Design

This years Nextbase 422GW Dash cam has same black & brushed metal finish as last years 412. There’s a nice bit of subtle branding with F1.4 aperture markings around the lens. Nextbase has made a concerted effort to make the overall size of the 422GW Dash cam 35% smaller than its 2018 predecessor. Which is always a good thing.

The mounting bracket design has also been improved. When the is mounted it doesn't hang down as far 412 did. Freeing up more important windscreen space. A couple more upgrades to the Nextbase car mount is that it now houses the power port & a powerful magnetic connector for the Dash cam to click on to. This means you can simply pull the Dash cam away from the windscreen mount without having to mess around with cables or even removing the suction mount altogether.

When it comes to the ports onboard the actual dash cam unit itself. There's a Micro USB B port designed to use when connecting the Dash cam to your PC. With that said it can be used to power the battery up, which I did when I set it up. There is also an additional port placed on the side of the Dash cam for rear camera attachments. That's actually 3 different options of the rear cameras. A cabin camera, a rear window camera & a telephoto camera which mounts on the Dash cam and looks over your shoulder. (That's the one I've been testing) The only other port onboard is a Micro SD card slot.

When it comes to physical buttons. There are just three. One power button. A reset button for wiping the device & one very important button to manually protect recordings. For example, you might want to use this when someone cuts you up in traffic or when you see something funny whilst driving. If you don't use this button, due to the loop recording feature your old footage will be overwritten & I'm told the Nextbase 422GW will do this automatically if you're involved in a collision...As much as I enjoy doing these reviews for you guys. I'm not going to crash my car to test this out.

The most exciting thing about the design of the Nextbase 422GW is its 2.5" IPS HD touch screen display. Which brings me nicely onto the Usability.

Usability

When it comes to the new Nextbase range. They all support the MyNextbase app. Which is super easy to set up. One tip here...I advise you to download the Alexa app and create an account in advance. There is a new SOS feature present on the 422gw and you will be prompted to set up a 1year free trail. Which I'll get into in the awesome features section later in the video.

The trickiest part by far when it comes to the installation is running the power cable. As standard with the kit is a 12watt cigarette lighter power cable and an interior prying tool. The difficulty may vary depending on the make and model of the car. My best advice is to give it a go yourself. If you make a mess of it. It's around £20 for the direct power cable at Halfords, and you can pay them a couple of quid to fit it professionally for you.

Once set up and positioned correctly. It's a case of choosing the best video resolution settings for you and you're ready to roll out. Within the onscreen settings, you want to customize the Dash cam a bit more. You adjust the (gyroscope) G sensor which affects the Intelligent parking mode. There's the option to adjust what is shown on top of the footage. For example the time, location and speed you're traveling at. There is also a dual record-setting called auto-sync. Going back to the MyNextbase app now. When driving your footage if you enable the dual record feature the 422gw will be store footage locally on the Micro SD card & also a lower res file will be transferred to your device.

There is also a desktop version of the MyNextbase app available. Which is very useful for stitching your footage together & diving into a bit more depth.

Video Quality Samples

Awesome features

So one of the most awesome new features is the addition of Alexa's support. Now one thing I need to make very clear is that Alexa requires a connection to your phone and your phone's data to work. Essentially your smartphone does most of the heavy lifting here. With that said the integrated mics on the front of Nextbase 422GW really assist with the Alexa functionality. There are several voice-commands you cam use specific to the Dash cam. Like 'Alexa protect that recording' or 'Alexa brighten the contrast'. There are tons more available...and if you have more Alexa products at home you can talk to your dash cam to control them.

The new MyNextbase SOS feature is actually a monthly premium service. However Nextbase are nice enough give you it for free for the first year. In event of an accident & you become unconscious the Nextbase 422gw will automatically send your vehicle details & location to emergency services. Within the MyNextbase mobile app you can even enter you medical details for example allergies and blood group to further assist the ambulance service. So that’s pretty awesome.

Have you ever left your car parked & then returned to it later to find a new dent of scrape? If the answer is yes, the you will love the Nextbase Intelligent parking mode with G Sensor. When you leave your car unattended the Nextbase 422gw will use it’s reserve battery in case of an impact. It will automatically switch one and record the culprit so you have some evidence to use should this happen to you. It really is an awesome feature, and can potentially save you some money & maybe your no claims bonus.