The good bits:
- The GoPro Hero4 Silver comes pre-enclosed in a watertight case and screwed onto a usable mount. This means the new user doesn’t have to spend time figuring out how to assemble these main accessories for his new camera, bringing him closer to the “end state” of normal use.
- The camera doesn’t require the new user to go through any intro on the device. It is already set to a common video setting – 1080 Superview – instead of starting with a blank slate. If the user had a micro SD card (more on that in “to be improved” below) he could immediately begin recording and get good results.
- There are small UI hints on the bottom and right edges of the back touchscreen to indicate to a user that he can swipe option drawers into view.
- All the settings accessible by touch on the camera are also accessible by way of the hardware buttons. This allows the new user to cycle through the capabilities of camera without having to first remove it from its case and/or mount.
- Because the screen of the Hero4 is very small, the camera relies on supplemental sources of information to help a new user. The foldout Getting Started guide is well-illustrated and breaks out content into clear sections like “Basics.” It also directs the user to the GoPro website, which has clear entry points for support, forums, and the GoPro app.
- Similar to the camera, the GoPro mobile app doesn’t require the user to view an intro tour or create an account before using it. The app is also suitable for people who don’t yet have their cameras, as it provides other pieces of content.
- The mobile app augments a user’s exploration of the camera’s capabilities with inspirational content like the “GoPro Channel” and “Photo of the Day.” These sections allow new users to see what kinds of videos or photos can be captured and even suggests accessories for getting those shots.
- The instructions in the mobile app for pairing the camera to the phone are simple, focused and well-illustrated. One clear step is emphasized per screen. The illustration style is black-and-white with a blue highlight to point out interaction areas.
- A new user is not forced to update the camera’s firmware after finishing the pairing flow, so if the new user had a specific task in mind he can quickly get to it and save the update for later.
To be improved:
- As mentioned above, the Hero4 comes packaged in a manner that suggests it’s ready to go out of the box. But it unfortunately isn’t. First, the user has to remove the camera from the watertight case in order to insert the battery. Even more frustrating is that the camera doesn’t come with a [required] micro SD card. This means that a new user can’t use the camera unless he happens to have one on hand. Much like the conundrum of “batteries not included,” this drastically increases the window of time between a user unboxing the camera and being able to use it. Micro SD cards in the speed/capacity needed by a GoPro are not commonplace in households. I would suggest that GoPro include a micro SD card, even if it’s of very small capacity, so the user can test out the camera more quickly. Otherwise, GoPro might consider more strongly emphasizing the crucial need for a micro SD card during the purchase flow. The current print on the packaging is easy to miss.
- The accessories included in the box are not marked, so a new user consistently has to refer to the documentation to distinguish items.
- The instructions for attaching and removing hardware accessories don’t set expectations for the difficulty of these actions. For example, it takes quite a bit of pressure to open the watertight case, to the point that it seems the latch might break. GoPro could set expectations on perceived difficulty for various tasks, to ease a new user’s concerns about damaging this expensive hardware.
- Although it is less interruptive to have no required on-screen guidance on the camera, a few hints could be associated with different video/photo settings. While changing things like aspect ratio have clear and immediate feedback by way of the screen LCD, settings for other things might have an additional layer for more information, which a user can choose to navigate to if he’d like to see what a particular setting is for.
- Similarly, adding presets based on activity type could be helpful for new users and/or camera novices. For example, external websites provide information on the best settings to use for scuba diving, but GoPro could provide faster routes to these best settings in the camera itself.
- Although the instructions for the ideal camera + phone pairing flow were clear, they are less helpful or illustrative when something goes wrong. The pairing error message is more of a blanket statement with a list of potential issues and solutions. No clarification as to the source of an issue is provided.
- The mobile app screens that instruct a user about installing firmware updates are inconsistent with the copy and illustration style of the pairing setup flow. This jump from one style to another can be jarring and cause confusion.
- After the user spends all that time connecting his camera, the app does not cater help documentation to that user’s particular camera type. If he visits the Help section under Settings, he is taken to the general GoPro support site instead of a page tailored to the Hero4 Silver.