Not sure about negative comments here. You dont like it, dont use the feature! Its not like Google is forcing you to use this. I bet people will celebrate this feature when Apple rolls around implementing it two years from now. I for one, look forward to using this feature on my Pixel as I live in a city where drivers are very aggressive and in general have a disregard for following the rules. I have been in an accident where the other driver outright refused to accept their mistake and made up a completely false story and a dashcam would have proved their fault without a doubt. I did mount a dashcam in my car since then but using the phone would be a much better proposition.
No need to wait for another two years, I already made an exact app you're talking about. it's not only a dash cam, but it's integrated with turn by turn navigation as well.
Apple would never put iPhones up to something this low-brow.
This is the company that put a charging port under a mouse so you wouldn't leave it hooked up all day: they're not going to encourage you to stick your phone in a creaky phone mount in hot sunlight all day so you can do a bad dashcam impression.
If it's your word against the other driver's, the insurance company can find you each at fault.
I've gotten in the habit of recording my rides since then. Was using Droid Dashcam, but it make my Pixel feel slow/hot/buggy. Very keen to see a built-in version of the same functionality.
After watching dashcam crash videos for 5 years, I finally got around to getting a dashcam for myself (not that I intend to star in any of those videos, mind you).
From those crash videos, I've learned to never turn left in Russia. You'll get t-boned almost every time.
I was gonna say this. I've thought of this idea years and year ago. This is an old ass idea, and the only reason phones didn't do it before, is because Google and Apple wouldn't let us do it. It should be embarassing that it's taken them this long to come up with it.
Could you pass on the results of your research? I don't think I found a dashcam at that price range, and I was actually looking to use an old smartphone as my dashcam, but it didn't seem like a good solution as 1. I would have to start the app manually whenever the phone powers up, and 2. I wouldn't want to leave the phone in a holder in the car all the time as it could invite thieves.
Google is in no way interested in traffic safety and that's the reason I despise them for playing around in this field. For example, they encourage active use of the phone while driving by asking you to report and confirm/deny reports of "speed traps". It's similar to Tesla tinkering with self driving and using everyone around us as beta testers.
> We also wonder about how Personal Safety will be able to do this type of always-on recording without generating excess heat, especially if your phone needs to be mounted in a position that’s likely to see a lot of direct sunlight.
That's what I immediately thought of. I can't see this working too well unless they solve the overheating issues.
I had my Google Pixel 7 Pro shut down due to overheating, on a reasonably hot day (~35C) where I was walking around and taking a bunch of photos.
I had to use my hands to absorb the heat, to cool it down enough to turn back on so I could call a Taxi and get somewhere cool.
Presumably the device will do the recording with the screen turned off, so it will generate little heat internally. So I think placing most of the device behind something to shield it from sunlight should be enough to avoid heat issues.
Though I agree with others here that a cheap specialized dashcam device is much better.
I always have my phone screen off while driving since it's hooked up via Android Auto, but I've had my phone shut off many times on warmer days. I'm not sure how I could reasonably shield it from sunlight and use it as a dash cam at the same time.
Still won't be enough. Driving I-5 from LA to SF on a reasonably warm day (85+F) means the phone will shut down within the hour if it's on the dashboard. I've specifically gotten a phone mount that attaches to the AC vents for that purpose.
I appreciate the thought, but unless it works up to at least 140F, it won't be useful
Snapdragons overheat just fine too, it's not a unique issue. Also what is actually overheating most in this scenario is not the SoC but a display. Open your phone of any brand and model and walk around with it unlocked in the bright summer sunny day outside. The screen will work at max brightness and would become insanely hot from the internal heat in very short time span.
In my case with a Galaxy S9, it's the screen that overheats easily. It's a double whammy when in the bright outdoors, because sunlight hits the phone, and it needs to be bright so that the screen can be seen.
There are special phone cases/holders designed for that. I'm pretty sure Google will sell those too. Not to mention this might be a camera recording the driver-distraction and not the road. So it doesn't have to be in the sun. Or even for passengers in a driverless car
"a new feature called “Dashcam” that, as the name suggests, records video (and audio, optionally) while you are driving. If your phone is mounted in the right spot, the recording should provide helpful information in the event of an accident or other unexpected situation."
A perfect way to collect information about your driving habits and vehicle. Insurance companies, auto sales and maintenance companies, and others would love to find new customers this way.
I read that you get a nontrivial discount on your car insurance in Russia if you have a dashcam. So basically everyone there has one, which is why it seems like all the dashcam videos on the internet take place in Russia.
I think that sort of system makes sense. We shouldn't require dashcam, but any policy which reduces expensive he-said-she-said litigation in our society should be encouraged.
I suspect we'd find a pleasant second-order benefit as well: humans might simply drive better if they know they're being recorded. We know that interactions with the police are much less likely to escalate to the point of violence when both parties are recording each other, and I imagine the same principle could apply to our roads.
Everyone should be free to choose if they have a car that automatically generates tons of evidence against themselves that the cops just have to seize.
