Ring ships Apple-compatible Video Doorbell 2, says HomeKit coming to other accessories

AppleInsider · June 20, 2017 3:20AM

Ring on Monday launched the Video Doorbell 2, a Mac-, iPhone-, and iPad-compatible smarthome accessory that makes several key upgrades over its predecessor.

The new model records in 1080p instead of 720p, and offers better infrared night vision, according to Ring. Also new is a removable, rechargeable battery pack for owners who can't use wired power -- the original Doorbell required people wanting to recharge to take the entire device inside every 6 to 12 months.

The Doorbell 2 has a 160-degree field of view, with a 180-degree horizontal motion detection angle. It also sports two-way audio, and swappable faceplates for matching different home exteriors.

For video streaming, the device relies on 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and companion apps for iOS, Mac, Android, and Windows 10. It doesn't yet support Apple's HomeKit, although Ring says other products -- the Pro and the Floodlight Cam -- should gain support by the end of the year.

That's likely possible because of recently-announced HomeKit changes, specifically support for software-based authentication. The new policy will allow some existing devices to gain HomeKit through firmware updates.

Ring is selling the Video Doorbell 2 for $199. The product offers live streaming and security alerts by default, but cloud video storage costs $30 per year for an individual camera, or $100 per year for unlimited cameras.

cleger · June 20, 2017 5:21AM

I Bought the Ring Pro the day it was announced it would support Homekit by the end of the year back in June of 2016... The Ring Forums kept promising by the end of the year, until the end of the year came and then they promised first part of 2017, til that passed now were promised end of 2017. So will we actually get homekit support, no body knows...

dachar · June 20, 2017 5:45AM

cleger said:

I Bought the Ring Pro the day it was announced it would support Homekit by the end of the year back in June of 2016... The Ring Forums kept promising by the end of the year, until the end of the year came and then they promised first part of 2017, til that passed now were promised end of 2017. So will we actually get homekit support, no body knows...

It was a very similar situation with the Tado HomeKit compatible heating hub. After more than a year of delays the company sent me a letter of apology with a chocolate bar. Finiallly the Tado HomeKit hub is apparently available but l am still waiting to receive it.

bestkeptsecret · June 20, 2017 6:18AM

It reminds me of the iPod Nano.

512ke · June 20, 2017 6:36AM

Good. This very high end doorbell will be able to video the person who steals it.

rayz2016 · June 20, 2017 7:14AM

512ke said:

Good. This very high end doorbell will be able to video the person who steals it.

Mmm. Yes.

Is this the first doorbell with a yearly subscription?

sailorpaul · June 20, 2017 8:19AM

512ke said:

Good. This very high end doorbell will be able to video the person who steals it.

Only if the "wake upon motion detection" cycle is fast enough. That turns out to be one of THE key metrics that determines if these devices are usable in the real world. I bought a competitor, SkyBell 2, only to discover it's shipping software couldn't wake up fast enough to catch guests arriving or deliveries. The recent upgrade is better -- but seven seconds, that's unusable

How fast is this unit from Ring?

[deleted user] · June 20, 2017 8:40AM

dachar said:

cleger said:

I Bought the Ring Pro the day it was announced it would support Homekit by the end of the year back in June of 2016... The Ring Forums kept promising by the end of the year, until the end of the year came and then they promised first part of 2017, til that passed now were promised end of 2017. So will we actually get homekit support, no body knows...

It was a very similar situation with the Tado HomeKit compatible heating hub. After more than a year of delays the company sent me a letter of apology with a chocolate bar. Finiallly the Tado HomeKit hub is apparently available but l am still waiting to receive it.

