After a three month hiatus, GoPro’s Karma drone is available for purchase again

GoPro brings its failed Karma drone back to the store shelves today.

GoPro’s Karma drone had a rough launch three months ago. The company issued a recall to about 2,500 units because the drones were apparently falling out of the sky. Today, the company announced that the Karma drone is back on sale today at GoPro.com and as well as “select US retailers” including Best Buy, B&H, and Amazon (although Amazon is not listing it on their website).

The Verge writes:

Karma was recalled just weeks after going on sale in October 2016 because some of the 2,500 units sold fell out of the sky mid-flight. GoPro attributed the problem to a fault in the design of the latch that holds the drone’s battery in place. This led to loose battery connections that caused several drones to power down while in the sky, resulting in some spectacular crashes. The company says the updated Karma drones have a redesigned battery latch that went through “extensive testing” that should prevent future failures.

Here’s what GoPro’s CEO, Nick Woodman, said at a small press gathering at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show:

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“We’re a little bit embarrassed that it was something as basic as a battery retention issue,” says Woodman. “But at the same time we’re relieved that we can show the world that we do understand drones, we do understand the technology, and that it was an unfortunate mechanical engineering slip-up that led to the recall of Karma.”

GoPro kept the same price point at $700 with no camera or $1,099 with a Hero 5 Black. Shipments will also be limited. Hopefully, the company’s next foray into drones won’t look like this.

► The Verge

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Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.