GoPro app for Android receives major update

GoPro’s smartphone apps have been a useful addition to its popular action cams for quite some time, and now the Android version sees a nice update. First, and most importantly, the app now automatically connects to your camera’s WiFi signal on launch, nixing a visit to the settings menu as your first stop. Sharing is easier as well, as those captured stills and videos can now be beamed to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other social repositories directly from your mobile device.

Even after years on the market and innumerable would-be competitors, GoPro remains the standard for “action cameras.” A big part of that is the excellent smartphone integration that GoPro’s devices have maintained, and today the official Android app gets a little better in a lot of small ways. The most obvious is the new user interface, which is visible on Android 4.0 and above. The all-black UI keeps its focus on minimalism and utility, but gets rid of some of the gradients of the former interface. There are also some more useful additions, most notably an automatic WiFi connection. GoPro cameras transmit their own disconnected WiFi network for the purpose of smartphone control and video downloads; now the app will automatically search for and connect to any GoPro camera networks in the immediate area when you launch it. The updated app will also let you share photos and videos directly from the app to Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.