Nexar Pro

The Nexar Pro is a Chinese dual channel dash camera released in Jul 2019. It is likely the most affordable rideshare dual dash cam that offers cloud storage.

The Pro is based on the AllWinner V3 processor. It uses a Galaxycore GC2053 CMOS sensor for the front camera and a ICT1024 CMOS sensor for the rear camera.

The front camera specs are identical to the popular Nexar Beam camera but it is the first time we have heard of the ICT1024 sensor. While the hardware is on the lower end of the spectrum, it actually performs reasonably well for a lower priced camera .

Video Quality

The front camera records 1080p video at 30fps with an average bitrate of 12 Mbps. Video quality for the front camera during the day is good and night quality is above average. While not the greatest video quality, it will be quite acceptable for most users especially during the day. For comparison, the video quality is similar to the Nexar Beam and the lower priced Aukey DRA5.

The interior camera records 720p video at 25fps with an average bitrate of 5 Mbps. This camera comes with 10 infrared lights to illuminate the cabin at night (records in monochrome). The video quality for the interior camera is not the greatest particularly in low light situations.

Features

The Nexar Pro is a simple camera and does not have a screen. It has a 2 lights on the back for notifications. The first light indicates if the camera is recording and the second light indicates it has connected to your Smartphone.

With no screen, the only way to adjust settings of the Nexar Pro is through the Nexar Android or iOS app. Make sure your smartphone is on the approved device list from Nexar before purchasing this app.

The Android and iOS apps work very well, some of the better dash cam apps available on the market today. Note that the camera will still work if it is not paired to the app, the recordings will be saved to the microSD card (if it has been inserted).

There are a few complaints regarding the app to be aware of:

• Location services must be enabled at all times for the app (some owners are concerned of privacy issues due to this)
• The camera can take up to 4 minutes before it connects to the phone and starts recording. You could miss a a good amount of your drive due to this
• If you drive without the app on, videos will be created only on the SD card are not available on the app or the cloud
• There have been complaints that the app drains the phone’s battery

The camera has a g-sensor and will create event files if there is a collision or hard braking. It does not have a button to manual create an event file. The Nexar Pro has GPS and will create a map of your drive in the app. There is no parking mode available for the Pro. Since there is no screen, error notifications are audio based which is a positive.

The Nexar Pro is a medium sized camera with GPS built into the suction cup mount. The camera cannot swivel to record interactions at the driver or passenger windows. The dash cam is lightweight and build quality is average.

Cloud Support

The Nexar Pro is one of the few dash cams with cloud support and it is included as a free feature. The camera will save to the cloud only when the app is running and connected to the camera during the drive. Two types of videos are saved to the Cloud:

1. G-sensor triggered events such as a collision or hard braking will be sent to the cloud using the 4G data on your phone. This will consume a portion of your phone’s data plan
2. Full drives are converted to timelapses video and uploaded to the cloud once you connect your phone to WiFi network. This will not consume data from your phone’s plan

Overall the cloud support works well but there are some complaints that part of certain drives are missing. Note that videos get archived from the cloud after 6 months.

Support

Nexar appears to be responsive to questions and has adequate support. They also provide firmware updates which is a positive as well. Nexar provides a 12 month warranty, which is standard for most dash cams.

Known Problems

App Connectivity Issues

While the Nexar app is good and Nexar does provide a list of supported smartphones, some owners have complained of connectivity issues. Note that this does not appear to be a widespread issue.

Sample Videos

There are a numerous videos on Youtube for this camera. While not a bad performing camera, night videos are not the best and capturing details can be a problem. The interior camera is also average at best.

Should I Purchase

The Nexar Pro is the only rideshare camera in the $100 price range that provides free cloud recording. The camera is discreet, has reasonable front camera video quality but the cabin video could be better. With GPS, an included 32GB microSD card and a well rated app, there are a lot of positives for this camera.

Some drawbacks to be aware of:

• Uses of a lithium battery instead of capacitor
• Takes up to 4 minutes before it starts recording your drive
• Requires location services enabled at all times for your phone

The camera is quite similar to its sibling. the Nexar Beam, but with a different form factor, addition of an interior camera and a $30 higher price. If you are looking for a cloud enabled ridershare camera and can live with the drawbacks, the Nexar Pro is an excellent choice.

Specifications

Published: November 21, 2020