Review IROAD X10 – OWNER’S MAG
REVIEWS IROAD X10 4K UHD Dashcam
IROAD X10
The iRoad X10 is a high-end Korean-made dash-cam that’s made a name for itself globally. In parts of the world where temperatures are extreme, car owners struggle to find a suitable dash-cam that can withstand the heat and still perform reliably. iRoad’s latest addition, the X10, is the successor of the X9, which preciously garnered much success. Does the X10 deliver on all of its promises and more? And is it worth the $400+ price point given its competition Blackvue and Thinkware have similar offerings?
What’s In The Box?
First, let’s take a look at what’s inside the box. iRoad packaged the X10 in eco-friendly and consciously compact packaging, which is greatly appreciated. Inside the box, there’s the front camera, rear camera, various cables, instruction manual, and a 32GB MicroSD card. The OBD sensor is an accessory that can be purchased separately and does not come with the iRoad X10 by default. However, it’s well worth the investment, given the onboard telemetry data it provides.
The Design
The X10 has a simple tried and true design that’s been tested and proven on the road. There’s no onboard LCD screen. Almost everything can be accessed via the iOS and Android app to download and connect with the unit. Side buttons and ports are easily accessible. The 3M sticker pad is generously large, making installation simple.
Build quality
When picking up the X10 for the first time, you’ll notice that it’s ridiculously light, as if it’s hollow inside. It’s much lighter than its Blackvue counterpart, which also sports a similar design. Being lighter doesn’t mean it lacks in any department.
Build quality feels solid. It’s made from somewhat sturdy ABS plastic and doesn’t look or feel cheap. I’m a fan of the dual-tone piano black and matte finish.
Ports & Cables
On the rear (facing you) side of the unit, you have a micro USB port, DC in, OBD, and GPS port. You can find the MicroSD card slot underneath the protective cover on the other side.
All of the cables you’ll need are provided in the box and are plenty long. You shouldn’t have any issues with cable length when installing.
Front Camera
The X10 has one of the widest viewing angles out of any dash-cam on the market today. All your bases will be covered with the 165 degrees viewing angle. Onboard the front-facing camera unit is an 8 megapixel 4K UHD (ultra high definition) camera.
The camera is also equipped with iRoad’s proprietary X-vision technology that automatically adjusts the camera depending on the brightness outside. This helps avoid useless washed-out recordings. Other manufactures also have a similar tech to enhance video quality; however, in my opinion, iRoad’s X-vision adaptation offers the highest resolution, especially on glaringly bright days.
The front camera module also features a nice security feature. There’s an LED strip that flashes back and forth when your car is parked. The flashing lights can help thwart away potential theft since they’ll likely notice the vehicle has some onboard security device.
Rear Camera
The rear camera uses Sony Exmor IMX323 Sensor. It’s a good lens for a rear camera. Although the resolution isn’t nearly as clear as the front camera, you’d only need the rear camera if someone rear-ends you. In that situation, you won’t have any issues identifying the plate’s number.
Camera Performance
[Dashcam footage coming soon]
We’ll mostly be discussing the front camera. The ultrawide 165-degree camera angle gives plenty of visibility on the road. Additionally, the 8-megapixel camera gives high resolution and clear picture quality during the daytime. This isn’t a surprise given the price of this dashcam. However, when compared to Blackvue and other competing dashcams, the X10’s resolution under-performs noticeably.
Another issue is the locked fps. The unit is locked at 30fps for both the front and rear cameras. This may or may not matter to you, but most other dashcams on the market in this premium price range offers 60fps recording. So it was disappointing to see this feature missing.
The good news is that you’ll hardly notice these issues during everyday use. We recognized it because we review products and make side-by-side comparisons. For most situations, the footage quality is adequate, and you can make out license plates and street names up to 20 – 25 feet.
Both the front and back cameras are also durable and resistant to temperature extremes. This is one of the features that iRoad is known for. Both cameras can withstand a range from -20 Celsius to 70 Celsius.
Night Time Performance
[Dashcam footage coming soon]
Other dashcam models seem to suffer when I’m on a dark highway, and then I hit a sudden area with light. The lens often has a difficult time adjusting to the light and dark areas quickly, and as a result, there’s a loss in picture quality.
The iRoad X10 doesn’t seem to have this problem. The front camera seems to adjust the brightness and contrast on the fly as soon as I exit a dark tunnel, enter a well-lit area at night, or go in and out of shades. Although I haven’t confirmed this with iRoad’s engineers, night-time visibility seems to be influenced by X-vision. Overall, night-time performance is exceptional.
OBD X Scanner
No hard wiring: This is a highly recommended optional purchase. It’ll save you the hassle of figuring out how to wire the iRoad x10 to your console correctly. With the OBD scanner, you need to connect it to the OBD port directly under the driver’s side console, and you’re good to go.
