Kandao’s next release coming soon on September 16: 3 possibilities

Kandao, creators of the Obsidian and Qoocam 360 cameras, has an announcement on September 16.  Here are 3 possibilities.  First, here’s the teaser video.

Kandao is one of the biggest 360 camera companies.  Their previous cameras have included both professional 360 cameras such as the cutting edge Obsidian Pro, and Obsidian R, and Obsidian S, and consumer cameras such as Qoocam, Qoocam 8K, and Qoocam Fun.

Yesterday, they posted a teaser video on Facebook and Youtube that shows their next release silhouetted against an orange background and ominous music. What is it? Here are 3 possibilities.

1. 360 camera:  The first possibility is that it could be a 360 camera.  Kandao is one of the biggest 360 cameras, and the Qoocam 8K has been out of stock for a few months now, seemingly ready for a replacement. The silhouette looks like it might be a 360 camera, with the sphere on top housing the lenses.

Although this is a tantalizing possibility, I don’t think this is the case because of the timing. The teaser was posted just yesterday for a release on September 16, just 2 days later. If this is a 360 camera, I would expect much more noise about it.  Moreover, September 16 is also the launch date for GoPro Hero 10.  I doubt that they would want to schedule a 360 camera release on the same day that Hero 10 will dominate headlines.

2. 360 microphone:  The second possibility is that it might not be a camera at all.  It might be a 360 degree ambisonic microphone. They haven’t produced a microphone before but it would complement their 360 cameras.  However, I think the next possibility is more likely.

3. A video conferencing device: Kandao is well known as a 360 camera manufacturer, but they have other products including Meeting and Meeting Pro, which are 360-degree conferencing devices.  The device shown here has a cylindrical body, like those of the Meeting and Meeting Pro.  And if you look at the edges of the silhouette carefully, you’ll notice what looks like a speaker grille, making it even more likely that the device is for video conferencing.

The short lead-up and a launch day that competes with GoPro also suggests that this is probably not a mass-market device.   For these reasons, I believe this is most likely a video conferencing device.