Verdict
Nextbase ’s flagship bolt cam , the Nextbase I.Q. , is a bounce beyond its more daily range . After a rocky first experience with it last year , firmware updates have now transformed it into a really securities industry - go dash cam . It ’s still not perfect , however : I ’m not a fan of its mount , which supports only limited repositioning of the camera . The I.Q. is also very expensive to buy , and you ’ll need a paid subscription to enable most of its ripe feature . If you have an expensive cable car where you need extra security features , this camera is worth it .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Nextbase ’s iQ is a high-pitched - last dash River Cam , heighten with a curing of AI - drive feature . It ’s a extremist departure from the company ’s more conventional models : it looks dissimilar , work out otherwise , and connect to a new app via cellular datum . There ’s a selection of three camera in the range , which disagree only in their video resolution – I ’m testing the most expensive role model , which extend 4 K front - facing transcription .
All Nextbase iQ models include a built - in cabin camera , equipped with infrared lighting to help capture passengers even at nighttime . On the 4 K and 2 K mannequin this internal camera has a 2 K ( 1,440p ) solving , while on the entry - level 1 K style River Cam it , too , is 1 K ( 1,080p ) . you may add a rearward - window camera to shoot the route behind – it ’s a £ 149 optional spear carrier . You get a 64 GB MicroSD card preinstalled in the iQ , but you could remove and upgrade it to a maximal 256 GB .
This camera ’s advanced features include a live survey , parking trade protection and a remote alarm , but you ’ll need a subscription to enable them , at between £ 7 and £ 10 per month .
Design and features
The intelligence quotient does n’t look anything like Nextbase ’s steady bolt cams , all of which are more or less like a compact photographic camera . It also move out from the excellent Click&Go Pro magnetic windscreen mount , which lets you quickly dawn other Nextbase camera in and out of the car . Instead , the Nextbase iQ comprises a turgid , circular mount , to which the dash Cam River is for good attached via a loaded flexible joint . The camera eubstance is arrange vertically , with the whole machine intended to be pose just behind your rearview mirror .
That ’s a bit of a trouble on many mod cars , which progressively mount up the mirror on a formative binnacle , which also stop front - facing radar and other sensing element . That ’s not a new developing : in my last four cars , dating from 2008 forward , I would n’t have been capable to install this dah River Cam exactly where Nextbase intends . In my current one , I had to position the iQ importantly left of midpoint , where it partially obscured my front seat rider ’s sight forwards .
This flair cam is designed to be installed semi - permanently in your car , which means it does n’t come with a cigarette larboard adapter . Instead , you get an onboard nosology ( OBD ) connection , which provide constant power even when the inflammation is off .
In most vehicles this is a more elegant option than wiring into a fusebox , but you may find your car ’s OBD interface is n’t easily accessed – Nextbase admit a fusebox wire outfit as a backup .
Unbox this tv camera and the first thing you ’ll be prompted to do is set up the Nextbase iQ app , which guides you through the physical television camera installation and hold the latest firmware update . you’re able to practice your phone to run down the QR computer code displayed on the iQ ’s bantam screen , after which you ’ll get a live horizon to help you place the camera right . At least , that ’s the possibility .
I ’d fixate the iQ to my windscreen before realising that there was a significant lag in the live footage . fortuitously , the tv camera ended up quite well aimed , but when I tried to fine - line it , I discovered a major problem with the intelligence quotient ’s soused mount : there ’s no roll or yaw ( impart / right-hand ) movement , only pitch ( forward / back ) , so I could n’t even out for the slight curve ball of my windshield or get the camera perfectly rivet .
Dash cams are often very hard to polish off once attach . The Nextbase iQ does n’t come with a clear-cut static sticker , which would allow for easier repositioning . If you do necessitate to unmount the photographic camera from the screen – for example because you ’ve subsequently bought a rearward - panorama camera and you demand to get at its porthole – you may slide the iQ towards you off its base . Overall , however , it ’s a disappointingly inflexible mounting scheme , and feel like a drop clump hand that it comes from the same companionship that designed Click&Go Pro .
One other thing to mention is that this camera does n’t come with a polarising filter to cut down reflectivity from the dash or windscreen . That ’s an odd skip given that you get one with Nextbase’s522GWand the622GW – which was previously the flagship model .
Once the photographic camera ’s installed , the iQ app is next to senseless unless you ’ve pledge to either Protect ( £ 7 / calendar month ) or Protect Plus ( £ 10 ) . On the free ‘ Solo ’ plan , you could utilize the in - build voice control , and configure and pick up textbook notifications on drive issue , but you ca n’t see where your car is or get a alive scene from the television camera , and if you require to review videos you ’ll need to polish off the MicroSD card and browse it from a computer .
Witness Mode is design for time where you might feel threatened when driving or rive up . you may trigger this with a spokesperson command , upon which the Nextbase iQ will automatically portion out resilient video with a trusted touch so they can ensure you ’re fine .
A Protect subscription also gives you 30 days of cloud storage , plus the ability to browse video recording salt away on the camera from anywhere . Protect Plus ups the cloud reposition to the most late 180 days , and adds a few feature including multiple drug user support and an SOS style . This can share your location and medical details with the emergency service if you ’re unresponsive after an accident .
This elan River Cam ’s only button is there to allow you protect the current video file cabinet in the case of an stroke or other upshot . The I.Q. is strange among high - end panache cams in that it has a tiny screen , designed only for showing position messages . It does n’t take inputs , so if you want to find out footage or change circumstance while in your car , you ’ll want to reach the app on your phone . The screen is on permanently , which can be a bit unhinge .
