GoPro Hero brings it to the cheap action cam competition

GoPro has launched a new action cam and the headline news is that it'll be its cheapest camera yet.

The GoPro Hero comes in at making it around cheaper than the Hero5 and roughly than the Hero6.

In terms of features, it's still packing a lot. There's a 2-inch touchscreen display, it's waterproof up to 10 metres so you can take it for a dip, and it has voice control so you don't have to reach for the button to record.

Read this: How to shoot amazing GoPro videos

The Hero will shoot high definition video at a maximum of 1440p at 60 fps as well as capturing 1080p HD footage at 60 fps. When you want to turn to stills mode, it'll serve up 10 megapixel quality images. There's no 4K or slow motion video support, but that's perhaps no surprise that some more premium features have been sacrificed.

Other notable features include video stabilisation to keep your videos from looking like a juddering mess, and smartphone compatibility to sync photos and video. It'll also work with over 30 GoPro mounting accessories.

On the face of it, GoPro has managed to cram in a lot of the new features it rolled out with the Hero5 and Hero6, for a price that will no doubt prove attractive to anyone buying an action cam for the first time. Or someone that doesn't want to spend big on one of the more feature-packed models.

The question is whether it will be enough to revive the fortunes of a company that has endured a tough few years. Back in January GoPro announced layoffs from its drone division after it failed to turn a profit with its Karma drone. The increased competition from the likes of Xiaomi and SJCAM who offer cheaper alternatives to GoPro's cams is no doubt having an impact on its business too.

So the addition of the Hero is definitely a wise move from GoPro and makes a lot of sense. If you want to get your hands the cheaper action cam, it's available to buy now from the GoPro website.