You should've pressed them for a discount, I got a 10% discount by emailing them, then an extra 20% off the TRVs I had ordered because I had to wait an extra month. Brought the cost down to around £42 per TRV

I got the thermostat+extension kit+hub v2 on ebay for less than a third of rrp, plenty brand new boxed ones on there for some reason - still awaiting the v3 homekit hub (free upgrade) delivery like yourself though.

glynh · June 20, 2017 9:50AM

cleger said:

I Bought the Ring Pro the day it was announced it would support Homekit by the end of the year back in June of 2016... The Ring Forums kept promising by the end of the year, until the end of the year came and then they promised first part of 2017, til that passed now were promised end of 2017. So will we actually get homekit support, no body knows...

Ditto. And still waiting for news.

Same story with Canary and their Canary Plus promised to be HomeKit compatible.

And LightwaveRF.

And Heatmiser.

I see a pattern emerging here...

gatorguy · June 20, 2017 10:18AM

sailorpaul said:

512ke said:

Good. This very high end doorbell will be able to video the person who steals it.

Only if the "wake upon motion detection" cycle is fast enough. That turns out to be one of THE key metrics that determines if these devices are usable in the real world. I bought a competitor, SkyBell 2, only to discover it's shipping software couldn't wake up fast enough to catch guests arriving or deliveries. The recent upgrade is better -- but seven seconds, that's unusable

How fast is this unit from Ring?

Very. I've had it for nearly a year. It activates within a second or two of motion detection and has adjustable coverage zones to help avoid false notifications. I've only had a couple of minor issues with it so I'd highly recommend it.

williamh · June 20, 2017 10:56AM

512ke said:

Good. This very high end doorbell will be able to video the person who steals it.

You need a special screwdriver to remove the Ring. The company promises to replace it (one time) if stolen. I had one at a house I just sold - very good thing.

gmgravytrain · June 20, 2017 11:37AM

The device does seem somewhat vulnerable to theft but I suppose there's no way around that besides putting it behind some clear plexiglass mount with only an opening for the button and audio. It's so annoying you have to protect everything from fear of being stolen. I remember back in the 50's and 60's when I was growing up and we could leave our houses unlocked and possessions in the yard and no one ever touched them. Neighbors were always on the lookout for one another. This was in the suburbs of NYC.

Now I need to worry about getting some high-tech doorbell stolen off its mounts. Now my mail person leaves Amazon packages on the stoop. At least she rings the doorbell when she places them there and I'm usually expecting the packages. Usually, nothing really expensive is left there but there's always a concern that they might be a temptation to theft. Oh, well, it is what it is. So far, I've been fortunate and nothing has gone missing. I'm trying to decide what type of doorbell/camera system I should get and I'll make some decision soon.

edited June 2017

patchythepirate · June 20, 2017 2:22PM

gmgravytrain said:

The device does seem somewhat vulnerable to theft but I suppose there's no way around that besides putting it behind some clear plexiglass mount with only an opening for the button and audio. It's so annoying you have to protect everything from fear of being stolen. I remember back in the 50's and 60's when I was growing up and we could leave our houses unlocked and possessions in the yard and no one ever touched them. Neighbors were always on the lookout for one another. This was in the suburbs of NYC.

Now I need to worry about getting some high-tech doorbell stolen off its mounts. Now my mail person leaves Amazon packages on the stoop. At least she rings the doorbell when she places them there and I'm usually expecting the packages. Usually, nothing really expensive is left there but there's always a concern that they might be a temptation to theft. Oh, well, it is what it is. So far, I've been fortunate and nothing has gone missing. I'm trying to decide what type of doorbell/camera system I should get and I'll make some decision soon.

You should stop worrying and get one. The notifications give you peace of mind if you're worried about people coming up to your door, or stealing packages from your door. And usually when packages are left there the delivery person will ring the doorbell, which notifies you wherever you are.

They (Ring) also have a cool My Neighborhood feature where you can upload clips or view other's uploaded clips if you record suspicious activity or something. I just saw some funny video someone posted titled "ZZ Top dropping something in mail slot." Another clip shows a guy going around the nieghborhood looking for unlocked cars.

edited June 2017

hammeroftruth · June 20, 2017 7:45PM

williamh said:

512ke said:

Good. This very high end doorbell will be able to video the person who steals it.

