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Ring Unveils $199 Home Security System With iPhone Notifications

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Ring today introduced the Ring Protect, a customizable home security system with a companion iPhone app.

ring-protect-iphone-800x524.jpg

The security system includes a base station, a wall-mounted keypad, one sensor for a window or door, an infrared motion detector, and a Z-Wave extender. Unfortunately, the system doesn't support HomeKit.

When activated, if a burglar attempts attempts to break and enter, homeowners immediately receive a notification on their smartphones.

ring-protect.jpg

Ring also offers an optional protection plan with 24/7 professional monitoring, similar to what a company like ADT provides, for $10 per month or $100 per year with no long-term contract. Battery and/or LTE backup allows the monitoring to continue even if the power goes out or broadband is unavailable.

By comparison, ADT currently charges between $36.99 and $52.99 per month for its monitoring plans in the United States, with a required 36-month contract and a $99 installation fee for the security system.

Ring said the security system can be easily installed by a homeowner without any tools. It works seamlessly with all of Ring's other products, including its Video Doorbell, Floodlight Cam, and Spotlight Cam.


Ring Protect starts at $199, which is considerably cheaper than the Nest Secure at $499. Additional door and window sensors are available for $20, while extra motion detectors cost $30, from Ring's products page.

Ring Protect will be available for pre-order starting today at Ring.com, HomeDepot.com, and BestBuy.com, and will be available at physical Home Depot and Best Buy retail stores in the United States later this month.

Note: Readers outside of the United States may not be able to view the Ring Protect product page on Ring.com.

Article Link: Ring Unveils $199 Home Security System With iPhone Notifications
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/10/02/ring-protect-home-security-system/
ocanalix said:
Seems like none of these smart home products seem to hit the sweet spot, and then when one gets close, it doesn't even support HomeKit.
Click to expand...

Seems like Ring was just stringing users along when they promised HomeKit support. They’ve released some 3 or 4 major products since they’ve promised HomeKit and none of them have it. How would anyone trust them for home security if they can’t even be trusted to keep their word?
 
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DCYorke said:
Seems like Ring was just stringing users along when they promised HomeKit support. They’ve released some 3 or 4 major products since they’ve promised HomeKit and none of them have it. How would anyone trust them for home security if they can’t even be trusted to keep their word?
Click to expand...
Honest question here. Given that all of Ring's previous products were camera-based, what does HomeKit support exactly do for a camera? An alarm I kind of get (flash the lights when it's triggered maybe, turn something off/on), but what does it do for a camera?
 
SmartThings supports most Ring products already, will be interesting to see if the Ring Protect Keypad (https://ring.com/protect-keypad) will be supported by SmartThings. SmartThings used to only support Scout, but looks like ADT is now (or soon to be) supported as well and an ADT Security Hub is about to be released.
 
"Ring Protect" is the base name for their subscription plans for cloud storage (also unfortunately the only storage option) for their doorbells/cameras/etc., so this product's name is a bit confusing. That being said, it looks nice, though I think my existing HA system is enough for me. I'm not sure why HomeKit is such a dealbreaker for people. Maybe for motion detection and automations you might want to create, but I'm not sure the camera itself would help. (It does work with SmartThings and you can use HomeBridge to unofficially make that work with HomeKit, so you can already do this if you want...but ST is much more flexible and I'm happy just with that.)
 
These DIY home security are going to really cut into the profits of the ADTs of the world.

Wouldn't be surprised if they are bought out and shuttered.
 
Compelling price for monitoring. Have done zero research since just reading about it here. I wonder if it's U.S. based and UL listed. Will have to check. The only thing that gives me pause is relying on my WiFi for security. My WiFi generally is pretty good but does briefly crap out from time to time. Not a problem when streaming because of the caching but a delayed entry signal... that could be a problem.

Lack of Homekit is also a downer. I don't know why Apple doesn't better incentivize manufacturers to incorporate HomeKit. I know Apple has eased up on requirements and also now has a demo area in stores but it's still seems like it's a red-headed stepchild when it could be a central feature of iOS and Mac.
 
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BrentD said:
Honest question here. Given that all of Ring's previous products were camera-based, what does HomeKit support exactly do for a camera? An alarm I kind of get (flash the lights when it's triggered maybe, turn something off/on), but what does it do for a camera?
Click to expand...

Boy, it’s really hard to follow replies on MacRumors.

A couple of things you get with HomeKit. First, it puts everything in the same place. With the Home app (or any other HomeKit app) you see your cameras and snapshots along with everything else. Second is security (and I suspect this is where Ring has failed). HomeKit certification requires a level of privacy and security. Don’t forget last year it was discovered that Ring was sending images to some server in China. Third is integration and automation. Circle now supports HomeKit. When some one walks into view of the camera, lights can be turned on, etc.
[doublepost=1506964227][/doublepost]
DipDog3 said:
These DIY home security are going to really cut into the profits of the ADTs of the world.

Wouldn't be surprised if they are bought out and shuttered.
Click to expand...

I’m not so sure. ADT and others make a ton of money on monitoring. You have to maintain a full call center ready at a movement to answer calls and dispatch authorities. This won’t go away. Even SmartThings lets you connect to a monitoring service (I don’t remember the name). It’s a professional service that monitors professionally-installed alarms as well.
 
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I sure wish one of these companies would become interested in working with an existing alarm system. Our house was built with an alarm system, its a great hard wired system, but it is from 1998. We use it religiously though and have it monitored for something like $9/month from Alarm Relay, it would be nice, however, to get smart phone alerts and control.

PS: It is my understanding HomeKit is coming to select Ring products in the near future including some existing products that are already installed on many homes. I don't quite get the HomeKit hype either but maybe one day I will understand it better when all of my existing devices work with it.

