While earlier rumors said that the much-anticipated action cam follow-up from GoPro would be seen early this year, it seems that the company is aiming for a late 2016 release for the GoPro Hero 5, possibly October, in time for the holidays.

According to Yibada, earlier speculations said that that the Hero 5 will make its appearance in early 2016. However, the roll-out for the Hero 4's successor was reportedly pubshed back as GoPro shifted its focus to the company's first-ever action drone, the Karma. Instead of the previously reported simultaneous launches, GoPro will allegedly release the Karma drone first, with the GoPro Hero 5 following after some months.

It was also reported that during the company's fourth-quarter conference call, the first three versions in the Hero lineup will be discontinued by next month, with the Hero 4 becoming the current flagship compatible with the upcoming drone. Meanwhile, the Karma drone is said to be on store shelves "in the first half of 2016."

As this places the release date to be in either May or June, the industry follower believes that GoPro will launch the Hero 5 toward the end of the year, possibly by October. An October launch is plausible as this would be an ideal time because of the upcoming the holidays.

Meanwhile, as GoPro remains silent on how the Hero 5 has been improved, observers can only speculate on its new features. According to Value Walk, a given feature for the device is drone compatibility, particularly with Karma. It is also suggested that the new action cam will be lighter and smaller than the Hero 4. Better waterproofing and display and higher-resolution images and videos are also said to be experienced with the Hero 5.