Consumer tech is probably the only place where trickle-down economics actually works, meaning features in flagship products slowly migrate down a company’s product catalog until they appear in its entry-level models. Such as the case with the all-new Ring Battery Doorbell announced today.
Head-to-toe video is chief among the features in the Ring Battery Doorbell ($99.99), which replaces the Video Doorbell (2nd Generation) in Ring’s lineup. That product was introduced in the fall of 2020.
This news is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells.
Ring markets the new camera’s resolution as HD, which in television display terms would mean 1920 horizontal pixels x 1080 vertical pixels progressively scanned, with an aspect ratio of 16:9. But the new Ring Battery Doorbell’s resolution is actually 1440 x 1440 pixels. It’s that 1:1 aspect ratio—a 150 x 150-degree field of view—that achieves the game-changing head-to-toe view, perfect for spotting packages that might be on your porch.
The new doorbell also has color night vision, which should make it easier to see what’s happening at night.
The new Ring Battery Doorbell’s 150 x 150-degree field of view gives you a head-to-toe view of your visitors as well as packages that might be on your porch.
Ring
Unless the doorbell is connected to your home’s low-voltage wiring to trickle-charge its battery—or you’ve connected it to one of Ring’s solar panels—you’ll need to remove the doorbell from the wall for charging with the included USB-C cable and a user-provided power adapter. But Ring says it has made that process easier with a push-pin tool that releases the doorbell from its mount. To reinstall, you’ll just push the doorbell back onto the mount.
The new doorbell is has a single-band (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi adapter onboard, and it’s compatible with Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays, but not any of the smart home hubs from other brands.
As with all Ring video doorbells and security cameras, most buyers will want to add a Ring Protect subscription to unlock all the product’s features, including Smart Alerts that inform you if there’s a person or package at your door. Without a subscription, you’ll receive motion-triggered notifications and live views through the camera, but a subscription is required to receive “rich notifications” that include a thumbnail of what the camera saw.
A subscription is also needed to record video and store the footage in the cloud (or on a Ring Alarm Pro smart home hub, if you have one). A basic Ring Protect subscription costs $5/month or $50/year for a single device, a Plus plan cost $10/month or $100/year and cover all your Ring cameras, and a Pro plan that includes 24/7 professional monitoring for a Ring security system costs $20/mo or $200/year. A 30-day free trial is included in the purchase price.
The Ring Battery Doorbell is available for pre-order for $99.99 at Amazon and Ring.com now, with product delivery slated for September 4.
Author: Michael Brown, Executive Editor, TechHive
Michael is TechHive's lead editor, with 30+ years of experience covering smart homes, home networking, and home audio/home theater. He holds a BA in Multimedia Journalism, authored the book Desktop Video Production, and was awarded Best Online Review by the Computer Press Association. Michael built a smart home in 2007 and used it as a real-world product-testing lab. Now living in the Pacific Northwest, he is converting his 1890 Victorian bungalow into a modern smart home. Michael has worked at CNET, PCWorld, Electronic Musician, and Maximum PC. As a freelancer, he contributed to New Media, Camcorder, MacWeek, and more.