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Nexar One dash cam review: a 4K dash cam with interior view and constant cloud connection

by admin June 19, 2025

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Nexar One: One-minute review

The Nexar One is a 4K dash cam that employs a clever modular design and an always-on LTE data connection to offer automatic cloud uploads with unlimited storage, wireless video transfer, and remote streaming. It can be bought with either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, but there’s no microSD card support. Rear and internal cameras are also available.

Unlimited cloud storage and live streaming for as little as $71.90 a year feels like good value, but the One is reliant on a strong cellular signal to work properly; if you have patchy 4G at home, this might not be the dash cam for you.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

Nexar One: price & availability

The Nexar One is priced from $329.95 for the 128GB model (which can hold up to 37 hours of recordings), or from $379.95 for the 256GB model (which has space for up to 78 hours). Adding the interior camera featured in this review increases those prices to $379.95 and $429.95 respectively.

Nexar One: specs

Swipe to scroll horizontallyNexar One specs

Video

4K resolution at 25 to 30 frames per second

Row 0 – Cell 2 Row 0 – Cell 3

Field of view (FoV)

140 degrees (forwards), 160 degrees (interior)

Row 1 – Cell 2 Row 1 – Cell 3

Storage

Internal (128GB or 256GB), cloud (unlimited, fees apply)

Row 2 – Cell 2 Row 2 – Cell 3

GPS

Yes

Row 3 – Cell 2 Row 3 – Cell 3

Parking Mode

Yes, with remote streaming

Row 4 – Cell 2 Row 4 – Cell 3

App support

Nexar Connect app

Row 5 – Cell 2 Row 5 – Cell 3

Dimensions

3.5 x 2.75 x 1.2 inches / 88.9 x 69.8 x 30.5mm

Row 6 – Cell 2 Row 6 – Cell 3

Weight

7.4oz / 210g

Row 7 – Cell 2 Row 7 – Cell 3

Battery

Yes, used to record parking events

Row 8 – Cell 2 Row 8 – Cell 3

Nexar One: Design

The Nexar One is a clever piece of design, as far as dash cams go. It doesn’t have a screen, so there’s no chance of being distracted while you’re driving, and the unit itself is relatively slim, but with the LTE data module and interior camera connected, it’s quite large.

The clever bit is how the Nexar One uses magnets. Firstly, it connects to its windshield mount with a very strong magnet. You then stick the mount to your windshield with an adhesive strip, and a power cable runs from the mount to your car’s OBD2 port for a constant power supply, even when it’s parked and turned off. Power is then sent to the dash cam itself as soon as the magnets snap it into place.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

There are more magnets on either side of the main unit. You can remove a cover from one end to attach what Nexar calls the connectivity add-on, which is basically an LTE (4G) antenna that gives the dash cam a cellular data connection for live streaming to your phone and cloud video storage – more on that later.

Removing the cover from the other end enables you connect the optional interior camera, which sold separately but was also provided by Nexar for this review. Overall, it’s a clever design that’s been nicely executed, and I especially like how Nexar includes an OBD2 cable in the box, rather than a USB cable and a 12-volt socket adapter.

As mentioned, there’s no microSD card slot, with the One relying entirely on internal storage.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

Nexar One: Performance

The setup process requires the Nexar Connect smartphone app and, for the dash cam, a decent 4G connection. Although I live in London, my street has awful cellular coverage, so it wasn’t a surprise to see the One fail to get itself online. I drove about half a mile, parked up, and the dash cam then quickly connected to Nexar’s cloud service and completed the setup process.

While video quality is the most important aspect of any dash cam, there’s more to this model than video recording. You can use either the Nexar Connect app or Nexar’s online dashboard to view every journey completed with the One installed. Your driving route is shown on a map, along with the distance and duration of your journey. It’s then easy to either view a low-resolution timelapse of a journey, or download a high-resolution portion.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

If you’re away from your car (and therefore not connected directly to the dash cam via Wi-Fi), you can view the mapped routes and timelapses. And, while you can request to download a high-res portion of between 30 seconds and five minutes, the download won’t happen until the next time you turn your car on. Instead, it’s best to get in your car, connect directly to the dash cam over Wi-Fi, and transfer high-res recordings to your phone.

