GoPro Inc. still hasn't officially announced an exact release date for its next action camera, the Hero 5. People expect to see a new model get released before the year ends. However, the lack of updates from the company concerned fans that GoPro will yet again delay the release of this anticipated device.

So far, the latest word regarding the status of the device comes from The Verge. The publication noted GoPro's lineup for this year will include the action camera, the company's first drone called Karma, and a spherical camera reportedly intended for the general consumers.

Karma was announced late last year and was initially believed to come out earlier than the Hero 5, specifically in the first half of the year. However, the company confirmed in May that the drone's release has been pushed back as well.

"While we had to make the difficult decision to delay our drone, Karma, the upside is that Karma's launch should now benefit from the holidays," GoPro Inc. CEO Nick Woodman said. It is now widely speculated that GoPro will release the drone and Hero 5 simultaneously, making them great buys for the holiday.

Meanwhile, since GoPro has kept mum about the exact details about the Hero 5, rumors about it have become rampant. It is already expected that Hero 5 will be a much better version of its predecessor. This means that it could be lighter, smaller but may carry significant improvements in specs.

Rumors about the action camera being able to shoot 8K videos still stand. Speculation is also rife that the device won't need a separate water-proof housing as it is already a built-in feature. In addition, the Hero 5 may also have a longer battery life to support filming the alleged 8K videos.

Until GoPro makes an official announcement, all these rumored specs and features of the Hero 5 should be taken with a grain of salt.