Nexar One Pro dash cam review: Classy as it gets, with some quirks

Price When Reviewed

$349.95

Best Prices Today: Nexar One Pro sprint cam

Physically, Nexar’s $450 One Pro is a murals. It’s dear to make certain, however luxurious styling, intelligent design, and just about each characteristic present in a contemporary sprint cam would probably keep at bay any purchaser’s regret.

I stated would, as a result of in observe, transferring video on-line proved problematic and tediously sluggish, with what turned out to be an incompatible telephone. Also, the app’s insistence on notifying customers of mundane inanities proved intrusive and annoying.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best dash cams to study competing merchandise.

Nexar One Pro design and options

The Nexar One Pro has mounted inner storage, obtainable at buy time in 64GB (commonplace), 128GB (+$50), 256GB (+$100), and 512GB (+$180) flavors. How a lot you want is dependent upon how a lot you drive, how a lot video you need saved, and what number of years you need to use the digital camera. NAND has a finite lifespan.

Of course, with the One Pro, you possibly can all the time offload movies to your telephone, and there’s the accompanying LTE service and on-line storage. Alas the latter proved problematic. More on that later.

The Nexar One Pro, whereas exceedingly good-looking in look, is a hefty deal at 7.4 ounces, with the magnetically/Type-C coupled “Connectivity LTE” module and inside digital camera module contributing one other 1.76 ounces apiece. The principal unit measures 3.5-inches huge by 2.75-inches tall, by 1.2 inches thick. Both the connectivity module and the inside digital camera module add round 1.6-inches of width, for a somewhat conspicuous 6.7-inch width when assembled.

The entrance digital camera is 4K UHD (3840×2160) with a 140 diploma area of view, whereas the inside digital camera is 720p with a 160 diploma FOV, and rotates vertically for optimum cabin protection.

Despite the massive dimension, I used to be much less hesitant about putting the One Pro on my windshield than i’ve been with most different sprint cams—it’s that stylish trying. The complete deal is affixed to the windshield utilizing a semi-permanent adhesive mount (with an built-in Type-C energy connector), which in flip magnetically connects with the digital camera.

I discovered the magnetic coupling excellent—reassuringly safe, however nonetheless simple to take away. Also, while you get it wherever close to the mount, it nearly jumps out of your hand to mate with the mount. That could sound odd or disturbing, but it surely’s truly type of cool. Especially because the communication and interior-camera modules do the identical. Fun, enjoyable, enjoyable.

Easily eliminated can also be cool, as I wouldn’t need to depart such a beautiful piece of tech within the automotive besides in recognized safe areas—most particularly my pathetically simple to open convertible (knife slash) that I intentionally depart unlocked.

While the Nexar One Pro comes with an auxiliary/USB charger within the field, it additionally ships with a OBDII energy unit/cable or hardwiring package. I used to be completely happy in regards to the OBDII I acquired because it’s by far the best method (no wire tapping) to offer fixed juice to a splash cam for surveillance whilst you’re parked.

Note that OBDII is the usual diagnostic connector on all vehicles for the final a number of a long time. You have one, almost certainly underneath the motive force’s aspect sprint to the far left of the cabin.

Jon L. Jacobi

That stated, the cable options an inline transformer puck that you simply’ll must tuck away someplace. Overall, nevertheless, I don’t assume I’ve seen a bodily design as good because the Nexar One Pro. It’s simply elegant all the way in which.

Using the One Pro requires signing up with Nexar as you have to retailer movies on-line. If you need marketed options resembling dwell streaming, dwell alerts broadcast for incidents, and distant automobile finding, you’ll want a Nexar Connect subscription for $10 a month. Factor that in when you find yourself comparability procuring.

Other options embrace a parking mode, GPS, dangerous driving alerts, sharing of recordsdata, voice suggestions, in addition to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) 5. There’s additionally a mounting alignment helper within the telephone app, which additionally options the power to play again video whereas displaying your route and vacation spot on a map. Nice.

Nexar One Pro app and offloading

I used to be having unbridled enjoyable and feeling stark admiration for the Nexar One Pro proper up till putting in the app and making an attempt to entry captures. I now should be aware that I first used my private Google Pixel 4 for testing as I often do. If not bleeding-edge, it’s nonetheless a comparatively trendy and succesful telephone.

