Ring has conquered the home inside and out with its line of security video cameras, but now the company is taking to the air with the announcement of the Ring Always Home Cam. You could say it’s an ambitious effort, especially when it’s billed as an autonomous flying indoor camera that can peek at just about any nook and cranny in the home. Considering that it’ll pilot itself, there are certainly bound to be new vantage points that you can’t get from its traditional line of cameras.
This is without a doubt one of the bigger surprises to come out from Amazon’s Devices Event, one that takes security to a totally different level. Basically, the Ring Always Home Cam looks as though a sizable propeller guard has been strapped onto the top of one of its video doorbells. The whole thing looks peculiar and will certainly attract a few glances (from people and pets) as it buzzes around the home inspecting for security threats.
Why buy this when Ring already has a solid portfolio of indoor security cameras? Well, the premise here is that instead of having to buy multiple cameras that need to be spread around the home, the Ring Always Home Cam can effectively replace them — operating on predetermined paths set by the user. It’ll be able to fly on its own, without any supervision or intervention on the user’s part, so that it can provide eyes wherever you need inside of the home.
Now, if you’re concerned about its flying abilities, we’re told that it leverages sensors in order to avoid obstacles as it’s flying. On top of that, there appears to be a safety guard that protects the spinning propellers as it’s buzzing around — so even in the event it hits something and possibly falls, the blades won’t get damaged. Just like any other Ring camera, you’ll be able to see in real time what’s happening — and it only records video when it’s in flight. And if you happen to use the Ring Alarm, it’ll check for disturbances when an alarm sensor is triggered. We’re told that its flight time is about five minutes and it requires an hour to charge.
When it has completed its patrol, the Ring Always Home Cam will go back to its dock to recharge. While it’s in there, the camera is physically blocked, which is good and bad. Good for the fact that it offers peace of mind for those conscious about Big Brother watching, but bad if you want it to act as an ordinary Ring security camera that watches out for any motion within its field of view. As much as we’re eager to check out this prospective new way of having eyes inside of the home, the Ring Always Home Cam won’t be available until 2021. It’ll retail for $250, which is a step above its other indoor camera, but somewhat expected given what it does.
Ring also announced another gadget that will let you when you’ve got mail. The Ring Mailbox Sensor is a tiny, square-shaped sensor that goes on your mailbox and sends you notifications whenever it’s opened through the Ring app. It’ll be available for pre-order starting on October 8 and will retail for $30.
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