GoPro Hero 10 Black receives up to 154% better battery life with a new firmware update

GoPro has announced a firmware update for the Hero 10 Black, its latest action camera. Last month, several reviewers noticed that their units would shut down after 20 minutes of recording videos, regardless of the resolution and framerate. At the time, GoPro released a lengthy statement that effectively dismissed any issues, but the release notes for this month's firmware update are rather contradictory.

Supposedly, the update 'enables longer video recording times and extends battery life' with the camera's stock battery. GoPro has achieved this by introducing three settings dubbed 'Video Performance Modes'. In a blog post, GoPro explains that these are 'Maximum Video Performance', 'Extended Battery' and 'Tripod / Stationary Video'. As far as we can tell, Maximum Video Performance represents the camera's initial performance. Unfortunately, the company has not provided any approximate runtimes when recording in Extended Battery mode, although it notes that the camera will be limited to:

optimal resolutions and frame rates for the longest possible video recording times and maximum battery life

However, it has provided some expectations Tripod / Stationary Video mode. GoPro describes this mode as being useful for when recording a continuous video in a room with an ambient temperature of approximately 77°F/25°C and without any airflow to cool the camera. The battery life improvements to be expected are as follows:

• 5.3K/60 FPS: 47% more runtime than previous for an average of 29 minute-long clips
• 5.3K/30 FPS: 11% more runtime than previous for an average of 44 minute-long clips
• 4K/120 FPS: 52% more runtime than previous for an average of 26 minute-long clips
• 4K/60 FPS: 154% more runtime than previous for an average of 63 minute-long clips
• 4K/30 FPS: 35% more runtime than previous for an average of 50 minute-long clips

Additionally, the Hero 10 Black will also last longer between charges when recording in 1080p or 2.7K with either Extended Battery or Maximum Video Performance enabled. GoPro emphasises that a future firmware update will deliver better battery life when recording in 5.3K/30 FPS and 4K/30 FPS too. Incidentally, the company has announced an extended 'Enduro' battery pack, should you need even longer runtimes. This month's update will be available to all Hero 10 Black cameras by the end of this week and can be downloaded via the Quik app.

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