Ring rolls out new hardware for more security inside and out
An alarm system retrofit kit, stick-up cam and a $60 indoor cam are on the way.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Alexa might be the star of Amazon's fall product announcements, but Ring and its home-security products have a big supporting role. Amazon's hardware chief David Limp announced at the company's Seattle event today a new $199 Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit that lets you take advantage of an old alarm system's wiring and sensors that might already be installed in your home.
The kit will work with preexisting door and window sensors and motion sensors, making the DIY alarm kit potentially cheaper and easier to install, Limp said. The Retrofit Alarm Kit can also be bundled with the Ring Alarm Hub for $375, which will allow you to connect and control any "Works with Ring" smart-home devices with the Ring app.
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Ring is also adding an updated Stick Up Cam. "What's exciting is that it'll now be 30% less than it was before, only $99," Limp said. He also introduced Ring's first indoor camera for $60, which he said was the company's lowest-cost security camera.
The indoor camera was the inspiration for Amazon's new Alexa Home Mode that will prevent Ring products from recording audio and video when residents are home, which Limp announced earlier in the event. There will also be an option to allow Alexa to have conversations with people through your Ring doorbell. Limp showed a video of Alexa asking visitors if it can pass along a message and instructing a delivery person to leave a package on the side of the house.
Limp briefly touched on Ring's hundreds of police partnerships in the US. Amazon purchased Ring for $839 million in February 2018, and the video doorbell company has rapidly expanded since the acquisition. Privacy and civil rights advocates have criticized Ring over its close ties with police departments, warning that the Amazon-owned company is helping create a surveillance network for law enforcement agencies.