It's bad enough with eCall and the trend to insurances requiring recording blackboxes (or modern cars doing that all on their own), but dashcams? I can already see police demanding laws allowing them to force you to hand them over access to the footage at a roadside traffic stop and them running AI scans on it to see if you ran a stop sign or red light or if you were speeding.
Where there's feeding troughs of data, the pigs will always come to demand being fed (a rough translation of the German saying "Wenn man den Trog hat, kommen die Schweine von ganz alleine").
Better driver training and education is what should be required first. Seeing people on the road makes me think most people don't know about the physics of tailgating or speeding.
When I grew up in Germany it was the ADAC driver training, a half day of driving on a long and wide patch of road almost like an airport apron, and doing different manoeuvres and exercises that made me a much much more humble (and slow) driver.
Car companies already advertise new models as fully Googlyfied (as if that is a good thing) so when informed people lament that a large part of the population are basically convenience seeking, gullible imbeciles its not far from the truth.
That such an important aspect of our lives as privacy would come to be trampled so easily is just mind boggling.
Wisdom of the crowds my a*. The only way you can prevent organized corporate abuse is to have very empowered and savvy regulators that somehow truly work for the interests of the many.
A highly non-trivial catch-22 given that in a democracy they can only draw legitimacy for their actions by appealing to the same inane and manipulated multitudes.
Now they can collect not just yours, but also other people's license plate movements and facial recognition. It's great producing eyes for Google everywhere - which is why the Ring was worth a billion $ for Amazon.
There is plenty navigation/maps<->insurance or police-detection<->insurance cooperation here in Poland. It analyzes your driving and offers discounts based on that.
There is also plenty of dedicated dashcam apps and functions in map apps so I'm curious why this Pixel addon brings attention.
This is one of my larger personal pet peeves and hills I prefer to die on for no particular reason.
I recently purchased a new car, and it has 23 cameras. 23. I can literally get a 360 degree view of my car on the display, and also directly tap into the rear/front/side cams.
Why the @#$@# is there no port for an NVR, or a built-in NVR at least? Why do I need to deal with running wires through a brand new car, and sticking something ugly to my windshield?
Very frustrating. I know some folks have made mod kits to tap into the equipped cameras for recording, I simply am not that committed to the cause.
As soon as car manufacturers implement dash cams, government will regulate it to require that it records the speed of the car as well, which I think owners will hate and make them want to avoid those models of cars. I think it's gonna end up as damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
I'd prefer cars just add standardized mount points with power and maybe data lines. Then I could install different cheap products I selected, or none at all.
Why would they do that? Cars used to have slots that you could put your own radio in. Then manufacturers figured they make more if they sell you their own system for 2000€.
Legal issues. Dash cams aren't allowed universally, and even when they are they tend to have restrictions (how it's mounted, how footage is handled, etc). They've just decided dealing with this pain point is not worth the purchase conversions since users can just add one themselves.
There are some brands that have them, usually as an additional package depending on where you are. Like Toyota's Genuine Dash in Canada, Tesla Dashcam, BMW Car Eye, etc.
All you need is a toggle in the settings that is off by default. They also already deal with regional law differences regarding speed camera warnings, so it isn't an insane idea for them to maintain a list of countries where the feature is blocked (although that's not the solution I would prefer)
It would be unlawful in the state of California to mount a mobile phone in a position that would make it suitable for this purpose, in the way that most people would do it. Technically you can mount a Pixel-sized device in the furthest corner from the driver but nobody is going to bother doing it that way.
It sounds to me like you if you place it on the dashboard where it's not in the line of sight between the driver and the windshield it wouldn't be something that "obstructs or reduces the driver’s clear view" and so wouldn't be covered?
Yeah, all I could think of was "that's an insane amount of thrashing on the storage on this very expensive phone" alongside my second thought which was: "My Pixel 7 Pro can't record video for more than a couple minutes before it microwaves itself into oblivion, there's absolutely no chance it survives for even a couple seconds as a dashcam."
Bad flash in phones isn't that uncommon or specific to Google. There's at least a few Samsung phones whose flash dies after two years due to a firmware bug in the emmc. Samsung of course never fixed it since they just ran the clock on the warranty. There was at least once individual once refurbishing said failed phones by using a exploit to update said emmc.
The concept separation of concerns I apply every where, and I like my dashcam not connected to any cloud, if I ever needed a footage, I’ll just take it from the sdcard.
Not necessarily the video itself -although I don’t even trust google studio app-, but the meta data google will collect: when did you use the cam, duration, location, and other data that will be collected “to enhance the service” that’s already crap from the get go.
My Pixel 6 Pro gets too hot on my dash that it stops working when it's in the sun. There's even a notification from the device that tells me it's too hot to operate normally!
So I doubt this will work too well unless Pixel >=7 phones perform better under high temperature than mine does.
