GoPro's desktop video editing app, which the action cam giant announced earlier this year, will finally be launching for macOS later this month, a little later than its planned November 1 release. A Windows version is still en route for 2024, too.
GoPro talked about its long-awaited Quik desktop app during its Q3 earnings call. And while there's no precise release date for the video editor, it did say that Quik for macOS is coming to GoPro subscribers "later this month" for "no additional charge". GoPro also plans to "launch a Windows version of the Quik desktop app in the second quarter of 2024", which means sometime between April and June.
Interestingly, the new app will be launched alongside a new "Premium+ $99 subscription tier" which will include a new "advanced desktop-based HyperSmooth Pro video stabilization feature". This new subscription tier, which will sit alongside a standard Premium option, will also offer "increased cloud storage for footage captured with any camera".
It's a shame that the Quik desktop app is only for GoPro subscribers, particularly as GoPro did once offer a free Quik desktop app before it was discontinued. But the new version certainly sounds powerful, with GoPro promising a similar 'Auto Highlight' experience to the one found in its mobile app, alongside some simple drag-and-drop controls and cloud storage.
GoPro was also typically bullish about what's coming in 2024 during its earnings call. The action cam maker said that "ongoing investments we're making in AI and computer vision" will make Quik appeal to both beginners and Pros, and some new cameras are naturally en route, too.
The company said that "over the next two years" it's planning to introduce "several new types of cameras, beginning in the second quarter of 2024". When pressed to elaborate on those, CEO Nicholas Woodman said that GoPro is "working on a new entry-level product" that'll have a "phenomenal price point" and "will launch in Q2 of next year".
The other launches will apparently lean more toward the "high end". That is almost certainly referring to the GoPro Max 2, which GoPro said in September "is in the works and it will be worth the wait". Let's hope it's one of those cameras that's due to arrive in the first half of 2024.
GoPro spreads its wingsuit
As much as we like the GoPro Hero 12 Black, there's no doubt that the best action cameras have started to plateau when it comes to innovation – which is why GoPro has started to branch out into software and subscriptions.
That brings both good and bad news. On the plus side, the new Quik desktop app for macOS (and soon, Windows) will provide the desktop video editing software that GoPro users have been crying out for.
The mobile GoPro Quik app has become more powerful in recent years, but the desktop version should be another step up – particularly with that new 'HyperSmooth Pro' stabilization, which is likely a variant of the drone-friendly ReelSteady software that GoPro acquired a few years ago.
On the downside, some of those new Quik desktop features will need an even pricier subscription than today's standard one (which costs $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$69.99 per year). The incoming $99 'Premium Plus' subscription tier (which will likely convert to around £99.99 / AU$139.99) will unlock all of Quik's features, and there'll be another Premium tier in between those two.
Whether or not Quik can take on the best video editors for non-GoPro users is something we'll find out soon when the desktop app finally launches.