Another feature is live streaming, where the Nexar One’s LTE connection lets you view a live feed from the dash cam on your phone. This takes about 30 seconds to start and when using LTE (instead of a direct Wi-Fi connection) you’re limited to three minutes of live viewing at a time. This is understandable, given how much data would be swallowed up by longer streams. It’s a handy way to check up on your car, and means you can view a live feed right after the dash cam detects a collision while parked, as it will automatically start recording.

Since I live in an area with patchy cellular coverage, some driving routes and timelapses failed to upload right away. This process happens after you park up, while the dash cam is powering down, but a poor data connection can stop the upload from happening. The downloads are then unavailable until the next time you turn your car on and drive to an area with better signal.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

If you live and mostly drive in an area with strong LTE coverage you’ll be fine, but if not – and you want to regularly use the Nexar One’s connected features – you’ll need to think twice about buying it. The Nexar One is designed to connect to a range of networks, instead of just one, so it should always hunt out the best signal. But I found it sometimes failed to connect, especially in known blackspots.

Incidents – where the dash cam detects a collision, either while parked or driving – are sorted into their own section of the app and dashboard, making them easy to find.

The app lets you pick from three video quality options, but frustratingly these use names – Basic, Standard and Premium – instead of recognizable numbers, like 1080p or 4K. Tapping on ‘Learn more’ opens Nexar’s website and explains that Basic is 720p (and 540p for the interior view), Standard is 1080p (and 720p for the interior), and Premium is 4K (plus 720p again for the interior).

Standard is the default option. These Full HD recordings look great on the phone app, but quality takes a dip when blown up onto a larger computer screen. Footage is okay, but details like the license plates of oncoming vehicles, even at just 20mph in bright daylight, are often difficult to read.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

Bump the Nexar One up to Premium and the 4K videos are noticeably sharper, with more legible license plates and street signs. Files are also larger, with a five-minute clip weighing in at 1.5GB from the front-facing camera and 360MB from the lower-spec interior view.

The larger size of 4K files highlights the Nexar One’s slow Wi-Fi transfer speeds. Moving those five-minute, 1.5GB and 360MB clips to my iPhone, over a direct Wi-Fi connection, took a full five minutes.

The interior camera is of a lower spec, but still provides a decent view of the driver and front-seat passenger. Since I drive a small two-seater (a Mazda Miata, or MX-5 for non-US readers), this camera manages to capture an acceptable view out of the rear windshield too. However, due to my car’s tiny front windshield, I’ve had to partially hide the Nexar One behind the mirror, which blocks some of the camera’s interior view.

If I bought the Nexar One myself, and still owned a car tight on space, I’d likely do without the interior camera. That said, if you’re a taxi or ride-share driver, having recordings of your interior (and a sign telling your passengers as much) could be useful.

Lastly, there’s a parking mode. This works when the Nexar One is connected either with the included OBD II cable, or the optional hardwiring cable that powers it from the fuse box. When a collision is detected, the camera springs into life and starts recording. These videos appear in chronological order in the app, but can only be downloaded when you next switch your car on – and so long as the camera has a good cellular connection.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

Parking mode, unlimited cloud storage, live streaming and other functions – including emergency alerts, GPS tracking and rear camera compatibility – are all part of a subscription plan. This is priced at $9.99 a month or $71.90 for a full year. Although the Nexar One works like any other offline dash cam without this fee, storing footage locally, not subscribing removes much of its functionality. If you don’t want to pay for a subscription, you’d be better off buying a different dash cam.

That said, I can see the value here – especially if you live in an area with solid cellular coverage. Having videos available online, through the app or any computer browser, takes away the usual dash cam pain point of having to eject the microSD card and transfer footage manually. I also like the idea of being able to check in on my car while I’m away from home, but my local cellular coverage made that tricky.

The dash cam occasionally sent phone notifications, promising more information when tapped. But doing so simply opened the app and showed me the home screen. It also sometimes told me a recording was in process (while the car was parked and switched off), then saved a five-minute journey in the Activity page of the app. Tapping on this brought up a page full of error messages, a map with no indication of where the car was, and the promise of a timelapse and high-res clip being “available shortly”.