Fortunately , the app is generally excellent , being far more stable and easier to use than most other dash cam software package I ’ve tried . I particularly like the timeline available from its hot aspect mode , in which outcome are marked out by an elongate tablet , make up it far easy to find and retrospect them than in other interchangeable apps .
Performance
My first experiences with the Nextbase iQ , in December 2023 , were awful . While it correctly detected whether my car was driving or parked , and switched mode consequently , it seemed that none of its parking features worked correctly . The Smart Sense parking sensitivity did n’t seem to charm when and whether the intelligence quotient picked up nearby people , and after adjusting it a few time the camera seemed to block immortalize Parking case altogether .
After a few years of defeat where the Live View would n’t mold and , finally , the iQ itself was uncontactable , the equipment reappeared in the app in prison term for a firmware update .
This fixed many of the issues I ’d been having with the camera and app , but not all of them – in fact my experience was still inadequate , so I decided to wait for updated firmware before keep the review .
When I reconnected and update the Nextbase intelligence quotient in September 2024 , I was delighted to discover that all of its feature of speech now seemed to work reliably . It was easy to bring down the sensitivity of Smart Sense parking alerts so that they behaved more consistently and warned me only when masses walked closely to my car . In common with some other style cams , the iQ ’s drive event detection feature was trigger - happy on pockmark and speeding - bumped city roads . alternate it to the dispirited of three sensitiveness setting stopped further false alarms .
Between the two periods I spend prove the intelligence quotient , Nextbase introduced Guardian Mode , which substantiate geoblocking and maximum speed preferences and alert you if your railway car break either . This could be very handy if , for model , your adult children sometimes take over your gondola or if you do n’t entirely trust the mechanic at your garage .
While at any time you could go to the main live view screen and activate the Nextbase intelligence quotient ’s piercing enchantress , there ’s no intercom feature as you ’d get on most home security measure cameras and doorbells . That seems like a miss opportunity , as it would have you alert the driver to the fact that you were watching them , and give you a way to politely enquire what they thought they were doing .
Nextbase announced when it uncover this product that it would launch Roadwatch AI , which will classify vehicles , cyclist and footer in your footage . However , this still was n’t usable in September 2024 at the meter of review .
Video quality
From my very earliest mental test , the Nextbase I.Q. delivered the crisp , high quality videos I ’d expect from a 4 K hyphen camera . In fact , it produced some of the good forward - facing video I ’ve seen . By day , conniption were exceedingly terse and brilliantly expose , with heavily shaded fleck of pavement catch in eminent contingent – even on the poor , darkest days of the yr .
This excellent exposure continued at night , when the iQ coped admirably with the harsh light and cryptic shadows of officious city streets . Even then , it was frizzly enough that I could study the act plates of many parked car , and even watch the plate on oncoming vehicle , provided my headlights did n’t completely wash them out .
This camera ’s 2 K cabin videos were telling , too . Again , it displayed a broad dynamic range , allowing it to properly expose the cabin without washing out inside information seeable through the side windows . Even at night , assist by in - built infrared ignition , it could pick out people and object inside the railcar , and capture a surprising amount of the street - lit pavements to either side .
Both cameras ’ wide angle lenses produced a stage of distortion . However , this was especially evident towards the extremes of the cabin camera ’s immense 180 degree theater of position . Footage corresponding rough with the front half of the front side window incline to blur especially well . This camera ’s unbelievably broad - angle panorama also meant that it could capture little detail of the road behind , the rear window comprising just a tiny proportion of the frame . If you want to take what ’s go on like a shot behind you , you would postulate to purchase the rearview camera .
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Should you buy it?
The Nextbase iQ 4Koffers magnificent video character , and the ability to see where your machine is and how it ’s being driven . It ’s a just pick if you have a suitable automobile .
If you just want decent recording of your drive , give this photographic camera a miss . It ’s expensive , and you ’ll need to pay a subscription to get the best out of it .
Final Thoughts
Make no mistake , this is an expensive dash cam , and you wo n’t get the most out of it unless you also make up for a subscription . Buying the Nextbase iQ 4 K and three twelvemonth of Protect Plus will set you back about £ 750 , whereas you could purchase a regular 4 thou dash cam likeNextbase ’s own 622GWfor less than £ 300 .
Based on my earliest testing , I would n’t have said the I.Q. was worth it , but subsequent firmware updates have really made a deviation . The parking protection is a reliable way to find out if someone ’s loitering near your car , or has damaged it , while Guardian Mode seems an effective way to check that nobody ’s taking liberties with your vehicle . If you have a very suitable cable car , if you often park in a slick country or if you just do n’t trust your fry , then the extra features make this bolt River Cam well worth the request cost .
Trusted Score
How we test
We quiz every bolt River Cam we reexamine thoroughly over an extended full point of time . We use received tests to equate features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we get . We never , ever , accept money to look back a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
There ’s no doubt that 4 KiB footage has the scope to enchant more detail than lower resolutions , but in our experience 4 K dash cams do n’t always pitch . The Nextbase iQ is unusual in that its 4 K resolution remains crisp and well resolved even in broken lighting conditions . With that said , it ’s unlikely to show crucial contingent that the estimable 2 K dash cams would miss .
At 4 K , each one - instant section of recording come in at around 300 mebibyte , at which pace a 64 GB MicroSD card will fill up in only three and a half hours . That ’s fine if you only ever drive topically , but we ’d urge a 256 GB card if you often take prospicient journeys with a 4 K camera .
Full Specs
