Nextbase has introduced its latest product, the Nextbase iQ smart connected dash cam, which leverages both AI technology and 4G IoT connectivity for real-time access through the iQ app.
Designed for use in any vehicle, the idea is to help car owners anticipate, prevent, and defend against incidents both on the road and while parked.
Available exclusively through Best Buy starting at $700, it offers up to 4K resolution and a built-in interior cabin camera with infrared. When you add the optional third rear window-mounted POV camera (the iQ Rear Camera), you can enjoy compete vehicle coverage.
When it comes to safety features, the Nextbase iQ includes Smart Sense Parking, dual-technology powered by Nextbase’s proximity sensing Spatial Awareness and G-Force Sensors that scans the area surrounding your vehicle and warns of any dangers via real-time notifications to your smartphone with imagery and video. There’s also Witness Mode, which is voice-activated and instantly saves a 30-minute block of video to the cloud then pushes a notification to an emergency contact in real-time. This ensures that you never face a stressful situation alone or without evidence.
Additionally, there’s Emergency SOS automatic alerts for emergency services with location and other potentially life-saving details following a serious accident. With Live View via the iQ app, you can see what’s going on in or around your vehicle at any time. The app also allows you to live stream, trigger an audible alarm, two-way talk (with future iQ firmware update), view video history, share, and more.
Perfect for when the car is parked, you also get real-time event notifications sent to your phone wherever you are in the world. This might include a bump in the parking lot or an intruder attempting to enter your vehicle. iQ is able to detect the status of the vehicle and switch between driving mode and parking mode, in which it scans for threats, while avoiding car battery drainage.
There’s also voice activation to enable privacy features such as mute, turn off cabin cam, activating Witness Mode, and more.
Nextbase says it will continue to evolve the iQ via firmware releases, which will include new features over time. Some upcoming features have already been confirmed. Guardian Mode notifies vehicle owners/parents based on specific customizable driving behaviour triggers, such as speeding, erratic driving, and GPS boundaries, to keep you alerted when your vehicle is left with a valet, mechanic, or family member. Push to Talk, meanwhile, allows you to speak directly with occupants in the vehicle or alert intruders to your presence.
Roadwatch AI is another upcoming feature, which uses the Computer Vision (CV) chipset and high-grade cameras to run AI software on edge. It tracks the speeds and trajectories of other vehicles around you, as well as pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooters.
In partnership with T-Mobile IoT, real time footage and reports can be shared with authorities or insurance companies following any incident to protect drivers and their vehicles. The encrypted incident reports will consist of synchronized data including speed, G-Force, GPS, and video. Driver Aware (AI-powered DMS) monitors and improves drivers situational awareness and reduces distracted driving; and Vehicle Aware (AI-powered ADAS) improves safe operation of the vehicle and allows drivers to respond accordingly.
These future feature additions will all be made available seamlessly through the iQ’s over-the-air update capability and automotive-grade CV chipset.
“Nextbase iQ is unlike anything on the market today,” says Richard Browning, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer for Nextbase. “It sets a new benchmark for dash cams. But more than that, it creates a whole new category by extending high-end smart home-style connectivity into the car and making advanced connected-car technology – on par or even better than that offered on the most expensive, tech-forward new cars – available to everyone, regardless of the age, type or value of their vehicle.”
The Nextbase iQ is available starting today exclusively at Best Buy stores and online. The 1K @ 1080p resolution model is $700; the 2K @ 1440p resolution model is $850; and the 4K @ 4k resolution model is $1,000. An optional rear camera will also be available for $250.
The new Nextbase iQ app, available in app stores now, is supported by three subscription packages, starting with the free Solo service, Protect and Protect Plus. With the free Solo subscription, you get access to voice control and real-time text notifications. The Protect subscription is $14/mo. or $135/yr. and adds live view (60 minutes), Smart Sense Parking, Witness mode, remote alarm, 30 days of cloud storage, and, coming soon, RoadWatch AI and Guardian Mode. For $28/mo. or $275/yr., the Protect Plus plan extends cloud storage to 180 days, emergency SOS, an extended warranty, and, coming soon, automated incident back-up and the ability to store multiple user accounts.
Now through December 31, 2023, customers in Canada and the U.S. can take advantage of a three-month trial subscription (either Protect or Protect Plus) free of charge.