Nexar told me it has had some issues with a recent firmware update, but after reinstalling the latest firmware I still experienced connectivity problems. The One connects to multiple phone networks, but it seems that none could provide the coverage it needed to function where I live. It worked fine elsewhere, but poor signal at home takes away a chunk of the One’s functionality.

I asked Nexar if it can be connect to home Wi-Fi for video uploads and firmware updates but, and was told that while this is on the roadmap, there’s no timeline for launch.

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

Nexar One: Sample videos

Front camera

Interior camera

Should you buy the Nexar One?

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Charlton)

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the Nexar One

I installed the Nexar One in my own car
I used the dash cam during multiple journeys over the course of a week
I downloaded footage, adjusted settings and experimented with the live streaming function.

I installed the Nexar One in my car and used it as my dash cam for about a week. I used it on numerous journeys, and recorded footage every time I used my car. I then downloaded (and uploaded) footage from the dash cam to check its recording quality, and used the live streaming function to see how well that worked.

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June 19, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Titans’ Cam Ward reflects on dad’s impact for Father’s Day

by admin June 16, 2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The smile on Cameron Ward’s face said it all when asked what he wanted to get his dad, Calvin, for Father’s Day.

“Shopping for Father’s Day, that’s the hardest shopping to do,” Ward told ESPN. “I mean what do you get for someone who already has everything? I don’t know what I’m going to get him, because he ain’t really ask for s—.”

Having already paid to have his parents’ house built last year when he was in college at Miami, Ward struggled to come up with a physical gift for his dad. He laughed as he recalled gifting his dad an ATV for Christmas years ago, when his mom, Patrice, had gotten him a mini NASCAR race track.

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Then the perfect idea came to mind.

“I just really want to spend time with him,” Ward said.

Time. That’s the best gift he could give.

The Tennessee Titans made Ward the No. 1 pick in April, hoping he could become the answer at quarterback that they had been searching for. He attributes his journey to his parents, with sports being a staple in their household.

“I just always had sports around me,” Ward said. “I come from a sports background with my dad and my mom. I just always wanted to play professional sports. I think that was just my calling.”

The Ward family, a close-knit group of five, has bonded on many trips — loading up the SUV and hitting the road to attend various sports camps. They started by going to camps at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, when Cameron was in fourth grade. He tagged along with his two older sisters, Aaliyah and Chantel, who were basketball players.

Calvin supported his son as he played various sports such as basketball, football, baseball and even golf, but having been a former walk-on college quarterback at Houston, Calvin taught his son the sport he knew best when Cameron was 8 years old — setting up nets in the backyard to throw into.

“Cameron fell in love with the workouts,” Calvin said. “From a young age he was always like, ‘I want to be a professional athlete in something.’ My philosophy was always to play as many sports as you want. The road would eventually narrow on its own.”

Cameron Ward sits with his dad, Calvin, in the green room at the draft before being selected No. 1 overall by the Tennessee Titans. Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images

THE PROCESS OF getting noticed by colleges wasn’t easy, but Cameron leaned on his dad throughout his playing days at West Columbia High School, which is about an hour outside of Houston.

Playing in a run-heavy Wing T offense limited his passing opportunities, as he attempted 267 passes for 2,261 yards in three years. To put that into perspective, Hudson Card — the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the state for the 2020 class according to the ESPN 300 (No. 40 overall) — attempted 216 passes in nine games during his senior year, according to Max Preps, and 369 passes in 15 games as a junior.

Calvin emailed college coaches during his son’s junior year in hopes of getting the zero-star recruit his first offer. He sought out other parents whose kids went to the NFL for advice on how to get more exposure.

He did not want to be a parent who felt his son was better than everyone else, so he focused on getting feedback to make his son better.

“I trusted the parents that I talked to that might have had kids that been through [this],” Calvin said, “[telling them], ‘I need you to be realistic about my son. He wants to play on a higher level. I don’t need you to sugarcoat anything with me.'”

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Some of the feedback was to work on his footwork by incorporating jump ropes into his drills. They also worked on agility.

“It wasn’t so much about chasing a scholarship per se, it was just chasing improvement,” Calvin said.

They also took road trips to football camps in hopes of getting Cameron on the radar of colleges. One of those trips called for a 3 a.m. wake-up to leave by 5 a.m. for a six-hour ride to East Texas Baptist University, only to return home the same day.

