It is rare that I can look at a dashcam and think: that’s cute. Technology in general is functional rather than adorable. It might be well designed, it might look sleek, but cute? That doesn’t happen too often.
The 70mai Dash Cam 4K Omni, though, pulls it off. You read that right: a dashcam.
I’ve seen all sorts of dashcams in the past few years. Mostly they’re boxy, sometimes they have 4K and occasionally they have some souped-up features to persuade you to part with your cash.
The 70Mai Omni stands out from the crowd, particularly when it comes to its design. Forget about square or rectangular dashcams, the Omni looks more like a robot, with a cylindrical design and a rotating lens that is more R2D2 than utilitarian. Think friendly, rather than functional.
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It’s not just designed that way for the sake of it either. The cylindrical body means the lens can rotate 360 degrees, making it more versatile than rival dashcams especially when it comes to placement. There is a small screen on the back that can display the dashcam footage in real time, information about your journey or an animated character that occasionally gives you a thumbs-up or a grin. Again, it’s cute.
But a dashcam needs to be more than aesthetically intriguing. The footage has to be top notch, too, given that it may be something you later rely on in the case of a road incident.
The Omni, as the full name suggests, has 4K capabilities and the resulting footage is sharp and detailed. Even at night, it performed well, with Omni bringing in its “Night Owl Vision” technology to make sure things are crisp.
That quality is due in part, no doubt, to the Sony Starvis 2 technology that 70Mai has used. If there is an incident, you can be reasonably secure that the camera will have you covered.
Out of the box, the features are impressive. The Omni HDR set includes a 1080 rear camera, so all angles of the car are covered.
You will need a big windscreen though. I’m not a fan of things dangling near the windscreen – no furry dice here – and the Omni 4K is definitely less compact than other dashcams, at least vertically.
It includes advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that will help you with collision warnings, lane departure and other warnings. There was a moment while driving when the dashcam warned me of an oncoming pedestrian detected – a cyclist a bit ahead of us on the road.
There are other features to note, too. It has GPS built in, along with collision detection that will automatically mark footage if the camera detects an incident.
And there are AI features, as seems to be the fashion these days.
This is particularly useful if you want to use the camera as a mini sentry while you are out of the car, with the parking surveillance feature keeping an eye on your car while you are otherwise engaged. But to enable that feature, you will have to invest in a kit to hardwire the camera into your car.
70Mai has a 4G-enabled kit that you can pick up either as part of a bundle or as an extra for about €40, so if something happens to your car, you will be alerted instantly, and you can also use it to locate the car or access the footage from the camera remotely.
70Mai’s AI motion detection will follow any movement outside the car – again, another win for the rotating lens – and keep any potential threats in its sights.
Good
Easy to set up and install, the 70Mai dashcam can be adjusted to capture multiple angles without needing to be removed and re-sited. The 4K upgraded footage is good quality.
The 360-degree lens can be adjusted to cover other parts of the car, including the interior or out the side windows. That comes in handy for the parking surveillance features or if there is something going on outside the car that you need to keep evidence of. The motion detection is a handy extra.
The ADAS features were fairly accurate, identifying vehicles moving off and potential hazards at around the same time as my car’s built-in systems.
Bad
While it can be adjusted in all manner of ways, it is a bit awkward to put on the windscreen, depending on where you put it. There is a knack to it, and that takes a few tries to get, but the angled joint helps.
It’s a bit bigger than some other dashcams, and protrudes a little lower than I’d like.
Everything else
The hardwire kit is extra – about €40 if you want to get the 4G version, which will bring some connected features to the system.
Verdict
Great footage, with a design that stands out.
