Staff member of GoPro demonstrates Karma to press after the company's products launch event held on September 19, 2016 in Squaw Valley, California. (Liu Zheng/chinadaily.com.cn)
Chris Fang, senior client service executive at another consulting company GfK Retail and Technology China Co Ltd, also noted that the launch of Karma will push forward the brand awareness of GoPro in the consumer drone market.
He said the removable 3-axis camera stabilizer and Karma Grip, which are shipped with the drone and available for capturing smooth handheld and gear-mounted footages, are creative combination rather than innovations.
Similar China-made handheld stabilizers have hit the market for several years and secured a certain number of loyal users from the globe.
"The industry is witnessing a double-digit growth each year despite amid tepid market," said Fang. "Technology bottlenecks such as battery life, facial recognition and obstacle avoidance and regulation uncertainty have all been considered in upcoming solutions."
According to Fang, compared with domestic maker Xiaomi's price-oriented product and DJI's tech-centered drone equipped with optic flow sensor, GoPro's own user generated content platform will contribute to its own sales volume and support the brand's business expansion.
The existing consumer drone market consists of three segments: aerial photography drones, handy drones with foldable airfoils and entertainment and sports drones.
In late May, Beijing-based ZeroTech Intelligence Technology Co Ltd unveiled a pocket drone that specifically focuses on selfie. The product sold more than 10,000 units in the first month after it was launched.
Statistics from IDC China's latest report show that in the first quarter of 2016, DJI dominated 70 percent market share of aerial photography drone. More products will make debut and drive the industry's development from variety of perspectives in the near future.
After GoPro stepped into the consumer drone sector, more products manufactured by other brands, such as DJI, 3D Robotics and Parrot, are expected to launch new gears in the market.
According to Beijing-based iResearch Consulting Group, the value of China's drone industry could rise as high as 75 billion yuan ($11.4 billion) in the next decade.
At the end of 2025, the drones will be used largely for aerial photography, farm chemical spraying, forest protection and security, it said, adding that the civilian drone market has grown more than 50 percent in recent years.