“That’s impressive dedication to helping his son,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said of Calvin chauffeuring his son across Texas just to give him a chance to be noticed.

During those road trips, they talked about more than just life. Even though they didn’t like the same music genres, they found common ground by listening to local radio stations. The trips provided opportunities for Cameron to ask about his grandparents and what life was like growing up for his dad, so Calvin shared his insight.

“My parents was like, ‘Hey, we don’t care about football, basketball or whatever. You better get them grades,'” Calvin said.

“These are things I want to put in your life because these are things I wanted to do as a kid that I didn’t get to do.”

That’s one reason why it was important for Calvin to make sure his son got to attend as many camps as possible.

“I’m going to knock on every door, and you know, eventually one of these doors going to open,” Calvin said.

An eye-opening weekend came when they drove just over two hours to College Station for Texas A&M’s camp. A&M was Cameron’s preferred school, so his dad made sure to get him there.

He got to compete with several high-profile quarterbacks — including four-star prospect Haynes King from Longview High School in Texas, who was ranked No. 46 in the ESPN 300 for the 2020 class. He would go on to commit to the Aggies.

“Everyone knew that Cameron out-threw all of those guys,” Calvin said. “But King won state championship his junior year and then you had Cameron Ward that don’t nobody knew of and you got one scholarship. So who do you think a scholarship’s going to go to?”

The journey continued the next day when they drove to San Antonio for Incarnate Word’s satellite camp. According to Calvin, the camp started at 1 p.m. but the coaching staff “shut it down at 2 p.m.” because the school’s offensive coordinator, Mack Leftwich, wanted to hide his future quarterback from other schools that had access to the camp.

Cameron Ward, left, poses with his father, Calvin. Courtesy of Calvin Ward

“I’m like, ‘What the heck is going on?'” Calvin recalled. “It took us three and a half hours to drive there. They didn’t want no other schools to see Cameron because they picked up how his arm talent was different.”

The final straw came when Cameron drove a pass from the opposite hash marks to a receiver running a comeback route toward the sideline. Leftwich told the Ward family they ended the camp because they were nervous that he “wouldn’t be available” after other schools saw him throw.

“Cameron looked at me and was like, ‘What is he talking about? We’re not hearing from anyone,'” Calvin said with a laugh.

The trip was worth it. Cameron got an offer from Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris, and he would end up there for the 2020 season to begin his college career.

CAMERON SHOWED PROMISE early at Incarnate Word, where he won the Jerry Rice Award given to the most outstanding freshman in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He followed that up with 4,648 passing yards, 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a sophomore and was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Now schools that ignored him coming out of high school were showing interest.

“OK, dude, we have options we ain’t had before,” Calvin told his son. “Let’s be patient and check some of these out.”

Catch up on the NFL offseason

But they remained loyal, and Cameron followed Morris to Washington State for his junior year in 2022 before eventually ending up at Miami for his final season.

It was a big decision given that Incarnate Word was within driving distance from the Ward family’s home.

Now, Calvin had to drive a little over an hour to Houston Hobby Airport before even hopping on a plane to see his son play, but Cameron’s parents never missed seeing him play.

“All 57 games,” Calvin said when asked how many of Cameron’s games they attended, which included 25 with Washington State and 13 more with Miami.

Calvin feels one of Cameron’s biggest tests came before the 2023 season when Morris left Washington State to take over as the head coach at North Texas.

“That was the year that made him,” Calvin said. “Because the whole narrative was that he was a product of Eric Morris’ system.”

Without Morris, Cameron wanted to prove he was a premier quarterback regardless of what offense he was playing in.

“OK, guess what? Morris is gone now,” Calvin said. “Your system is gone now. Now it’s Cameron Ward.”

The future No. 1 pick completed 66% of his passes for 3,736 yards, 25 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, which set up another big decision: declare for the NFL draft or play another season of college football?

WITNESSING NFL COMMISSIONER Roger Goodell calling his son’s name on draft day was easily Calvin’s proudest moment.

“Cameron going No. 1, that’s still surreal to me, knowing how he got there,” Calvin said. “It was like a dream knowing your son is the No. 1 quarterback.”

It also sets up what Cameron said is the best advice he has gotten from his dad who told him this is his one opportunity to play in the NFL and “not to f— it up.”