Alas, the Nexar app isn’t absolutely suitable with it. I’m going to explain my experiences with the Pixel 4, as that was used for almost all of the testing and display screen captures, however finally utilizing an iPhone resolved the problems. Check the somewhat obscure list at Nexar’s site to verify your telephone is supported. This must be entrance and middle on the product web page and the app must be sensible sufficient to inform you.

First off, it took a number of reboots of each the app and the digital camera to attach, although after preliminary connection, mating was dependable and fast. This just isn’t unusual with phone-centric sprint cams.

I noticed a lot reward for the app among the many reader (perhaps) critiques at Nexar’s website, however personally, I used to be hardly enamored with it badgering me incessantly about issues it needed resembling location information. And after I turned off notifications (there are actually dozens), it began bugging me about turning them on. I understand how I need to use the product. Chill, Nexar!

On the opposite hand, I did benefit from the dwell view, having the ability to replay rides and see the GPS information used to scribe my route on a map.

With the Pixel 4, just a few of the handfuls of movies have been seemingly saved on-line mechanically, and after I tried to manually add movies from the app, the method stalled each time. There was additionally seemingly no solution to abort (there’s an X on importing movies, but it surely didn’t reply).

To its credit score, Nexar help was pleasant and fast to get again to me, nevertheless, I’d already taken all of the steps (uninstall, re-install, energy cycle all the pieces, and so on.) they steered to ameliorate the problem. I used to be finally knowledgeable by my firm PR contact that the Pixel 4 (and several other others) was not suitable, however e-mail help by no means proffered this info.

Long story quick, the one method I used to be in a position to reliably retrieve movies from the Pixel 4 was by searching to Android/Data/mobi.nexar/dashcam/recordsdata/consumer/(a really lengthy alphanumeric)/movies the place they’d been streamed. Not one thing all customers will know find out how to do, and even contemplate.

What Nexar One Pro ought to do is perform as USB mass storage, as most display-less sprint cams do when linked to a computing machine. Whether my telephone was the problem or not, the shortage of this facility in a splash cam with non-removable storage is a matter. An enormous situation.

I ultimately received all the pieces to work utilizing the aforementioned iPhone, however geez Louise.

How is the Nexar One’s video?

Once the captures have been lastly off the telephone, the outcomes have been typically good, although not almost of the standard of these featured on the web site. Color was fantastic, however the digital camera reacted poorly to the grey day right here in San Francisco, making it seem darker than it was.

Notice that particulars within the following shot are fantastic on the automotive to the precise that’s inside 20 ft, however muddy straight forward at a distance of solely 100 ft. There’s additionally a good quantity of fish-eye, although bumps and different movement have been dealt with effectively—no tearing, jiggling, or different artifacts.

Nexar clearly opts for smoothness over sharpness at a distance, and to your incidents that’s fantastic. But it does restrict usefulness when it comes to cataloging your travels or documenting different folks’s incidents.

The inside seize beneath was taken on a brighter day, and once more, the Nexar One Pro doesn’t compensate for the lighting situations significantly effectively. The picture is usable however overexposed.

It appears the One Pro handles evening and low-light captures higher than full-light and day. The following evening seize reveals good element regardless of a moist windshield. Much, significantly better. Go determine.

The evening inside seize additionally opts for easy over sharp, however you possibly can see the inside and exterior fairly effectively. I don’t significantly love the strains in my face, however an excellent sprint cam would seize them higher.

Overall, I’d name the Nexar One Pro’s captures serviceable, although sprint cams such because the 70mai Omni do higher on all fronts with much less space-hungry 1080p. You can change the One Pro to 1080 to avoid wasting house, however 4K is the default.

Is the Nexar One Pro price it?

As a chunk of intelligent, enticing {hardware}, the Nexar One Pro is the sprint cam I’d most like in my automotive. I used to be able to fall in love. For the value, I used to be anticipating top-quality captures and a painless, well mannered expertise. Instead, captures have been so-so, the app was annoying, and it didn’t work correctly with my telephone for initially unexplained causes.

If you’re utilizing a suitable telephone, you’ll most likely just like the One Pro. But the digital camera wants to permit direct offloading by way of USB, and the corporate must work tougher to verify Pixel 4 customers don’t fall into the identical lure.