Getting into a car accident, even a fender bender, is stressful on its own, but then comes the argument about who was at fault. A dash cam can give you reliable proof of what happened, and Rove’s R2-4K is currently on sale for $71.99 ($48 off), an all-time low price at Amazon, and $89.99 ($30 off) from Rove. I tested a previous-generation Rove dash cam, and was happy with the quality of its recordings and ease of use. The R2-4K is a significant improvement, capturing higher-quality video and improving the process of getting it onto your phone.
The dash cam can record 4K video at 30 frames per second or 1080p at 60fps, and captures a 150-degree field of view, so you’ll get a clear image of what happened in front of you and some of what happened directly to your right and left. Its recordings are tagged with the date, time, location, and your driving speed; they’re stored on a microSD card, which you need to purchase separately. You can view video clips on the R2-4K’s 2.4-inch display, or transfer them to your smartphone over Wi-Fi using Rove’s app.
The R2-4K comes with a suction mount and 3M sticky mount, both of which can be installed anywhere on your windshield. The suction mount is easier to move, so we recommend using it to find the dash cam’s permanent place before you decide whether to switch to the sticky mount. The dash cam needs to be connected to its power adapter with a USB-C cable (two are included), so make sure to mount it in an area where the cable won’t dangle and distract you.
Under normal circumstances, the R2-4K will take a continuous time lapse recording and overwrite older footage once the microSD card is filled. However, you can push an “Emergency Lock” button to preserve a specific clip. The dash cam’s built-in G-Sensor will detect an impact and automatically lock that section of video. If the dash cam stops recording, it’ll announce that so you can see what’s wrong. Hopefully you’ll never have to use Rove’s R2-4K for anything important, but it’s handy to have just in case.
