In addition to a sleeker design with more clearly-labeled buttons than the Hero2, the Hero3 is shredding some sick powder with the following specs:

• White/Silver/Black Editions with video resolution up to 1080p30 (White/Silver) / 1080p60 (Black) and 4K (!) at 15 frames per second (fps) in the Black Edition.
• 5/11/12 megapixel camera with 30/10/3 fps burst, respectively
• 1050 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Up to 64 GB of external microSD storage
• Built-in Wi-Fi

What is inside of you, small box of joy?

To our dismay, we could not examine the deep dark innards of the Hero3 through the lens. Time to crack it open!

Peeling off the water resistant port cover reveals the following ports:

• Mini USB
• Micro HDMI
• microSD

With the simple press of a button, the back cover is free, allowing access to—what's this—a battery pull tab?

It's almost as if the folks at GoPro wanted you to be able to take the battery out of your HD Hero3. What a novel idea.

The Hero3's 3.7 V battery is rated at 1050 mAh/3.85 Wh, a 50 mAh decrease from previous models, presumably due to the device's smaller size.

As usual, caution labels on the back of the battery warn us not to store the battery in high temperatures, disassemble it, or dispose of it…with fire.

• Thanks for the heads up, GoPro.

It has come to that time in the teardown where we finally have to reach for a tool. Not just any tool, but the always-appropriate plastic opening tool.

A few clips and a little bit of adhesive are no challenge for our trained hands, and the front cover lifts right off.

We are through the adhesive and on to some of our favorite little repair-friendly friends: Torx screws!

Four surprisingly-long (8.1 mm) T4 Torx screws hold the midframe in place, and are easily removed with the help of our 54 Bit Driver Kit.

A little more prying, and the midframe and motherboard assembly is the next piece to practically fall off the GoPro. This is almost too easy.

We have always pushed for product design that favors repairability, but seeing it in action still makes us do a double take.

Two pieces of tape, one connector, four more screws, a little bit-o-prying…this device is coming apart pretty easily considering the small package and large recording ability!

The image sensor pops off the motherboard assembly and can be replaced independently of the rest of the ICs. This Hero is gaining repairability cred left and right.

Our Hero3 Black Edition comes with a 12 megapixel image sensor with improved low light capabilities, a step up from the 5 and 11 megapixel modules in its other Hero counterparts.

• While more resolution is great for stills, the pixel-crunching power that sets the Black Edition's video skills apart from the rest of the pack are in the image processor—more on that later.