This Mirror May Overwhelm Most In-Car Entertainment Systems

High Energy Warning! Don’t say I didn’t tell you, there are benefits at the end of the article~ With the development of technology, in-car entertainment systems are becoming increasingly advanced. From physical knobs to touch controls, and recently popular voice controls based on natural language processing… In order to reduce distractions for drivers, “programmers” are working hard to free drivers’ hands. But what about those old cars that haven’t caught up with this high-tech era? Today, we have the 70Mai Smart Rearview Mirror. Can it bring new life to the E92 M3 equipped with the early iDrive system?

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After opening the package, besides the main rearview mirror unit, there is a 370mAh battery, a SIM card for 4G network, a 16GB MicroSD storage card, a 3.5-meter power cable, a dedicated cigarette lighter power converter, two rubber fixing modules, a pry tool, and a manual. The installation process is also very simple, requiring no damage to the original car wiring. Just hang the main unit on the original car’s rearview mirror and plug the power cable into the cigarette lighter through the dedicated power converter.

The 70Mai rearview mirror features an 8.88-inch screen with 16.7 million colors and a resolution of 1920*480. The overall workmanship is excellent, with uniform mirror reflection. When the screen is turned on, the operating interface can be seen through the semi-transparent mirror surface. The operating interface is divided into two parts: the left side for commonly used software and settings, and the right side for the navigation interface.

The orange switch button is located at the bottom left of the rearview mirror, has a great feel, and is easy to find through touch.

The dashcam lens is located at the back of the left side of the rearview mirror. During installation, care should be taken to avoid obstructing the lens. The dashcam uses an OV 1/2.9 high-performance image sensor with a pixel size of 2.8μm*2.8μm, supporting HD 1080P/30FPS recording. In practical applications, the dashcam’s lens clarity is very high, and it can achieve good image quality even at night.

The storage card and MICRO SIM card slots are located at the central bottom of the rearview mirror. The included SIM card offers 500MB of data per month for six months. If the data runs out, it can be recharged via the app, or a mobile data card can be purchased separately. The 70Mai rearview mirror supports the network standards of the three major carriers.

The rearview mirror is equipped with a 370mAh lithium battery, but this battery is only used to support quick startup and emergency recording. Normal use still requires external power, and it is recommended to use the original dedicated converter connected to the 12V car power interface.

At the top of the rearview mirror, there are four interfaces arranged in a row from left to right: a reserved upgrade interface, an AV/IN dedicated rear camera interface, an AUX audio output interface, and a power interface.

The dedicated cigarette lighter power converter provides two USB interfaces. In addition to the clearly labeled rearview mirror dedicated interface, there is also a standard USB interface for powering other devices.

The 70Mai rearview mirror uses a hybrid cooling system that quickly dissipates internal heat from the rear using thermal silicone and copper pieces, and employs graphene to increase the heat dissipation area. Combined with aerospace-grade aluminum heat sinks, it ensures effective heat dissipation even in a car exposed to the sun in summer. The warning sticker near the heat sink reflects the manufacturer’s consideration, but also indicates that the temperature here may be very hot.

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As an AI-driven smart rearview mirror, the 70Mai rearview mirror’s voice interaction feature is very powerful. All tasks are completed through the voice assistant “Xiao Mai”, just like how Apple’s iOS can be awakened with “Hey, SIRI”. To wake up the 70Mai rearview mirror, simply say, “Hello Xiao Mai”. Once awakened, you can use voice commands to perform various functions, including listening to music, navigation, and making calls. Overall, the natural language processing of voice commands by the 70Mai rearview mirror is quite effective, making it very natural and smooth to use, with a great interaction experience.

Listening to music is a highlight of the 70Mai rearview mirror. Drivers can directly say the name of a song or artist for precise searching. Additionally, they can use the command “play music” to play music, and the rearview mirror will select songs based on past listening habits learned through adaptive learning. This is especially useful when you want some music in the background but don’t have a specific track in mind. Moreover, you can say, “I want to listen to the news,” “play a story,” or even “listen to a comedy” to let Xiao Mai play content from online radio stations. The 70Mai rearview mirror has formed deep cooperation with NetEase Cloud Music and Ximalaya FM, and the system comes pre-installed with these two apps for use as a cloud music library.

Where does the music played by the 70Mai rearview mirror come from? In addition to having a small speaker built into the main unit, it can also transmit signals to the desired FM frequency via FM transmission, allowing you to listen through the car radio. This design has very broad applicability since most old cars may not have a Bluetooth receiving system, but a radio is almost a necessity. The Bluetooth module on the rearview mirror only provides connectivity to smartphones and other smart devices for making calls or listening to music from the phone, but does not offer functionality to connect with the car’s audio system or other Bluetooth speakers.

The 70Mai rearview mirror comes with the Gaode Map car version, supporting multiple destination query methods. Simply say, “I want to go to XXX” or “navigate to XXX” after waking up Xiao Mai. Of course, you can also directly say, “I want to find something to eat,” and Xiao Mai will provide several dining options. If the map display area seems insufficient while driving, you can use the voice command “full screen map” to make the map fill the entire screen.

The voice control feature of the 70Mai rearview mirror is very comprehensive. You can directly tell Xiao Mai what you want to do. For example, commands like, “What’s the weather today?”, “What’s the traffic restriction for today?”, “zoom in/out the map”, “increase/decrease the volume”, etc., will be automatically recognized and executed by Xiao Mai. Not all dialogues need to start with “Hello Xiao Mai”; some global command keywords, such as “turn on/off the screen”, “I want to take a photo”, “start/pause playback”, “increase/decrease/turn off the sound”, etc., will be recognized and executed in real time by the system.

In addition to the built-in traditional dashcam functionality, the 70Mai rearview mirror also has ADAS driving assistance features. After completing calibration before initial use, it can provide collision warnings, lane departure warnings, and front car start reminders. When a collision is predicted, it will automatically take photos to record key moments and relevant information for later use as evidence in case of an accident.

The emergence of the 70Mai rearview mirror solves a series of problems such as inconvenient operation of the in-car entertainment system in old cars, outdated functions, and untimely updates of navigation maps. Its non-destructive installation method also allows car owners to easily add it without damaging the original car’s interior and wiring. In addition, the advanced natural language processing voice control system, smooth interaction interface, sensitive response speed, user-friendly design, and excellent workmanship all enhance the competitiveness of the 70Mai rearview mirror. Although its ADAS features have not yet reached the level of the latest original in-car systems, it is still highly recommended as a supplementary feature.

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After reading the review above, are you itching to open your wallet? Hold on, friends, don’t rush to buy, because this issue’s benefit is giving you a 70Mai!

Those who want this rearview mirror must pay attention to the following rules:

1. Take a photo of your beloved car

2. Describe the inconveniences caused by the lack of an intelligent system in your current car and post it along with the photo to the Qi Yu Time public account

3. The recruitment deadline is September 14, 2017, 24:00

4. If you are willing to write a trial report for us, it will greatly increase your chances of winning~

As long as your writing is heartfelt and shows us your frustration with the lack of an intelligent system in your beloved car, you will have a huge chance of bringing the 70Mai home! I mean it!