PPS:
parseckadet said:
The fact that so few of these things support HomeKit says more about HomeKit's failures than it does about these products.
Click to expand...

*claps*
 
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BrentD said:
Honest question here. Given that all of Ring's previous products were camera-based, what does HomeKit support exactly do for a camera? An alarm I kind of get (flash the lights when it's triggered maybe, turn something off/on), but what does it do for a camera?
Click to expand...
  1. The most obvious benefit is Home app, accessible from Control Center. Being able to see the status of all my home automation devices in one screen, control them, and create automation rules is something I do not want to give up.
  2. Siri has gotten a lot of criticisms, but it works well enough for me most of the time and it will only get better. Without Siri or Home, I need to run vendor's app. I don't mind running vendor's app once in awhile, but at the same time, I am getting sick of managing dozens of apps.
  3. With HomeKit, even if the vendor goes out of business, I will be able to use the device (provided the device does not require proprietary cloud service).
  4. Some vendors have pretty nice apps, but most are terrible. If I don't like Home app, there are many other HomeKit alternatives.
  5. Security. HomeKit requires more stringent security. Provided the device does not have vendor proprietary cloud service, I am more assured that my devices are not at risk for hacking.
 
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DCYorke said:
Boy, it’s really hard to follow replies on MacRumors.

A couple of things you get with HomeKit. First, it puts everything in the same place. With the Home app (or any other HomeKit app) you see your cameras and snapshots along with everything else. Second is security (and I suspect this is where Ring has failed). HomeKit certification requires a level of privacy and security. Don’t forget last year it was discovered that Ring was sending images to some server in China. Third is integration and automation. Circle now supports HomeKit. When some one walks into view of the camera, lights can be turned on, etc.
Click to expand...
Okay, I get turning on a light when motion is detected on a camera or something (assuming your camera doesn't already do that with its built in lights like the Ring floodlight cam does). Do Homekit cameras actually display anything in the Control Center iteration of the Home app or do you have to open the full Home app to see that? If I've got to open the app, I'm not so much seeing the benefit of that. I already hate that in iOS11 I've got extra clicks/motions to get to my favorite Homekit scenes or accessories now. I do hate that every smart home piece of kit has its own app, but I'm not totally convinced that *everything* is a good use of Homekit.
 
DCYorke said:
Even SmartThings lets you connect to a monitoring service (I don’t remember the name). It’s a professional service that monitors professionally-installed alarms as well.
Click to expand...

SmartThings has been using Scout for their Smart Home Monitor service:
https://smartthings.scoutalarm.com/

But today it was announced that SmartThings is (at least partially) working with ADT on a new solution. It's a bit limited for people who are already invested in their SmartThings devices, but for someone just starting out it could be the right fit.
https://www.smartthings.com/ADT
https://www.smartthings.com/products/samsung-smartthings-adt-security-hub

Not sure if this means Scout will still be supported moving forward for new users, or if ADT will be the only offered solution. For awhile it seemed like SmartThings would support multiple monitoring services.
 
nutmac said:
  1. The most obvious benefit is Home app, accessible from Control Center. Being able to see the status of all my home automation devices in one screen, control them, and create automation rules is something I do not want to give up.
  2. Siri has gotten a lot of criticisms, but it works well enough for me most of the time and it will only get better. Without Siri or Home, I need to run vendor's app. I don't mind running vendor's app once in awhile, but at the same time, I am getting sick of managing dozens of apps.
  3. With HomeKit, even if the vendor goes out of business, I will be able to use the device (provided the device does not require proprietary cloud service).
  4. Some vendors have pretty nice apps, but most are terrible. If I don't like Home app, there are many other HomeKit alternatives.
  5. Security. HomeKit requires more stringent security. Provided the device does not have vendor proprietary cloud service, I am more assured that my devices are not at risk for hacking.
Click to expand...
1. But what do you SEE regarding your camera(s) from Control Center? Do you see a thumbnail of the current live picture? If I have to open the Home app fully to get anything from the camera, I might as well open its native app instead.
2. What do you do with a camera when it comes to Siri functionality? I was specifically asking about cameras in regards to Homekit functionality.
3. Given that most camera devices with any sort of smart functionality do require a subscription, I'm not sure this point is so valuable. Although I, too, don't need a different app for each device that I own.
 
imola.zhp said:
I sure wish one of these companies would become interested in working with an existing alarm system. Our house was built with an alarm system, its a great hard wired system, but it is from 1998. We use it religiously though and have it monitored for something like $9/month from Alarm Relay, it would be nice, however, to get smart phone alerts and control.
Click to expand...

There are (were?) a few Z-Wave controllers that could interface with existing alarm systems, but they did require re-wiring. Many Z-Wave open/close sensors can pretty easily support existing wired areas (windows, doors, etc) if you open the sensor and wire directly to the contact, but they would require a hub of some kind for proper connection and alerts/notifications. It is possible, but may be more of a headache than it's worth.
 
I wouldn’t count on Ring support for HomeKit. They’ve been announcing this since mid-2016 for their RingPro, with no results or even dates ... basically it seems more like a ‘nice intention’ at this point just to get you to buy their product.

Even if you contact their support and ask does their product support HomeKit, they will not give you direct answer, they’ll will give you their intention or an evasive answer.

(Their products do work nice though, if HomeKit isn’t a deal breaker)
 
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I have been all in with Ring , before they were Ring (Dorbot)
I have their outdoor cameras,this option really looks good to me.
I have Simply Safe security system, it also has iPhone alert and arming and disarming by iPhone--like it.
I think this new option will be a great fit for me.
 
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