What is it?
Road Angel has been a recognised name in speed camera detection for years and the Pure Sync is its latest model aimed at protecting your licence. Designed as a dedicated safety assistant, this small dashboard unit uses a live, UK-validated database to warn you of upcoming hazards, enforcement zones and mobile speed traps.
Unlike older radar detectors, the Pure Sync relies on a high-accuracy GPS road speed library and live cellular data to track fixed, variable and average speed cameras. It also monitors smart motorways in real-time, pulling live data from National Highways to update variable limits and lane closures directly onto its screen.
The unit itself is priced competitively at £59.99, but there is a catch – it requires an ongoing subscription to function. This will set you back £9.99 a month or £99.99 a year, though the first month is included free. You can buy it directly from Road Angel.
Is the Road Angel Pure Sync any good?
Out of the box, the Pure Sync feels like a well built, understated piece of kit. With a fingerprint-resistant matte finish and a clear 2.4-inch LED-lit display, it sits discreetly on the dash. It can be powered via the provided USB cable or professionally hardwired. The display is bright and completely glare-free, allowing you to instantly compare your actual GPS speed against the limit.
It's easy to set up. There's an adhesive pad on the base which you can stick onto your dash. The unit then magnetically latches on to the base – you can also adjust the angle. Connect it to a 12v socket (a double USB adapter is included) and it switches on straight away. Then all you need to do is to download the Road Angel app and sync the device. This was refreshingly straightforward, quick and easy.
During our initial testing we were put off by the shrill beep every time it warns you of something. Fortunately we quickly learned you can change the sound of the warning to a far more harmonious sound using the app, something which took us back to choosing ringtones on Nokia phones in the early 2000s. Alternatively you can of course just mute it.
The more we tested the Pure Sync, the more it impressed us. Of course, the big question is why you'd buy this when free apps like Waze and Google Maps offer similar warning. Where it beats basic smartphone apps is the sheer accuracy of its database. Road Angel uses a UK-based expert verification team to validate mobile camera van locations, meaning in theory you should get fewer annoying false alerts than you do with crowd-sourced navigation apps like Waze.
That said, we did still get a few spurious speed camera van warnings. For example on local roads where we've never seen a speed camera van in the 15 years we've lived there. Over time this makes you question other van warnings, although we still found it a useful reminder to keep a look out on roads we weren't familiar with.
But for us the best feature is the average speed camera mode. The Pure Sync shows your average speed across the entirety of an average speed zone and will prompt you if you are going too fast. As this is GPS, it's more accurate than your car speedo. It's a great way of making sure you're under the limit for the entirety of the zone, especially on areas like temporary roadworks where it's not always that clear where the zone starts or ends.
The Intelligent Mute feature is another welcome touch. If you are already driving under the speed limit, the device keeps its audio alerts quiet, keeping cockpit noise to a minimum and only chiming when you genuinely need to look down.
The major drawback is the price of keeping it alive. For drivers who already use apps like Waze or Google Maps via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, paying £100 a year for supplementary camera data might feel like an expensive luxury.
Should you buy one?
There's an argument that given the likes of Waze and Google Maps provide speed camera warning and the like, there's little reason for having an extra device. Indeed, given the sheer number of screens and the amount of information put in front of drivers in modern cars, do we need any more?
But the Road Angel Pure Sync does offer some useful features that those apps don't. The potential speed van warning is one but even more useful is the clever average speed camera display. We found this the best feature and well worth the money in our opinion.
If you do high mileage, regularly commute on smart motorways, or just want to double down on protecting the clean status of your driving licence, the Road Angel Pure Sync is a brilliant, highly accurate bit of kit. Similarly if you have an older car and don't use phone-based app, relying instead on the in-built navigation, it's a very useful tool to have on your dash. It performs flawlessly as a 'silent' co-driver.
However, casual drivers might find it difficult to justify the ongoing subscription fees when free, smartphone-based alternatives, although not as feature laden, are readily available.
