During today’s Amazon event, Ring made several surprising announcements, including one on the company’s expansion into automotive security with three new security products focused on cars: The Ring Car Alarm, the Ring Car Cam, and the Ring Car Connect.
The Ring Car Alarm is a low-cost product designed to plug into the OBD (on-board diagnostics) II port of the majority of vehicles on the road and send real-time alerts to owners. The Ring Car Alarm will alert you of a bump, break-in, tow, and more. When the Ring Car Alarm detects an event, it sends a notification through the Ring App. Users can then trigger the siren. The Ring Car Alarm can be connected to other Ring or Alexa-enabled devices so that users can also receive audible notifications. It should be noted that some of the Ring Car Alarm’s features require connectivity with Amazon Sidewalk, a shared network system that will launch later this year.
The Ring Car Cam is an in-car security camera that utilizes Ring’s intelligence. While your vehicle is parked, the Ring Car Cam monitors for bumps and attempted break-ins. If it detects anything, it sends a real-time alert to the user so they can then monitor what is happening around the vehicle through the Ring app. It also includes features like Emergency Crash Assists, which sends first responders to the car’s location whenever a crash is detected. There is also a feature called Traffic Stop, which allows drivers to say, “Alexa, I’m being pulled over.” The Ring Car Cam will record the interaction and save it to the cloud. If you are concerned about privacy, the Ring Car Cam includes a physical privacy shutter that turns off the audio and video recording.
The final car-focused product Ring announced is Ring Car Connect, a service for car manufacturers that can be integrated into vehicles. The first vehicles to be compatible are Tesla models 3, X, S, and Y. Once the Ring Car Connect is installed, users can watch Tesla Sentry Mode and recorded driving footage. It will also provide important information about the vehicle like mileage, whether the doors are locked, and more.
The Ring Car Alarm will cost $60, and the Car Cam and the Car Connect will be $200 each. All three devices will be available on Ring’s website and at Amazon starting in 2021.