You need a special screwdriver to remove the Ring. The company promises to replace it (one time) if stolen. I had one at a house I just sold - very good thing.

It's called a prybar. 😂

jbdragon · June 20, 2017 8:10PM

cleger said:

I Bought the Ring Pro the day it was announced it would support Homekit by the end of the year back in June of 2016... The Ring Forums kept promising by the end of the year, until the end of the year came and then they promised first part of 2017, til that passed now were promised end of 2017. So will we actually get homekit support, no body knows...

This is nothing new. It's standard practice for most company's these days. For Example Chamberlain has been promising Homekit support since Apple announced it and still no homekit support!!! In fact there was suppose to be a Beta Test already and where's that? That's been delayed. It's been one delay after another. Most company's seem to end up doing this crap. There was another Doorbell camera I liked that was shown at CES the year before and it look almost a year and other another company name to come out.

tallest skil · June 20, 2017 8:36PM

williamh said:
You need a special screwdriver to remove the Ring.

How much do you want to bet that my $20 iFixit kit has it.

The company promises to replace it (one time) if stolen.

Fat lot of good that'll do.

I really do like the idea behind this product, though. Is the price reasonable compared with its competitors? Combine this with a proximity sensing lock that knows when you're approaching (iPhone in your pocket) and you could have some handy stuff there.

edited June 2017

gatorguy · June 20, 2017 8:54PM

tallest skil said:

williamh said:
You need a special screwdriver to remove the Ring.

How much do you want to bet that my $20 iFixit kit has it.
The company promises to replace it (one time) if stolen.
Fat lot of good that'll do.

I really do like the idea behind this product, though. Is the price reasonable compared with its competitors? Combine this with a proximity sensing lock that knows when you're approaching (iPhone in your pocket) and you could have some handy stuff there.

Well since the thief was almost assuredly recorded and the video available in my cloud account that's at least sumpthin'

robin huber · June 20, 2017 11:13PM

cleger said:

I Bought the Ring Pro the day it was announced it would support Homekit by the end of the year back in June of 2016... The Ring Forums kept promising by the end of the year, until the end of the year came and then they promised first part of 2017, til that passed now were promised end of 2017. So will we actually get homekit support, no body knows...

Rule of thumb: Never buy an electronics product on the strength of a promise to deliver software/feature in the future if that feature is a deal breaker.

robin huber · June 20, 2017 11:16PM

"Google, the business that's all up in your business." Get a HomeKit doorbell.

bobcubsfan · June 21, 2017 3:01PM

Now we know why Costco is selling the old model at a discount with a year's membership.

https://www.costco.com/RING-Wi-fi-Enabled-Video-Doorbell-wBonus-Chime-and-1-Year-Cloud-Subscription.product.100311708.html?catalogId=10701&langId=-1&storeId=10301&krypto=RGQAPHO1KpoY7cns9iLhOm/4k0zor+NfJo5TTqZhE2+TTAECiek07WTey/oNYEwIIzT0XmiEy2dm lJ2RwfH88jmEqMo+HOHgF6V18Xdsk5I1eUgGSA1E3rXlpeDm/MbZ

One should always be wary of "deals" at Costco. In the past, this has indicated selling an item that is about to be upgraded by the manufacturer.

netmanchris · June 21, 2017 4:02PM

Checked the Ring website and there's no mention of HomeKit compatibility on the Ring2 product page. I question why the article states "ships Apple Homekit compatible" when the company itself makes no mention of this on their website. Seems like that's something they would want to highlite if it was actually true. I'm a RingPro owner as well waiting for the HomeKit support. Their twitter account is quick to respond that it's "coming soon" but that message is getting old...

Ring ships Apple-compatible Video Doorbell 2, says HomeKit coming to other accessories

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