Readit News
Not only will it be celebrated but people will claim its revolutionary
maybe I can claim it to be revolutionary :)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dashmap/id1638360259
This is the company that put a charging port under a mouse so you wouldn't leave it hooked up all day: they're not going to encourage you to stick your phone in a creaky phone mount in hot sunlight all day so you can do a bad dashcam impression.
Deleted Comment
It's only been goggle's abomination on top of linux that has prevented it...
Isn't it nice of the mulit-trillion dollar corporation to "let" you do things?
Let's all just worship the mega-wealthy a little more...
I've gotten in the habit of recording my rides since then. Was using Droid Dashcam, but it make my Pixel feel slow/hot/buggy. Very keen to see a built-in version of the same functionality.
From those crash videos, I've learned to never turn left in Russia. You'll get t-boned almost every time.
I'm skeptical. How does this happen if I yield to traffic that's already on the road?
It's only been goggle's abomination on top of linux that has prevented it...
Isn't it nice of the mulit-trillion dollar corporation to "let" you do things?
Let's all just worship the mega-wealthy a little more...
And why only Sony have 3.5mm headphone jack now? I guess Apple did not force us right?
Apple Maps does this also.
There are very real speed traps on roads, and they endanger drivers in exchange for generating ticket revenue.
> We also wonder about how Personal Safety will be able to do this type of always-on recording without generating excess heat, especially if your phone needs to be mounted in a position that’s likely to see a lot of direct sunlight.
That's what I immediately thought of. I can't see this working too well unless they solve the overheating issues.
I had my Google Pixel 7 Pro shut down due to overheating, on a reasonably hot day (~35C) where I was walking around and taking a bunch of photos.
I had to use my hands to absorb the heat, to cool it down enough to turn back on so I could call a Taxi and get somewhere cool.
Though I agree with others here that a cheap specialized dashcam device is much better.
I appreciate the thought, but unless it works up to at least 140F, it won't be useful
I'm not sure why you would want to use your phone to record yourself while driving to see if you're distracted.
this issue needs to be handled by the device and not with external resources
A perfect way to collect information about your driving habits and vehicle. Insurance companies, auto sales and maintenance companies, and others would love to find new customers this way.
I think that sort of system makes sense. We shouldn't require dashcam, but any policy which reduces expensive he-said-she-said litigation in our society should be encouraged.
I suspect we'd find a pleasant second-order benefit as well: humans might simply drive better if they know they're being recorded. We know that interactions with the police are much less likely to escalate to the point of violence when both parties are recording each other, and I imagine the same principle could apply to our roads.
It's bad enough with eCall and the trend to insurances requiring recording blackboxes (or modern cars doing that all on their own), but dashcams? I can already see police demanding laws allowing them to force you to hand them over access to the footage at a roadside traffic stop and them running AI scans on it to see if you ran a stop sign or red light or if you were speeding.
Where there's feeding troughs of data, the pigs will always come to demand being fed (a rough translation of the German saying "Wenn man den Trog hat, kommen die Schweine von ganz alleine").
When I grew up in Germany it was the ADAC driver training, a half day of driving on a long and wide patch of road almost like an airport apron, and doing different manoeuvres and exercises that made me a much much more humble (and slow) driver.
That such an important aspect of our lives as privacy would come to be trampled so easily is just mind boggling.
Wisdom of the crowds my a*. The only way you can prevent organized corporate abuse is to have very empowered and savvy regulators that somehow truly work for the interests of the many.
A highly non-trivial catch-22 given that in a democracy they can only draw legitimacy for their actions by appealing to the same inane and manipulated multitudes.
There is also plenty of dedicated dashcam apps and functions in map apps so I'm curious why this Pixel addon brings attention.
I recently purchased a new car, and it has 23 cameras. 23. I can literally get a 360 degree view of my car on the display, and also directly tap into the rear/front/side cams.
Why the @#$@# is there no port for an NVR, or a built-in NVR at least? Why do I need to deal with running wires through a brand new car, and sticking something ugly to my windshield?
Very frustrating. I know some folks have made mod kits to tap into the equipped cameras for recording, I simply am not that committed to the cause.
There are some brands that have them, usually as an additional package depending on where you are. Like Toyota's Genuine Dash in Canada, Tesla Dashcam, BMW Car Eye, etc.
I'd like to see your source for that claim!
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...
Deleted Comment
Also useful for bicycles and motorbikes. Phone mounts go on the handlebars, so this CVC (windshield mounting) wouldn't apply.
This comment applies to Android phones that wouldn't let this thing write to a micro-SD card, of course.
I had a pixel 3xl bricking after an update. They get a lot of updates and wear the ?cheap flash
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/rt6tn9/my_pixe...
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/mmcn93/my_pixe...
https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/xtwgap/pixel_5...
Deleted Comment
What about in the situation of a theft?
After all, if you're parking in a high crime area - would you leave your smartphone on display in the front windscreen?
Good luck with getting stabbed.
(this is a joke, HN)
So I doubt this will work too well unless Pixel >=7 phones perform better under high temperature than mine does.