“[My dad] wouldn’t let me take no for an answer,” Cameron said. “That’s what kept me steady throughout the whole process knowing that I’ll eventually get an offer, but he just constantly motivated me. He constantly told me the journey is never going to be easy.”

When Cameron contemplated going pro after his fourth year in college, he leaned on his dad — who advised him to not hire an agent so there was no confusion concerning his eligibility.

“My parents really let me make my own decisions,” Cameron said. “But they give me different angles to look at it. They see it from their point of view then they also got to see it from the other person’s point of view as well.”

Calvin Ward talks with his son, Cameron, during a youth football game. Courtesy of Calvin Ward

He decided to forego the draft to better his stock for 2025 before transferring to Miami.

He made a big statement in his debut with the Hurricanes, throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-17 win over one of their biggest rivals, and Calvin loved every bit of it.

“That Florida game,” Calvin said, “all the talk — ‘Oh, he hasn’t played in this size of a stadium’ — they didn’t know what was [about] to hit them because they didn’t know him. He doesn’t care about all of that. Cameron just wants to go play football.”

Cameron passed for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns last season — both Miami single-season records. He also won the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the nation’s top quarterback, and finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. He set the career combined FCS (71) and FBS (87) record with 158 touchdown passes. The performance helped cement him as the top quarterback in the draft.

“His journey I think is really unique and cool,” Callahan said. “A lot of it comes from how he was raised. All the things you see from his parents trying to pour into him and give him all the opportunities to succeed I think is admirable, and I think it paid off for him.”

Fast-forward, and the first impression the rookie has made with the Titans is a good one. Whether it’s having the rookie pass catchers meet with him for film study at 5 a.m. or pulling a veteran aside after a missed rep, Cameron has already started to have an impact.

If Cameron’s career for the Titans is as successful as his college career was, Tennessee’s quest to find its franchise quarterback will be fulfilled.

Armed with a newly signed contract worth $48.7 million, Cameron can give his dad whatever he wants for Father’s Day. But above all else, Cameron just wants to give him thanks.

“Thank you for all the time you put in for me and my siblings,” he said when asked about his Father’s Day message. “The money that you put in and all the behind-the-scenes stuff from the emailing coaches to put my face out there and get me a chance to be who I am today. Just know that I’m trying to do my part and create a legacy for our last name.”

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June 16, 2025 0 comments

Killjoy featured in VALORANT patch notes 10.11 key image.

Esports

New Finisher Cam, agent fixes, Premier rewards, and more

by admin June 11, 2025

VALORANT patch 10.11 just landed right in the middle of the game’s five-year anniversary, bringing visual upgrades headlined by the sleek Finisher Cam, quality-of-life improvements, and some cool new rewards for dedicated Premier mode players.

Riot Games has made sure to keep this patch light in terms of gameplay impact, so it won’t shake up the meta or interfere with the action at Masters Toronto 2025.

Here’s everything you need to know about VALORANT patch 10.11.

VALORANT patch notes 10.11 (June 10)

Finisher Cam

Riot has introduced the new Finisher Cam in VALORANT patch 10.11, and it’s pretty slick. Basically, whenever you get taken out by a skinline weapon that has a finisher, this feature kicks in, similar to how the Spike Cam works. It lets you spin around your downed agent and see the final moments from different angles.

Patch 10.11

New Death Cam triggers during skinline finishers 🎥

Same function as Spike Cam, better performance! pic.twitter.com/iB29r8KPEV

— VALORANT // UK, IE & Nordics (@VALORANTukn) June 10, 2025

But the real deal is that the Finisher Cam is designed to clean up a lot of the chaos that used to happen during finishers in the post-round. It helps reduce visual clutter, prevents sudden flashes or effects that might trigger photosensitivity issues, and fixes those janky camera bugs where your POV would glitch out mid-finisher. On top of that, it should also smooth out some of the performance hiccups players were running into when those finishers play out. It might be a small change, but it really tightens up the gameplay experience.

