Can I use my iPhone as a dashcam?

You can use SplitRig as a dashcam-style road camera for driving content you record on purpose. It records the road through the rear camera, the driver through the front camera, and your live GPS speed, all in one synced video. For always-on incident or insurance recording, with loop recording and a crash sensor, a hardwired dashcam is the tool for that job.

Does the app record the road and the driver at the same time?

Yes. SplitRig records both iPhone cameras simultaneously into one synced file. The rear camera covers the road and the front camera covers the driver or cabin. You can show them in Split Screen with an adjustable 30 to 70 percent ratio, Picture in Picture with a movable driver bubble, Single Camera, or Face Mode, and switch between them mid-recording without stopping the file.

Does it show my speed on the video?

Yes. SplitRig bakes a live GPS speedometer into the recording as you drive. It reads from the iPhone's built-in GPS, updates twice a second, and shows km/h or mph, following your iPhone's measurement system. The speed is written into the video while you record, so it is part of the saved file rather than something you add in an editor afterward. GPS needs a view of the sky, so the reading resumes as you leave a covered car park or tunnel.

Is it free, and which iPhones does it work on?

SplitRig is free, with every feature unlocked at first launch and no subscription, in-app purchases, ads, or account. It works on every iPhone from iPhone 11 on. Apple's built-in Dual Capture only records both cameras on iPhone 17 and later, so SplitRig is how you get a dual-view road camera on the iPhone you already own.

iPhone dashcam app with a speed overlay, free: SplitRig

A free iPhone dashcam-style app that records the road and the cabin at once, in one synced video, with your live GPS speed baked in. Works on the iPhone you already own, from iPhone 11 up. On-device, no account.

Road, driver, and speed in one shot

Most dashcam apps point one camera at the road and call it done. Driving instructors, test-drive channels, and road-trip creators need more than that: the road ahead, the person at the wheel, and the speed, all in the same frame, all in sync.

SplitRig records your iPhone's front and rear cameras at the same time into a single video file, and bakes your live GPS speed into the picture as you drive. The rear camera covers the road. The front camera covers you, the cabin, or a learner driver. The speedometer reads off the iPhone's own GPS. One take, one file, nothing to stitch together later.

It is free, with no subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads, and no account. Every feature is unlocked the moment you open the app, and it works on the iPhone already in your pocket, from iPhone 11 on.

What SplitRig records on a drive

You pick a layout based on what the video is for. The layouts are real and switchable mid-recording, so you can change framing at a junction without stopping the file.

Split Screen (road plus cabin). The screen splits between the rear road view and the front cabin view, with an adjustable 30 to 70 percent ratio. Give the road more space, or give the driver more space, depending on the lesson or the story.
Picture in Picture (driver bubble). The road fills the frame and the driver sits in a small movable, resizable bubble in a corner. Best for car-POV and reaction-style driving content where the road is the main event.
Single Camera (road plus speed). One full-screen camera, usually the rear, with the speed overlay still baked in. Best for a clean road shot when you do not need a face on screen.
Face Mode. The front-camera background disappears live and only the driver stays, placed over the road view, no green screen required.

The live speed overlay (the part that makes it a driving camera)

The speedometer is the hero overlay for road content. It reads your current speed from the iPhone's built-in GPS, the same location source the Maps app uses, and updates twice a second. It shows km/h or mph, following your iPhone's measurement system. The number is written into the video as you record, so it is baked into the saved file, not added later in an editor.

You can drag the speed readout anywhere on screen and pinch to resize it, and the position is remembered per orientation, so it sits in the same spot every drive. Alongside speed you can add Distance, Duration, Altitude, and a Goal Gauge from the same overlay set, all live, all baked in.

Speed reads cleanly on the open road. GPS needs a view of the sky, so the reading resumes as you leave a covered car park or a long tunnel. The reading holds steady at a red light instead of flickering at a standstill, then picks back up the moment you move.

Who this is for

Driving instructors. Record the road, the learner, and the speed together for lesson review. Split Screen puts the learner and the road side by side, and the baked-in speed gives you an objective reference when you go back over a manoeuvre. The footage stays on the iPhone, which matters when a student is in frame.

Car-POV, test-drive, and review channels. Picture in Picture keeps the road full-frame with your reaction in the corner, and the live speed adds the context viewers want during an acceleration run or a back-road drive. For higher-motion shots, Action Cam mode shoots ultra-wide at 0.5x with 60 fps and the steadiest stabilization level.

Road-trip vloggers. Distance and Duration overlays turn a long drive into a story with numbers on screen, and Face Mode drops you over the moving road without a green screen. For more on motion-heavy setups, see the best motovlog camera app for iPhone and the broader iPhone vlogging app for action sports guides.

Is this a real dashcam?

SplitRig is a dashcam-style road camera for driving content, by design. An automatic incident or insurance dashcam does a different job.

SplitRig records when you tap record and saves each drive to your Photos library as one finished video: a creator's road camera, not a black box bolted to the windscreen.

So what is it actually for? Recording drives on purpose: a driving lesson you want to review, a car review you are publishing, a road trip you are documenting. The thing no dedicated dashcam app offers is the combination at the centre of this article: the road and the driver at the same time, in one synced video, with live GPS speed in the frame. If you need an always-on black box that captures a collision you did not see coming, buy a hardwired dashcam. If you want to make road video that shows the drive and the speed, that is this.

Setting it up in the car

Mount the iPhone on a windscreen or dash mount with a clear view of the road. Landscape suits YouTube; portrait suits Reels and TikTok. SplitRig records either way.
Pick a layout under Layout in the bottom bar: Split Screen for road plus cabin, Picture in Picture for a driver bubble, or Single Camera for the road alone.
Enable the speedometer under Widgets in the bottom bar, then drag it to a corner that does not block the road.
Start hands-free. Press the Camera Control button on iPhone 16 and later, press Volume Down, or tap start in the Apple Watch app. No reaching across the cabin while driving.

A few things that matter on a long drive. SplitRig sets no recording time limit and saves the drive as it records. For a long drive, pick the Long Recording preset and turn on Eco Mode.

Smart Pause is the one made for cars. It lets you pause your recording for a short time when you need to leave the app: come back soon and it goes on by itself in the same file. Stay away longer and SplitRig saves the whole recording. A phone call does not cost you the drive either: the video keeps going whenever the camera can keep running, and the sound comes back in the same recording after the call.

Privacy: where you drive stays on your iPhone

Recording your commute or a lesson route means recording where you live, work, and drive. SplitRig reads GPS on-device only. Your speed and location are never uploaded, never stored on a server, and never shared with a third party. There is no account, no analytics tied to you, and no cloud component. The video stays on your iPhone until you choose to share it. For drivers, that is the difference between a tool and a tracker.

iPhone dashcam app with a speed overlay: record the road and you (free)