GoPro HERO 10 Teardown

GoPro HERO 10 "Kongs"

If it wasn't for the milestone edition number, one may consider this camera a "HERO 9+" as the hardware under the hood hasn't changed much. The only major change is the GP2 processor. Hardware-wise, almost everything else, including the sensor, is the same in this iteration. Of course, the power comes from the software advancements and the new powerful imaging pipelines. 

With this latest processor, GoPro Inc. is able to step up the frame rates one notch for all the higher resolutions. This is a super nice feature for those capturing high speed content for slow motion processing in post. 

With this said, I'm very skeptical about the reliability of this camera being this is the first 64bit architecture camera GoPro Inc. has launched. Their entire 32bit code base was converted for this new processor, and I'm sure there are bugs they have not caught on the conversion. It's difficult converting a 32bit embedded code base that has maturing for 6 to 7 years to a 64bit architecture. With this said, I haven't heard any usability issues from early adopters, but only time will tell. 

GoPro Inc. has chosen not to recertify this product with the FCC and has kept the SPBL1 FCC ID. The WIFI/BLE radios reside on the master board so their internal testing must indicate this intentional radiator has not changed. This is a sign that little has changed on this revision. 

SPBL1 FCC Teardown Image. GoPro HERO10 Mainboard is just slightly different.

Pricing

The price tag went way up this year to $499.99 without Subscription and $399.98 with a cancellable 1year subscription. When ordering, I suggest, getting the subscription, upgrading the sdcard for $14.99, and adding an extra battery to your order

GoPro's GP2 Processor

• GP2 is now an ARM ARMV8 running 64bit Linux and 64bit GoPro's application RTOS code on top of Socionext's middleware. 
• RTOS provided by Socionext and is T-Kernel. 
• The GP2 now has a dedicated GPU licensed from Takumi GV380
• The GP2 is a Socionext Milbeaut M20V "Karine"
• ARM Cortex-A53 with 4 cores 
• ASLR is disabled. EL-3 bootloader, EL-1 RTOS
• No news on how the CEVA-DSP based image processor cores have changed. 
• Firmware updates are now signed but appears sideloading is possible.
• Upstream has not been updated with this processor and we made a GPL request.  

GoPro HERO 9 FCC Internal Photos. The GoPro HERO 10 is very similar as seen below and as per the FCC license. Slimport device (bottom center) has been removed.

Disappointing Lack of Changes

• Same Sony IMX677 1/2.3 sensor.
• Same IMU, WIFI chipset, GPS, master PMIC, and LCDs
• Removal of dspGroup DBMD4. Will not have voice wakeup feature. 
• No built-in HDMI, seems removal of discrete Slimport transmitter Analogix anx7816. 
• Recording for long durations appears to kill the battery quicker.
• Max Lens Mod does not work at release.

Internal Photos courtesy of Kim Tang

GoPro HERO 10 (left) vs GoPro HERO 9
Internals Photo by Kim Tang @aiyazen

Notice the new PMIC under the GP2 as well as the SAM L22 (left bottom corner) moved to the frontside.

The Slimport has been removed on the GoPro HERO 10

Bottom comparison by Kim Tang

Notice the SAM L22 is no longer on the backside and they removed the dspGroup DBMD4.

Updated Features

• Much more responsive user interface
• 5.3K60 frames per second, 4K120 and 2.7K240
• Local Tone Mapping (LTM) and 3D Noise Reduction (3DNR). Sharpness artifacts and color profiles have been cleaned up a bunch on this release. New "Natural" Color profile.
• Using more of the sensor area for photos 23MP vs 20MP on the HERO9
• Hypersmooth 4.0 / Timewarp 3.0 
• Horizontal leveling from 27degrees to 45degrees
• New lens coating, "hydrophobic water-shedding glass"
• Optimized battery usage for shorter segments. In other words, bootup and standby doesn't run all the processors at the highest speed possible, thus conserving power. DDR is running at a lower voltage too.
• Faster USB-C downloading, including directly to your phone.
• 19.6MP still captures from 5.3K 4:3 video (15.8MP from 5.3K 16:9)

Mechanically

The GoPro HERO10 has shaved off a few ounces, but the rest remains the same. 

Code Names & IDS

Codename: Kong(s)
Model: 57
Model: HD10.01
User Manual
Open Source Repository (Pending)

More Information 

As always, logs and such will be posted on our GitHub Repo as our research continues.

The GoPro HERO 10 RTOS has a new "Flight Data Recorder" logging platform which should provide a plethora of debugging information. 

Design Wins

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Thank you! - Hypoxic Team

LEGAL: This product and/or service is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any way associated with GoPro Inc. or its products and services. GoPro, HERO, and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of GoPro, Inc. HEROBUS and BACPAC are trademarks of GoPro Inc.