Agent bug fixes

VALORANT patch 10.11 brings a handful of much-needed visual and quality-of-life improvements to several agents, like Tejo, Reyna, Waylay, and Breach. These make their abilities feel much smoother to use or become clearer for spectators and observers. Here’s the list of agent adjustments:

Tejo’s ability maps are now clearer. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Fixed an issue where the visual indicator for Nightfall wouldn’t disappear for spectators if Fade dies with the ability equips.
Fixed an issue where area names on Guided Salvo ability maps were too large and overlapping due to decreased cast range. Removed area names from Tejo’s Guided Salvo and Armageddon ability maps for consistency.
Fixed an issue where Reyna’s targeting visual for Leer wouldn’t properly display for spectators, allies, and observer perspectives.
Fixed an issue where Waylay’s targeting indicator for Convergent Paths wouldn’t display properly for spectators, allies, and observer perspectives.
Fixed an issue where Clove’s Pick-Me-Up audio wouldn’t play properly for all players.
Fixed an issue where Chamber’s Trademark didn’t have team coloring applied on the minimap for observers.
Fixed an issue where Breach’s Fault Line area of effect VFX was not matching collision volume depending on charge duration.

Premier rewards (PC only)

Reserved for the Premier hustlers. Image via Riot Games

Playoff winners in V25A3 can unlock a dynamic player card effect at the start of V25A4, alongside the existing title and gun buddy available a day after the playoffs.

To earn all the rewards, you’ll need to meet a couple of simple requirements: you have to be on the winning roster at the time of the playoff victory and have played at least two weekly matches or one playoff match with that team during the stage. So, if you want get your rewards, don’t leave your team until the playoffs are finished.

Riot also shared more insight into what’s on the horizon for Premier, giving players a clearer look at upcoming features and improvements.

Other changes

Career page menu music has been updated to a remix of Ego by Qing Madi (the same track from VALORANT’s anniversary music video that’s been receiving love from the community).
Adjusted the appearance of in-game voice indicators to improve clarity.
Competitive updates (console only): Added the Performance view as part of the End of Game and Match Details screens where you can review how you matched up against each opponent.

Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

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June 11, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Nexar Beam2 mini Dash Cam review: a mixed bag

by admin May 21, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Nexar Beam2 mini Dash Cam: two-minute review

I tried the original Nexar Beam dash cam around three years ago, but I seem to recall that it did everything I wanted it to do at the time. Things have moved on since then, though, and for the Beam2 mini Nexar has tweaked the design and features in a bid to stay up there with the best dash cams.

In fact, none of the latest crop of Beam models bear much resemblance to the original incarnation. The Nexar Beam2 Mini is my pick of these products – there are also Beam2 (road only) and Beam2 road and cabin model variants, plus an optional rear view camera.

The others are chunkier, and might suit folks with space on their windshields and the willingness to spend more for a beefier array of features. The Nexar Beam2 mini is right up my street though, especially when I need to fix it to the small screen of my sports car. I’m looking for compact, which was a key part of the appeal with the first edition.

However, the Nexar Beam2 mini isn’t quite as dinky as I’d anticipated, at 6.86 x 6.49 x 3.83 inches / 17.4 x 16.5 x 9.7cm. It feels quite hefty too, weighing in at 1.74lbs / 0.8kg, but that’s no bad thing, as it helps make the package feel like a quality purchase. Perhaps some of the additional weight comes from the internal storage, as there’s no microSD media card slot available on this model.

Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: price and availability

Price starts at $149.95 / £113
There are three storage capacity variants: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB

The Nexar Beam2 mini is available in three storage variants. The base-level edition currently costs $149.95 / £113 (down from $199.95) and features 64GB of capacity. The 128GB model is $169.95 / £128, while the range tops out in terms of storage at 256GB, which costs $199.95 / £151.

An optional LTE Protection Plan is also available, and costs $9.99 per month or $71.90 annually, which at the time of writing represents a 40% discount. The latter delivers live streaming capability, unlimited cloud storage, a 24/7 Live Parking mode, real-time GPS tracking, and real-time emergency alerts too.

Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: specs

Swipe to scroll horizontallyNexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam specs

Video

Front 1080p FHD

Field of view (FOV)

135 degrees front

Storage

Internal 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, Cloud

GPS

Yes

Parking mode

Yes, with constant ODBII power cable

App support

Nexar app

Dimensions

6.86 x 6.49 x 3.83 inches / 17.4 x 16.5 x 9.7cm

Weight

1.74lbs / 0.8kg

Battery

Yes

Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: Design

Slimline letterbox design and no screen
ODBII connector supplied for always-on power
Internal storage, with 64, 128 and 256GB versions

Anyone who needs something fairly compact will find the design of the Nexar Beam2 mini one of its most appealing aspects. This is a landscape-oriented box of tricks, with very little on its exterior to either fiddle with or go wrong. The design might not work for everyone, though, firstly because there’s no rear screen, so everything has to be done via the Nexar app. Second, until you have the app installed it’s quite tricky to get the angle of the lens correct.

The lens itself is housed in the front of the unit, and can be swiveled up or down, depending on the angle of the windshield in your vehicle. The power cable port is up on top of the unit though, which means it’s easy to get this out of the way during installation. The dash cam can be fitted to the windshield in the usual way, either using an anti-static film sheet first and sticking the adhesive mount to that, or directly to the glass itself. There’s no suction-cup arrangement though, and no removable option in the mount design either. Again, not for everyone.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s a small blue/green indicator light that flashes during setup and stays on when the camera is doing its thing. Power to the unit comes from a supplied ODBII connector setup, which is why this model is good if an ‘always on’ setup is required. However, the Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam will also work if it’s plugged in via a sufficiently high-powered USB port, which widens its appeal somewhat, especially if a user doesn’t require constant surveillance. Don’t bother looking for a card slot though, because there isn’t one. My review unit came with a 64GB internal storage drive instead.

(Image credit: Future)

Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam: Performance

Fiddly setup
Decent image and audio quality

I have to admit that initial setup and installation wasn’t as seamless as I’d hoped for. Sure, the power cable procedure is simple enough, just as long as you know where your ODBII connector is under the dash – these can be quite tricky to find in some vehicles. The Beam2 mini can be powered by a cable running into the 12V socket if preferred, although this isn’t supplied with the package, which only contains a ODBII adapter. Hard-wiring it is also an option, but you’ll need to pay for this additional accessory.

The main problem I had was connecting and verifying the app. Downloading it was easy enough, but the country code listings for inputting my number weren’t listed alphabetically. I then twigged Nexars lists by country codes on the right-hand side of the menu. Even then, with my country code and phone number entered, I couldn’t get a verification text to come through. Curiously, right after I’d tried this, I also got a couple of spam calls, so I’m hoping this was coincidental rather than anything to do with the Nexar setup process.

As it turned out, and after I got in touch with Nexar directly, I was told that there is currently an issue with UK cell phone companies blocking the verification codes. This appears to be a country-specific issue, so for US users this should hopefully not be an issue. A note on the Nexar website to explain this would have stopped me wasting a lot of time though.

(Image credit: Future)

One other thing that appears to be a potential issue, especially for anyone wanting to use the Nexar Beam2 mini in the UK, is that a strong mobile signal is needed for it to function correctly. As I drove off on my first journey, while the camera was doing its initial setup procedure, I kept on getting an audible alert suggesting I find a stronger cell phone signal. However, after a reboot, things seemed to settle down somewhat and the message stopped.

(Image credit: Future)

Maybe I was just unlucky, but the various teething troubles tainted my experience of the Nexar Beam2 Dash Cam somewhat. Nevertheless, this is a very decent dash camera, with results that left a positive impression. It’s great at capturing video in a wide variety of scenarios, and the audio quality seems really good too. Things look slightly less impressive on finer details, such as license plates, but this model is affordable, so some element of compromise is inevitable.

Should you buy the Nexar Beam2 mini Dash Cam?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the Nexar Beam2 Mini Dash Cam

I installed the dash cam in one test car for an initial period of two weeks
I used it for a wide range of journeys during the day and at night
I connected it to my phone and downloaded recordings to assess their quality

I was sent a loan package of the Beam2 mini Dash Cam by Nexar, which also provided me with the LTE Protection Plan for good measure. The camera was installed in a car I was testing at the time, and powered using the setup described in the review above. I also installed the Nexar app on an iPhone, which required me to follow a verification process that required the phone to receive a text in order to proceed.

I then tested the Beam2 mini over several days and in a variety of driving conditions, including local roads as well as larger highways. I was able to explore its capabilities in various weather conditions, including rainy days and in low-light as well as after dark.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments