differences between the GoPro HERO 10 and 9:
Design & looks
The appearance of the GoPro HERO 10 is completely similar to that of the HERO 9 except for a few details. The only difference and also the way to tell the two apart are the blue letters and the blue logo on the HERO 10. the HERO 9 and other versions this was still in gray.
Improved touchscreen
The GoPro action cams have a touchscreen. However, until recently, GoPro was a bit behind in terms of touchscreen functionality. The screen does respond to the controls, but that was often very slow. Not really of this time anymore.
The touchscreen of the GoPro HERO 10 has therefore received a serious upgrade, so that the operation is almost flawless. Even compared to other action cams such as the Insta 360, the touchscreen is almost as good, not to say better than other action cams.
The screen on the front of the GoPro also reacts a lot faster than with the HERO 9. Due to the improved frame rate, the image of the front camera will also stutter less quickly.
Pairing with the GoPro app is faster
Where with the other GoPros it could take some time to connect to the GoPro app, with the HERO 10 this goes very quickly.
Live streaming with hypersmooth
Where with the GoPro HERO 9 you often had to deal with lousy live stream images, that problem is virtually solved with the HERO 10 thanks to the integration of Hypersmooth 4.0 in the live stream function. Your family or friends can now really enjoy your live images carefree.
Scheduled capture; set yourself when the GoPro starts recording
Another very nice functionality is the “scheduled capture”. With this function you can set a time when the GoPro should start filming. This can be very useful when you want to film a certain thing, but at that moment you cannot switch on the GoPro itself, for example a sunrise or sunset.
When you use this function, the GoPro HERO 10 will make the images in 4K resolution.
Hydrophobic coating on the lens
You should be able to use a GoPro optimally in all circumstances, including in the rain or snow. The lens cap, which can also be removed or replaced, has a hydrophobic coating. This means that when water droplets fall on the lens (lens cap), they simply fall off and therefore do not appear on the image. In principle, you no longer have to wipe the lens cap with any regularity in bad weather.
If you still have a GoPro 9, you can even place a lens cap from the HERO 10 on your HERO 9 to also take advantage of the hydrophobic coating on the lens cap.
Download images and photos directly to your smartphone or computer
The GoPro HERO 10 also has the option to connect it to a smartphone or computer with a USB cable. This allows you to download images directly to the smartphone or computer. Since the release of the HERO 10, this feature has also been made available for the HERO 9. However, you do need the GoPro Quick app for this. You can download this in the Appstore or via GooglePlay.
Accelerated WiFi downloads
Due to the improved resolution of the GoPro HERO 10 action cam, the files of the images and photos are of course not smaller. For that reason, the HERO 10 has 30% faster WiFi downloads, so that you can still download the files fairly quickly.
Similarities Between the GoPro HERO 10 and HERO 9
Because the GoPro HERO 9 was launched only a year earlier compared to the HERO 10, you can of course not expect the GoPro HERO 10 to be a completely new device. Ultimately it remains an action cam and can only be improved up to a certain point. That is why there are also plenty of things that have not changed and are therefore completely the same as with the GoPro HERO 9.
The following things have remained completely the same with the GoPro HERO 10 compared to the HERO 9:
Batteries, you can exchange these with each other;
You place the battery in the device along the side;
Battery life is almost the same as with the HERO 9;
The GoPro is waterproof to a depth of 10 meters (33ft);
The microphone is the same with both devices;
You can mount both devices with the integrated mounting flaps at the bottom of the device;
You place the battery along the side of the device.
Are there any downsides to the GoPro HERO 10?
At the time of writing this article, the GoPro HERO 10 is just a bit too new to discover any real downsides. However, there is one point of criticism that is certainly justified and for which a solution can hopefully be found.
Timelapse “only” in 4K
You cannot use the 5.3K resolution in time-lapse mode. That in itself is of course not so bad since you can make time-lapse videos in 4K. It only becomes a problem when you want to process both time-lapse and 5.3K images in one video (together). In this way, the timelapse will be slightly less sharp compared to the other images that were filmed in 5.3K.
This is of course a detail that will certainly not be a deal breaker for most people, but for the sake of completeness we will give it to you.
The price tag of the GoPro HERO 10
A new device that has just been launched, of course you pay the full price for it. The GoPro HERO 10 is by far the most expensive GoPro available. It goes without saying that the price of the GoPro HERO 9 will continue to fall in the near future. You will also be able to buy the HERO 8 cheaper and cheaper until it has been fully rotated.
The price of the HERO 10 will therefore remain at its highest point for a while. Whether you want to make the investment is of course entirely up to you. Still, we want to give you a heads-up that may help you decide whether or not to go for the HERO 10 or rather a cheaper alternative.
Why DO buy the GoPro HERO 10? Who is this action cam suitable for?
Why should you get the best GoPro currently available? A valid question that is often asked when a brand new device comes on the market.
You don’t have a GoPro yet but want to buy one
Don’t have a GoPro yet and would you like to finally have one at home to record your adventurous vacations, bike rides and the like? In that case, think about all the good things this GoPro HERO 10 has to offer. That way you immediately have the very best GoPro at home that you will enjoy for years to come.
Although the HERO 10 is still quite new, there will be firmware updates soon and therefore any teething problems will disappear quickly.
You have an older GoPro, which is already starting to act difficult
If you have an earlier model than the GoPro HERO 7, it is almost a must to switch to the improved HERO 10. The hypersmooth stabilization is a must, especially if you want to make rock-solid action videos.
However, if you have a GoPro HERO 7 or 8 in your possession, the question is whether you are ready to upgrade yet. Both GoPros are certainly more than enough for the hobby filmmaker to shoot good images. However, if you want just that little bit more, and if you skipped the HERO 9, it may be a good choice to switch to the HERO 10. You can optionally continue to use the other GoPros as an extra camera or as a backup.
You have a GoPro HERO 9 but want the enhanced features of the GoPro HERO 10
We understand better than anyone that there are people who only want the best material. Certainly when you use a GoPro for professional purposes, it goes without saying that you upgrade immediately upon release.
Despite the fact that there is only a one-year difference between the two devices, there are still some notable differences and improvements that may be important enough for some people to switch to the latest model. If you are such a person, then you will be very happy with the GoPro HERO 10.
Why NOT buy the GoPro HERO 10?
The newest of the newest, not everyone immediately goes wild and we understand that all too well. After all, the GoPro HERO 10 is not immediately the cheapest accessory to have at home. And let that just be one of the points not to buy this one.
The price
You can buy many other things for the price of the GoPro HERO 10. If you are not waiting to loot your bank account, then you can leave the HERO 10 behind. The price will definitely drop in the future, especially when the HERO 11 is announced.
You already have a GoPro and are happy with it
If you already have a GoPro and that thing does exactly what you expect it to do, then there is no immediate reason to reach out and buy the HERO 10. Certainly not a stupid choice because with the latest GoPro action cams you are definitely set for several years. It also depends a bit on how you handle it and how often you use it.
Does your GoPro work more than properly and your videos and images are completely okay for you, then you can continue with your current GoPro.
You don’t have a GoPro yet, but you want to buy one
When launching a new GoPro, you can hardly ignore the commercials. You always see or hear it pass by once or somewhere. Maybe that way you will feel like buying one again or you will start doubting again. In any case, it does not have to be the latest GoPro that you are going to buy.
When a new device is released, you can often buy the older versions at affordable prices, even at half the price of the current new GoPro HERO 10. That way you save a lot of money, which you can buy some GoPro accessories with right away. can take home.
The GoPro HERO 9 and to a slightly lesser extent the HERO 8 will probably continue to run for a few more years. Also in terms of specifications, functions and possibilities, these action cams are certainly not too much inferior to the GoPro HERO 10. If it does not have to be the best of the best for you, then purchasing an older model is certainly a smart move.
If you are still in doubt between the GoPro HERO 9, 8 or even the 7, be sure to check out the comparison we made regarding these GoPro action cams:
Conclusion GoPro HERO 10 vs GoPro HERO 9
Only a year after the release of the HERO 10, GoPro comes with a successor. The GoPro HERO 10 is certainly not a brand new or revolutionary GoPro, but it is certainly an improved version of the GoPro 9. This is mainly due to the new GP2 chipset. This allowed the frame rate to be doubled in all resolutions and you can also film in 5.3K.
In addition, the hypersmooth function has been updated and with the HERO 10 you can make realistic videos that look real and do not need post-processing. In addition, the ease of use, especially the operation of the touchscreen, has been improved and you can connect the GoPro directly to your smartphone or computer.
Is the GoPro HERO 10 so much better than the HERO 9? That in itself is nice. If you have a HERO 9 at home, the question is whether you want the HERO 10, because it is quite a price animal.
If you want the latest functions and an improved HERO 9, then you should definitely get the HERO 10. If you are still satisfied with your GoPro HERO 9 or even an older model, it is not immediately necessary to make the switch.
If you don’t have a GoPro yet and you finally want to record your favorite adventures and coolest mountain bike routes and rides in the best quality, choose the GoPro HERO 10. This way you are in good hands for a long time because the HERO 10 will probably last for several years.
Do you already have a GoPro HERO action cam or do you want to get one? Then we hope that this article has given you a good insight into the differences and similarities between the GoPro HERO 10 and HERO 9. Be sure to let us know which GoPro you chose.