Real-time car data: However, convenience is just one of the benefits of the OBD X Scanner. With this scanner, the Dashcam can display your car’s telemetry in real-time when you export the videos onto your computer. It’ll show you information about your vehicle, the speed that you’re driving, whether or not you had turn signals on, and much other useful information that could prove valuable in the event of an accident. Here are some of the data the scanner can display:
– Speed
– Turn signals
– Park/Drive/Reverse gears selected
– Fuel consumption
– Fuel efficiency
– Coolant temperature
– Transmission oil temperature
– Battery information
– DPF info
Detecting car issues: The OBD scanner also acts like a regular OBD scanner auto shops use to figure out what’s wrong with your car. If your car has any issues, it’ll display the issue code on your phone.
If you’re planning to buy this dashcam, you need to buy the OBD X scanner. It’s an incredible value for just an extra $49.
Viewing Videos
You can view all your videos on your iOS/Android app or on a PC/Mac. If you want to view from a computer, you’ll need to download iRoad Viewer to export and view all the saved clips since the files are recorded in JDR format. For those who are not tech-savvy, this can be a bit confusing. However, follow the instructions on downloading and using the iRoad Viewer on iRoad’s website, and you’ll be fine.
They also recently came out with a Mac version of the viewer, so you’ll be able to see your videos on Windows or Mac.
Compared to other dashcams, I like that there is dedicated software to watch all of the clips. The initial setup was intimidating, but once you start using it, you’ll never want to go back. There’s a level of convenience and polishness to having all of the clips in one place and quickly viewing each one without having to open/close video files.
If you have the OBD X scanner installed, the added telemetry is the real kicker. Seeing every mechanical action, you took while driving adds a layer of security and peace of mind that no other cam gave me. In the event of an accident, I would feel 100% safer and protected because I have the video footage AND the onboard data that I was driving the speed limit, signaling, and taking precautions.
Parking Mode
You’ll either need the OBD scanner or hardwire the device to your car to use this feature. This is a helpful feature if you’re leaving your vehicle in a garage or a sketchy part of down and you want to keep an eye on it. You can activate it on your phone. Once activated, it’ll record a timelapse video at one frame per second. With the included 32GB micro SD card, you can expect up to 16 hours of recording. Not bad.
Motion & Impact Detection
Another neat security feature is motion & impact detection. Once activated, the camera will start recording if anyone gets within 3 meters of it. It’ll record at 10fps, and you’ll get an alert on your phone.
Storage capacity
The dashcam comes with 32GB microSD to get you started. Luckily, it can support up to 1TB microSD. That’s probably far more storage than you’ll need. However, it’s greatly appreciated since comparable models often limit SD card storage capacity to 128GB or 256GB.
iOS/Android App
This is an often-overlooked feature when deciding which dashcam is right for you. All of the features and functionalities are useless if the user interface to access them is clunky. The engineers didn’t overlook the app development, and it shows. It’s a robust, responsive, and intuitive app. There’s no learning curve. Downloading, connecting, and figuring out all your settings takes less than 5 minutes. It’s not the prettiest-looking app, but it’s clean, minimalist, and highly responsive.
When I click on the “Live view” to see the live feed from my car that’s parked 100 meters away from my apartment, I expected it to take a while. But it booted up in less than 5 seconds, which is impressive given connectivity from inside my car isn’t great.
Other useful features
Here is a list of other useful features that come with the iRoad X10 dashcam.
Lane Departure Warning: Alerts you when you’re veering out of the lane at a certain speed. You can adjust the speed and how sensitive you want the sensors to be.
FVDW: Stands for Front Vehicle Departure Warning System. A fancy way of saying it’ll alert you when the car in front of you starts to move in traffic.
FCWS: Forward Collision Warning System. The dashcam will alert you when you’re going too fast and could be on course for collision.
Parking mode: Enabled recording at 1fps while parked. You can also adjust the sensitivity.
Motion detection: Will record when it detects motion.
Security LED: Turn on/off the light security strip on the dashcam’s front while the car is parked.
High temperature shutdown: Automatically shuts the unit down when it exceeds 75 degrees Celsius while parked.
Final Verdict
The X10 does have some issues. The front camera resolution could improve and enable 60fps recording, and the Android app could use a major update.
Although there are problems, the X10 excelled in an area that mattered most – reliability. I’ve not had one feature crash throughout the last three months of use or failed to work on me. All sensors, parking/security modes, and safety functions work 100% of the time. This gives me peace of mind knowing that mechanically this dashcam will never let me down.
The X10 is the most complete dashcam you can buy right now. If you’re looking for an easy-to-use dashcam with all the safety and security features that’s also easy to set up, look no further. If you’re not afraid of wires and want the latest tech and connectivity, the X10 will deliver. At $419 USD, it’s an expensive investment. If reliability and peace of mind is your top priority, then the IRoad X10 is well worth it.
