GoPro's new drone is its most 'exciting product' yet, CEO Nick Woodman says
GoPro debuted its new drone Monday and despite stiff competition already in the marketplace, CEO Nick Woodman told CNBC he's confident the product will take off.
That's because it is more than a drone — it is also "Hollywood-caliber" handheld stabilization for GoPro cameras, he said in an interview with CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Monday.
"It's the most exciting product we've ever made. It's certainly the most enabling product in terms of helping people capture incredible professional-quality footage of their lives and share stories like they're used to seeing on the big screen at the movies," he said.
The highly anticipated drone, called Karma, will retail for $799. That includes the removable stabilizer, the grip and controller, as well as the backpack it fits into. What it doesn't include is the camera. However, customers can bundle it with a Hero 5 Session for $999 or with a Hero 5 Black for $1,099.
The release of Karma had been delayed from earlier this year, and that had some analysts warning GoPro was getting to the party a bit too late. It's a market that is expected to be about $1 billion by next year.
However, Woodman is optimistic about GoPro's success, because it is "one of the strongest brands in the world."
It is also an end-to-end storytelling solution, with its new software and cloud syncing, as well as apps that allow users to easily edit their footage, he added.
"Karma is simply the best solution out there for stabilization in the air or handheld or mounted to your favorite gear. And GoPro is the only company in the world that is making this solution possible, so I think we're in a really good position," Woodman said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, for one, is bullish on the drone's prospects. On Friday, it initiated coverage of GoPro with a "buy" rating, forecasting a 34 percent rally in the next 12 months to $19.
It believes the rest of Wall Street is underestimating the potential for the action video cameramaker to profit from the expanding drone market.
— CNBC's Josh Lipton and Giovanny Moreano contributed to this report.