On the flip side, camera rear view can have automatic gain, so you can see much better in the dark. It can also have a better view due to placement. And as a bonus, no need to adjust between drivers.
My car has both in a combined unit, flip down for regular mirror and up for camera. While I initially thought it would be a gimmick, it didn't take me long to realize I preferred the camera view.
That said I wouldn't want to have a car with camera only, I don't trust the electronics that much and a mirror works better in certain situations.
Sounds like progress. I’m struggling to see any functional downside. Resolution is good enough at that distance from screen (and you generally not need much resolution - just identify a hazard).
You don’t need to move yourself around since view is wide angle.
Look at your computer screen. Now move your head a foot to the side and look at it. Yes there will be some difference but unless you have a privacy filter it should be quite easy to view the screen still.
Same for the rear view screen/mirror assembly. The viewing angle at which it it's fine to watch in screen-mode is considerable. In mirror-mode it has to be very close to function as intended.
My SO is about a head shorter than me, and likes to sit in a quite different position. Yet for us the screen-mode works fine without adjustment. When using the mirror there's a significant adjustment needed. I guess for other couples it might need adjustment regardless, but I imagine for many it will be fine in screen-mode.
Though I have no idea how much it varies between cars though. Could be ours has a wider viewing angle than other cars.
My biggest issue with Audi and others that try replacing mirrors with cameras is that you need to refocus your eyes. That takes time. I have the same issue with the speedometer: I'm curious how many accidents have already happened because the driver is mandated to remove focus from the road just to check their speed.
The HUD is amazing. Interior screens are only great while not driving.
On my car the camera is placed such that it rarely gets blocked by dirt or debris. I sometimes flip back to the mirror only to find I can't see anything due to dirt on the rear window. Flip back to camera and I see just fine.
I can't see shit out of the back window without some work on my part on many cold mornings (with electric defrost), but a tiny little camera-heater could be both fast and efficient (which is more important for EVs).
I can wipe a small camera lens off faster than I cash wash a uselessly-filthy back window enough that it is better than a streaky opaque mess, as I've had happen to the back window on fairly mundane (if long) road trips with regular road grime.
Fewer windows means a cooler interior when it has been baking in the sun
It's a lot harder to get distracted by light and glare from phone screens or whatever that back-seat people are using when there's no interior mirror pointed in that direction to begin with
It doesn't sound all bad. And since it's got rather good cameras, that sure does sound better than the vehicles I've spent time driving that had neither rear windows nor any cameras.
I can't think of many real negatives. Since I got a parking camera in my car, I don't use the rear view mirror at all during parking. If there is some way I can get more accurate information about the blind spots around my car (and this camera seems to be one such thing), I'd much prefer that.
There will be cleaning and electronics problems but every technology comes with its own set of issues. The only thing I can think of is the general idea that low tech. often has less moving moving parts and is more resilient but I'm not sure that applies here.
Subaru does it this way. The rear window defrost has a higher density of heating wire around the camera, so on a frosty morning, it clears up very fast
My car has both in a combined unit, flip down for regular mirror and up for camera. While I initially thought it would be a gimmick, it didn't take me long to realize I preferred the camera view.
That said I wouldn't want to have a car with camera only, I don't trust the electronics that much and a mirror works better in certain situations.