There’s plenty of smart home gear to pick from now, but one of the simplest places to start is at your front door. But these days, a smart doorbell usually means getting a subscription plan as well. While Ring is no stranger to subscription plans, the brand is giving you more value for money with these new features.
Ring is now offering 24/7 recording – a feature that’s been requested for ages. This, however, is limited to the new Ring Home Premium plan. So if you’ve got a wired camera, you can watch every single second, whether or not there’s a stray dog triggering motion zones. But it doesn’t stop there.
Ring’s also gone all out with what they’re calling Video Preview Alerts. Instead of waiting for the Ring app to load after a motion alert, you’ll get a snippet of video in your notifications. It should be just enough to decide whether you need to rush out or if it’s only the postman. No more frantic tapping on your phone when you’re trying to avoid actual human interaction.
Then there’s the Extended Live View, which stretches the previous 10-minute window to a far more generous 30 minutes. Not enough? If you’re really committed to your home surveillance, Continuous Live View on the Premium plan basically turns your camera into a 24/7 live feed that’s constantly on. Whether you want to keep an eye on the kids while pretending to cook dinner or catch your cat being a demon, this feature’s got you covered.
And for anyone who’s fed up with missing deliveries or having to open another notification, there’s now Doorbell Calls. Think of it like FaceTime, but instead of your mum checking in, it’s the postman. This is available on Standard and Premium plans, ringing your phone directly when someone hits the doorbell. So, you can chat with the Amazon delivery guy while avoiding yet another parcel being left in your bin.
The Ring Protect subscription service is now known as Ring Home. You’ve got Home Basic at £4.99 a month, Home Standard at £7.99, and Home Premium at £15.99. You can check out exactly which features you get with each plan directly with Ring. The new features will begin rolling out later this month, with full worldwide availability from 5 November 2024.