Skip to main content

Ring's new Indoor Cam model adds small yet important change to flagship series

Smart home security brand Ring is updating its flagship Indoor Cam with a brand new, never-before-seen feature on its devices: a shutter.

Admittedly, that is a little hyperbolic on our part, but it’s true. The Indoor Cam 2nd Gen is the first of the company’s lineup to come with a physical shutter pre-attached. Before this, you either had to use the official app to turn a Ring camera off or purchase the Privacy Kit to install a shutter; however, that can only stop the video.

Closing the new Privacy Cover, as it’s officially called, on the improved model actually disables both audio and video recording. All you have to do is flick the cover shut. It is possible, according to the product listing, to remove the shutter for constant surveillance. The only other major difference with the new Indoor Cam is its “flexible, swivel mount” allowing it to be placed on a “wall or ceiling beam" for a bird’s eye view. 

Back in late March, the company placed the previously free Home Mode behind a paywall. The feature allowed people to disable in-house devices so they could walk around without setting off the whole house. With the Privacy Shutter, you could argue, Ring is attempting to walk back its decision a bit by adding an easier way to turn off Indoor Cams.

Availability

Apart from the shutter and mount, the second-generation camera is pretty much identical hardware-wise to Ring’s first generation Indoor Cam. It can record 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixel) HD video and comes with color night vision, motion capture, two-way talk, plus a built-in siren to scare off would-be thieves. Other reports claim the new model supports the newly released SOS for Cameras feature, which requires a Ring Protect Pro subscription to use. Basically, it adds a panic button to the Ring app for requesting emergency services at the smartphone’s location.

The Indoor Cam, 2nd Gen is currently available for pre-order at $59.99 in black and white on Ring’s website. Buying one will also net you a free month-long trial of the company’s Protect plan. Pre-orders ship out on May 24 to people living in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) as well as Canada except for far-off rural areas. If you live on Baffin Island in Nunavut, you’re sadly out of luck. 

However, we did ask Ring if it has plans to expand the availability of the second-generation Indoor Cam to those missing regions plus whether or not the device actually supports SOS for Cameras. This story will be updated at a later time.

If you’re looking to beef up your home security, but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg, check out TechRadar’s list of the best Ring video doorbell deals for April. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The latest Apple TV 4K test lets you watch four sports streams at once

Apple is trying something new with the latest beta version of tvOS 16.5: the option to watch up to four simultaneous streams at once. Right now it's limited to live sports streamed through the Apple TV app on the Apple TV 4K , specifically MLB Friday Night Baseball and the MLS Season Pass. A multi-view option was spotted in the tvOS software last month, but the code was hidden and not enabled. MacRumors reported that the feature would be enabled this weekend, and beta testers have since been able to use it. As yet multi-view hasn't been officially announced by Apple, but it's expected that tvOS 16.5 is going to be pushed out in its final form within the next month or so. WWDC 2023 is around the corner as well, when we should be hearing about the next major updates for Apple's various operating systems – including tvOS 17. How it works Over at 9to5Mac there's a hands-on demonstrating how the multi-view feature works, and it's pretty much as you would expe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Garmin's new radar-equipped tail light will keep you safe on your e-bike

Garmin's Varia bike radars are some of the most popular pieces of cycling tech around – and now the company has delivered its first rearview radar to have been specially designed for some of the best e-Bikes .   Garmin's Varia range mounts to the back of your bike and broadcasts a radar signal behind you, so you can get visual and audible alerts when something's overtaking you. Even better, the new Varia eRTL615 plugs directly into most e-bikes, with no battery required. Because the catchily-named Varia eRTL615 is also a tail light, it'll also make sure you're visible to other vehicles too, promising to emit a flashing or solid light that's visible from up to a mile away in daylight. To connect Garmin's new radar tail light to your e-bike, you'll need to pick the right Garmin adapter cable (which isn't included). You can buy power cables compatible with Bosch, Shimano, or USB-A terminals or connections, with more info on those available on Garmin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU could get cheaper with a new version – but don’t get your hopes up

Nvidia’s RTX 4080 is purportedly getting a new spin on the GPU which could reduce the cost, but any price reduction will likely be very minor, sadly, if it happens at all. Tom’s Hardware flagged up this rumor – and treat it with caution, as with anything from the ever-spinning mill – that originated from HKEPC (a tech site in Hong Kong), claiming that while the current RTX 4080 graphics card is built on the AD103-300 chip, Nvidia is going to use a slightly different GPU in the future, namely AD103-301. There’s now more evidence this is actually happening, Tom’s points out, courtesy of a graphics card maker, Galax, which under its RTX 4080 product details lists the GPU as ‘AD103-300/301’. Furthermore, VideoCardz , which also picked up on this, informs us that Gainward, another card maker, has also listed the updated GPU variant AD103-301 in its product specs. With two separate third-party graphics card makers mentioning this new spin on the GPU in their specs, it seems pret...
Post a Comment
Read more