Amazon announced an avalanche of new smart home products today, but the weirdest and most intriguing reveal was the from its Ring subsidiary.
The Always Home Cam is a nondescript silver and black box, but the top lifts off to reveal a drone that can fly around your home for a remote look at every corner. Ring says it "gives homeowners a variety of viewpoints throughout their home without having to purchase multiple cameras," but the Always Home Cam records video while it's in flight, so hopefully it does not stumble upon homeowners in any compromising positions.
Ring has more mundane scenarios in mind; "users can check if the oven was left on, the doors are locked, or the curling iron was left on," it says. If an alarm sensor is triggered, meanwhile, the drone "will fly the appropriate paths to check for potential disturbances," Ring says.
According to Ring, the drone "makes an audible sound" as it buzzes through your home; "this is privacy you can hear," the company boasts. When it's not patrolling your rec room, "it remains in the dock where the camera is physically blocked," Ring says.
The Ring Always Home Cam will set you back $249.99 and arrives in 2021.
Ring Car
Also on tap for next year are new car-centric products: the Ring Car Alarm ($59.99), Ring Car Cam ($199.99), and Ring Car Connect ($199.99).
Ring Car Alarm (Image: Ring)
The Ring Car Alarm plugs in to your vehicle's OBD-II port, and will send you smartphone alerts if it detects bumps, break-ins, tows, and more. Some features will require a connection to Amazon Sidewalk, but Amazon tipped the ability to trigger a siren if you want to scare someone off.
For a closer look in your car, Ring Car Cam adds a camera to the mix. If it detects a problem, you can get a real-time view of your car using Wi-Fi or LTE, if you sign up for a plan. The Emergency Crash Assist feature, meanwhile, will request help is a crash is detected, while saying "Alexa, I'm being pulled over" will signal the device to record the interaction and save it to the cloud. A cover for the Car Cam can prevent snooping; audio can be disabled, too.
Ring Car Cam (Image: Ring)
Ring Car Connect lets third parties tap into Ring's system. The first to do so is Tesla, which will enable it for Tesla models 3, X, S, and Y, so Tesla Sentry Mode and recorded driving footage can be viewed in the Ring app.
Ring said today that it will also activate end-to-end-encryption for videos later this year.
And on Oct. 8, it will release the Ring Mailbox Sensor ($29.99), which will alert you and start recording if it detects a mailbox has been opened.
Further Reading
- PCMag.com Readers' Choice/ Business Choice Survey: Sweepstakes Rules
- iRobot's Roomba i3+ Offers Personalized Cleaning
- AT&T Customers Can Now Make and Receive Calls on Alexa Devices
- Amazon's Alexa Could Be Your New (Built-In) Roommate
- More in Smart Home
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