Updated Oct 19th, 2019
After three years the Yi Dash Cam has been replaced with our Anker ROAV A1 pick. You can see that review here (YouTube Link) along with our article on the top dash cams we recommend in 2019.
Ethics Disclosure
I’ve purchased all dash cams and accessories since 2017. No paid reviews here. We may earn a commission for purchases using our links.
Our Video Review
The Camera
This is the first dash camera made by XiaoYi after successfuly launching their home security and action companies. XiaoYi is a different company from XiaoMi who is known for their smartphones and other gadgets. XiaoMi invested money and owns shares of XiaoYi but they are different companies.
Specs
| Date Released | Jan 2016 // Intl Version March 2016 |
| Max Resolution | 1296P – 2304 x 1296 |
| Image Sensor | 1/2.7 inch,3umpixel, 4000mV / lux – s |
| Processor | Yi A12 (Novatek) |
| Lens | 6-G Glass Lens f/1.8 |
| Capacitor // Battery | 240mAH Lithium Polymer |
| LCD | 2.7 426 x 240 LCD |
| Diagonal FOV | 165° |
| Wifi | Yes ( 802.11n) |
| Bitrate | 20000 kbps |
| Size | 74 x 32 x 52.4 mm |
| Weight | 74g |
Video Quality
The video quality on the XiaoYi is outstanding for the price. It’s the sharpest quality I’ve seen day or night for $60 to $70. Getting into the technical details the resolution may be upscaled from it’s native resolution at 1080P. The AR0230CS sensor records at a maximum 1928 x 1088 not the 2396 x 1296 which is the eventual file output. For me this doesn’t really matter other than some marketing tomfoolery to entice buyers. The results speak for themselves. You can download raw videos and directly compare screenshots of the videos used in the review. 
Download Raw Videos: Ausdom A261 – Dome D201 – Mini 0806 – XiaoYi Yi 
Download Raw Videos: A118 – Blackvue – Mobius – XiaoYi Yi 
Download Raw Videos: Dome – XiaoYi Yi 
Download Raw Videos: A118 – Blackvue – Mobius – XiaoYi Yi
Ausdom
Dome D201
Mini 0806
XiaoYi Yi
A118
Blackvue DR650
Mobius
XiaoYi Yi
Dome D201
XiaoYi Yi
A118
Blackvue DR650
Mobius
XiaoYi Yi
Startup Times
Something I didn’t mention in the video but the Yi is one of the fastest cameras I’ve ever used. The camera starts in two seconds and is recording soon after. Most cameras take 7-8 seconds. I have no idea how Yi Technologies managed to create such wizardry. Great job, this means no waiting in a parking lot for your camera to startup.Chinese and International Editions
The XiaoYi comes in two different versions. One catered for their Chinese market and one in English for everywhere else. Courtesy of GeekBuying here are the differences between the two versions. The international version comes with a 3M tape mount. The Chinese version is suction. 
The international version includes a 1-amp, 1-port charger and is FCC/CE certified. The international version has two ports and delivers 2-amps. 
I bought a Chinese version of the dash cam and the quality is bad compared to the international version. Also highest resolution is not much different than the other resolutions. You can tell people to avoid the Chinese version it is better to spend a few extra bucks and get a good international version.
u are wrong, the specs are the same whether in chinese or international version, i flash my chinese firmware to international, no difference…
Anyone have an English Link for the YI 2.7K King version?
A Canadian link or ship to canada would work.
Yi has updated their dashcam lineup to include a new “2.7K King” version (2.7K王者版).
This new version records at 2688×1520 and uses H.265 for 30% better compression. It’s being launched on July 7 on JD.com for 379 RMB.
http://www.xiaoyi.com/yicarcam6/
I know you do reviews of locally available cameras and I imagine the camera won’t be available in Canada immediately. But given how big the Chinese population is in Canada and how often we go back to China (at least two times a year for me), a review would be pretty helpful.
I live in Canada and am looking to buy the YI 2.7 King version. Is there a website for that. I need an English site because Chinese is all Greek to me.
Hey Brian. Yes, we are aware of this camera but haven’t tested it out as we have other projects looming. Previous models have been a success and I expect this one to be good too.
Hi,
I’m using Yi dashcam for about 1 year now (with Lexar SD Card) the only problem is when the memory card is full it deletes the earliest videos, are there a way or settings that we can make the dashcam to delete the oldest videos? I’m almost got hit by another car today and i want to download that video but when i check it the video is gone it was overwritten.
Should i update the firmware? pls help, thanks.
Hi,
I think i already found what causing the problem its the DATE… it was set to 2047 then somehow the date was reset back to 2017 though i didnt change anything… will do some testing this week if the date will change on its own again.
So have you eliminated your problem? That should’ve been the case here if you recorded your video with the correct date and your camera switched to 2047 it treated video files from 2017 as the oldest on your camera.
Hi,
Will this dashcam interfere the radio reception? Is it wireless? I bought one dashcam last week, and it interfere my radio frequency terribly.
Hey. I haven’t heard about that sort of problems with the Yi dash cam. It’s not wireless. What camera did you buy? I know some people have tried to switch mini USB cable to a high quality (gold plated) mini USB cable with ferrite core. It has helped.
Hello,
I’ve read that 1080p 60fps degrades the video quality (although smoother), so I’m currently using 1080p 30 fps.
My question is: 1080p vs. 1296p – which is better?
At first glance, of course 1296p sounds like a good idea but since the resolution is “interpolated,” I’m debating whether there is an actual improvements in video quality. You already mentioned this in the article but is there really no improvements? Should I just keep using 1080p?
You should always go for the highest resolution possible. FPS means nothing if you can’t resolve the plate characters.