• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechInternet of Things

Why Slumping GoPro Burned $105 Million on Video Editing Apps

By
Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 2, 2016, 5:54 PM ET
Nicholas "Nick" Woodman, founder and chief executive officer of GoPro, holds a GoPro Hero 3+ camera.
Nicholas "Nick" Woodman, founder and chief executive officer of GoPro, holds a GoPro Hero 3+ camera.Photograph by David Paul Morris — Bloomberg/Getty Images

GoPro wants you to get better at telling stories with videos regardless of what you use to capture the footage.

To do that, the hardware company recently announced plans to acquire two video editing applications designed for smartphones: Splice and Replay.

Speaking at Wednesday’s Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, GoPro CEO Nicholas Woodman detailed the company’s approach to improving the overall GoPro experience, starting with making it easier to create presentable movies using footage from either a smartphone or the pocket-size action cameras the company is known for.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

“In simplest terms, GoPro (GPRO) needs to become contemporary. GoPro needs to deliver consumers the same seamless experience they’re enjoying with their smartphone today,” Woodman said. “Using a GoPro camera to [express yourself] has required quite a bit of effort to offload the content, edit, and share it. The bar has been set by the smartphone.”

Amid layoffs, cutting back its product lineup, and revamping its desktop editing software, GoPro has to combat the stigma that its products are only for daredevils who jump out of planes and not the average consumer.

Woodman held up the company’s $199 Hero4 Session camera as a device that’s easy for anyone to use, including his year-and-a-half-old son.

For more read GoPro Drops Price of Hero4 Session for Second Time

Splice and Replay are another method of putting GoPro products (albeit software) in the hands of new users: “I think that one of the most important aspects of these acquisitions is that they allow us to open up GoPro’s brand and content enabling solutions to billions of smartphone users and make GoPro very relevant to them,” Woodman explained.

Woodman views Replay and Splice—both of which will eventually be rebranded under GoPro’s name—as a low-cost entries to the GoPro experience. The idea is that as users of the mobile apps begin to rely upon and trust GoPro’s editing capabilities, users will eventually want to upgrade the experience by purchasing a GoPro camera.

For more on GoPro watch our video.

Other notable announcements from the conference include Karma, GoPro’s drone, is still on track for release in the first half of 2016. Additionally, GoPro’s new desktop editing software called “GoPro for Desktop” will be released by the end of the March.

GoPro is in need of a spark after a disastrous fourth-quarter of selling its cameras. And since users aren’t likely to upgrade their GoPros with each new product release, software is a logical place for the company to look to improve.

And by improving the overall software experience, GoPro increases the likelihood that a user stays invested in the company’s hardware. “The customer needs to have success with your product,” says Woodman. “And success for a GoPro customer is easily creating and sharing content.”

About the Author
By Jason Cipriani
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

SuccessWealth
Meet Luana Lopes Lara: The 29-year-old ballerina spent summers working for Ray Dalio—now she’s the youngest female self-made billionaire
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 4, 2025
9 minutes ago
christmas
Arts & EntertainmentSpotify
From Spotify Wrapped to YouTube Recap to Amazon Delivered, the holidays are becoming a time of year for our tech to tell us who we are
By The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
22 minutes ago
Matt Rogers
CommentaryInfrastructure
 I built the first iPhone with Steve Jobs. The AI industry is at risk of repeating an early smartphone mistake
By Matt RogersDecember 4, 2025
49 minutes ago
work
Future of Work
AI is reshaping the rhythm of the workweek–and leaders need to pay attention
By David ShimDecember 4, 2025
54 minutes ago
Venmo
CybersecurityVenmo
Venmo says it’s ‘back up and running’ after hours of trouble sending and receiving money
By Audrey McAvoy and The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
54 minutes ago
Huang
Big TechWhite House
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang meets behind closed doors with Trump, then Republican senators
By Matt Brown and The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
1 hour ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
6 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
3 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Scott Bessent calls the Giving Pledge well-intentioned but ‘very amorphous,’ growing from ‘a panic among the billionaire class’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 3, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 1, 2025
3 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.