GoPro Hero9 Black Teardown

Posted by Mark Kirschenbaum on Sep 04, 2020

Updated: Sept-21-2020
GoPro HERO9 (Boilers) was just released. There are some significant hardware changes notably the new sensor-lens combo, WiFi-Bluetooth chipset, front LCD, and a higher power density battery. However, most of the power comes from software enhancements.

Although not a physical teardown, we're able to extrapolate everything from the camera's firmware updates. Logs and such will be posted on our GitHub Repo as our research continues.

The following are are the major changes from the GoPro HERO8:

(Image credit: WinFuture.de)

Finally a new 24 megapixel sensor using the Sony IMX677 1/2.3 sensor. Sorry, still no 1" sensor.
Replaceable lens cover and "Max SuperMax" new lens for larger Field of View (FOV) Codenamed "Hemicuda". Loris is the new lens manufacturer.
5.3K @ 30fps video with Hypersmooth 3.0
20MP photos. No longer 8 or 12MP now named "Wide, Linear, Natural, or SuperMax"
Complete microphone mechanical redesign. Should allow for much better audio in windy situations and quicker water drain. See the new wide Microphone recess below the mode button.

Updated Microphone on GoPro HERO9
(Image credit: WinFuture.de)

Front facing liveview enabled color LCD in addition to upgraded rear LCD. Front facing LCD is not touch enabled.
Hypersmooth 3.0 - Added stabilization. Maybe a punch out from an even wider FOV lens like we see with the HERO mode on the GoPro MAX.
Still uses custom Socionext SC2000A aka GP1. Linux Kernel now is aware of the multiple cores although it may not be able to use them.
Updated MIMO enabled WiFi & Bluetooth module for faster download and 1080P streaming
"Hindsight" Option - Always recording a 5 to 10 seconds before you press record.
Webcam support in mainline updates
Possible deep sleep for super long timelapses.
PowerPano automatic leveling panoramic.
Battery, USB, and card access door redesigned. (See added tab on battery below). Battery & USB-C positions the same.
Whole new bigger battery with new check in security enclave preventing cloned "blue top batteries" from working correctly. GoPro promotes 30% more battery life average over all modes.

Mechanically

The GoPro HERO9 is significantly bigger and heavier than the HERO8. However, the 32 grams should not affect skydivers necks all that much. Below is the comparison chart.

	GOPRO HERO9	GOPRO HERO8
Weight (g)	158g	126g
Length (mm)	71	66.3
Height (mm)	55	48.6
Width (mm)	33.6	28.4

(Image credit: WinFuture.de)

Code Names & IDS

Codename: Boilers
ID: 0x7262
Model: 55
Model: HD9.01

GoPro HERO9 Black Extracted Logo
Logo from GoPro Inc. Matches Image Renders

Design Wins

No Change Socionext SC2000A custom (GP1)	Imaging Processor "GoPro GP1" processor (M9M) Cortex A7 hardware Floating Point / CEVA DSP / Cortex M0 coprocessor
New Qualcomm QCA9377	High performance, low power single-stream 11ac MU-MIMO and Bluetooth 5 in a single chip solution.
NEW Sony IMX677	Diagonal 7.85 mm (Type 1/2.3) CMOS Image Sensor with Square Pixel for Color Cameras. 23.91 M effective Pixels. SLVS interface
Analogix ANX7816	Slimport Transceiver to Media Mod. HDMI still not built in on GoPro HERO9.
Bosch BMI260 IMU	Accelerometer / Gyro pair 6-axis sensor.
UBlox UBX-M8030-CT	GPS Receiver u-blox M8 GNSS chip, WL-CSP47, Standard grade. New gpio for LNA feedback.
Active Semi ACT9150	PMIC (Power Management IC) for Socionext. Power supply, charging, and LED control
TI TPS62866	Additional 0.9V regulator. Replaces ACT88326 on GoPro HERO8.
NEW Sitronix st7701s	Rear LCD, 16.7M-color (368px by 552px)
NEW FocalTech ft3308	Rear Touch sensor 368px by 552px
Sitronix st7796h	Front LCD 320RGB x 480 dot 262K Color
REMOVED Apple MFI	No longer present in system
Loris + Hemicuda	Lens Codename. Loris is the manufacturer Hyper Smooth(HemiCuda) which is the GoPro Supermax add-on
Microchip SAM L22	USB-C PD / Accessory Sentinel / Battery Authentication / Reset Handler / RTC Always "on" 64Kb Encrypted bootloader & app Still authenticates Battery and SHA204 as before Need to confirm, but believe they are no longer using the FUSB302 PD controller, but still FUSB variant. Possibly 0x3D device id.
NXP PCF85063A	Real Time Clock attached to SAM L22. May be a fake device.
DSP Group DBMD4	"Ultra Low Power Always-On Voice Activation for Any Device" Audio DSP pre-processor. Firmware is the same.
New 1720mAh Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery TI SN27Z562 Fuel Gauge and authentication chip	Li Ion 1720mAh 2.8v Depleted voltage 3.4v Hysteresis voltage 3.5v Normal voltage 4.340 End of Charge Voltage 1.16 ounces Chem-ID 0x3936 TI Fuel Gauge TI SN27Z562 GoPro type '3' Checks "Certified by GoPro" Device Name & "Genuine TI SN27Z562" Manufacturer Name which is new

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