![]() The camera is easy to set up and works reliably, transferring footage to the Nexar app where it is ready to view, trimmed into short clips, saved and shared right from the phone app.Ĭompare this to a dash cam that needs removing from the car and plugging into a computer to view its footage, and the Nexar Beam feels like a breath of fresh air. At first we were concerned that its reliance on connecting to a smartphone app would be a source of frustration, but the Nexar app soon pushed these doubts out of our mind. We were pleasantly surprised by the Nexar Beam dash cam. (Image credit: Nexar) Nexar Beam review: Verdict You can hide it away and the camera will quietly get on with its job, with no sounds or flashing lights to distract you. It is important to note that, while the app contains a map and interface for controlling the camera, your phone doesn’t need to be unlocked or within reach while driving. Thankfully the Nexar app can be used to set how much storage is reserved for dash cam footage the options here are 20, 50 or 70 percent of your phone storage. It isn’t disastrous, and you will likely have your phone plugged in while driving anyway, but it’s something to be aware of.įootage will also take up a fair chuno of storage on your smartphone. Our only complaint is how recording footage to the app drains the smartphone’s battery more quickly than normal. We at first thought the dash cam’s reliance on a smartphone app would be a source of frustration, but it’s a seamless experience. We were pleasantly surprised with the Nexar app. These are saved when the dash cam detects a collision or an instance of heavy braking. The app includes a tool for trimming and saving sections of footage, and potential incidents are automatically saved separately. All footage includes the date and time to help give legitimacy for when it might be needed as evidence. This footage is neatly organised and each journey is joined by a map to show the route you took. This worked seamlessly for us – so much so that we hadn’t realised it had happened until we discovered the saved footage in the Nexar app a few hours later. While the camera comes with a microSD card, it only uses this briefly, recording to the card then immediately sending this footage to your smartphone. The app is used to initially set up the camera – thankfully a quick and easy process that worked first time in our testing – and it then captures footage and logs every journey made with the dash cam. While many dash cams work with a companion smartphone app, few rely on them quite as much as this. This is where the Nexar Beam sets itself apart from much of the competition. (Image credit: Nexar) Nexar Beam review: Software and app Audio can also be recorded, but we prefer to leave this switched off in the interest of passenger privacy. We particularly liked how smooth the footage was, with no tearing or distortion when driving over potholes and speed bumps. Details like road signs and registration plates are legible in most situations and changes in lighting are handled well, with the image also well-balanced and not over- or under-exposed. While this isn’t as good on paper as some 1440p, 2K or 4K dash cams, but under £100 the Nexar’s video quality is impressive. The Nexar shoots in 1080p Full HD resolution and at 30 frames per second. This is a pleasant surprise, but we worry about whether Nexar will earn enough money from unit sales to comfortably cover the mounting cloud storage fees. Interestingly, Nexar offers free and unlimited cloud storage for footage taken by its dash cam. The app predicts that each hour of footage takes up a little over 1GB of your phone storage. ![]() You can then transfer the footage to your phone later, or copy it from the memory card to your tablet or computer. In this case, the camera can be set to record only to its microSD card, like most other dash cams. It is worth noting that your phone cannot connect to a car with wireless CarPlay or Android Auto and operate the Nexar Beam at the same time. This puts the camera into a state where it is not recording, but will spring into life if an incident is detected. There is also a parking mode that automatically switches on when the vehicle is turned off and the camera remains plugged in. Incidents like collisions and heavy braking are automatically saved separately. Instead, it simply gets on with the job of recording footage and saving it to its own storage, then transferring it to your smartphone ( iPhone or Android). Some dash cam companies are guilty of packing too many features into their products. (Image credit: Nexar) Nexar Beam review: Features
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