Ring, Amazon's premium home security brand, has announced two new outdoor cameras heading to its expansive line-up in Australia.

Available for pre-order on Amazon ahead of June shipping dates, the new Ring Spotlight Camera (2nd Gen) and Ring Floodlight Camera (2nd Gen) have been designed with Australian homes in mind, touting improved features over previous generations.

Notably, both cameras record sharper 2K video — an upgrade from the previous 1080p footage — making it easy to recognise and capture activity outside homes. This includes people, packages, and pet detection under both day and night conditions.

In terms of specific features, the Ring Spotlight Camera has a 550-lumen spotlight that provides enhanced brightness and is fully compatible with Ring's quick-release battery pack, so you don't need to worry about wiring it in.

The Ring Floodlight Camera has a much wider field of view, with a 2000-lumen spotlight that will illuminate everything around your home, including your driveway, backyard or garage.

When it comes to pricing, the Ring Spotlight Camera (2nd Gen) is available for AU$279 on Amazon and Ring, with shipping estimated for June 11, 2026. Meanwhile, the Ring Floodlight Camera (2nd Gen) is priced at AU$329 on Amazon and Ring and will begin shipping on June 4, 2026.

New battery-powered doorbells join Ring's 4K lineup

The two new outdoor cameras aren't the first Ring products with improved 2K retinal vision. Back in April, Ring released its latest Battery Video Doorbells in Australia: the Ring Battery Video Doorbell (2nd Gen), Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) and the Battery Video Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen). Each of the new doorbells sports a sleek new design, slimmer than the previous silhouettes on offer.

As for specs, the Doorbell and the Plus model offer 2K resolution, much like the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen). However, only the Plus will have a removable battery, which is similar to previous Plus models. The Pro, on the other hand, will have 4K retinal vision, and comes with a removable battery so you can charge it without removing the entire unit.

These new, higher-resolution additions prove that Ring will be able to better compete with the best video doorbells and security cameras. That said, anyone keen on a Ring ecosystem should note that, unlike options from TP-Link’s Tapo or most other home security brands, you'll likely need to sign up for a Ring subscription to save video. As with most new products, new customers will receive a 30-day free trial to Ring's subscription service upon setting up a new camera or doorbell.

Not long ago, I hardwired a Ring Wired Doorbell Plus to my front door and enjoyed all the benefits that come with it, most notably the ability to wire the Ring unit to my existing chime. The 2K video it delivered was quite impressive. Now, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro has landed on my doorstep, and it’s perfect for my garage, where I often operate my side photography business. And it’s got 4K video to wow me. That’s so many Ks!

There’s no existing chime or hard-wiring in my garage, so the battery-powered Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is ideal for the space, when paired with the Chime Plus ($60) that Ring included with my test unit.

From installation all the way through to using the app on a daily basis, the Battery Doorbell Pro couldn’t be easier to use. And the Retinal 4K footage is excellent in almost all conditions, though in the deep of night, footage does lose some detail unless you’re looking at objects close to the camera.

All told, the Battery Doorbell Pro is a great addition to any space that doesn’t already have a hardwired chime. Here’s how it compares to the best video doorbells.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Price and Availability

The Battery Doorbell Pro came out in early 2026, and is available for purchase on Ring’s website for $250, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. You can split the purchase up into payments using Affirm at checkout. While Ring does offer the option to have the doorbell professionally installed, you shouldn’t need to do that with simple-to-install unit.

You can also purchase the Ring Doorbell Pro at other retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more. Pricing and availability may vary.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Design

The Battery Doorbell Pro keeps the aesthetics of the other doorbells in the Ring lineup, though the Battery Doorbell Pro does come in four different colors. It’s slightly taller than the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, at almost six inches tall. That’s to give enough room for the long-lasting battery within.

The faceplate pops off using the included tool. Keep that tool in a safe place, since you’ll need it to remove the faceplate whenever you want to remove the battery for charging. You can use any small pry tool, but the plastic one included with purchase is a great way to easily remove the faceplate without it getting scratched or otherwise damaged.

The quick-release battery comes out easily simply by pressing the release button. You can then charge the battery using the included USB-C cable.

The Battery Doorbell Pro also comes with a mounting plate and an angle mount. You’ll want to use the angle mount if you need to position the doorbell inward or outward to capture the widest view of your space. Otherwise, you can simply install the regular mount and have the camera face directly outward. Be sure to screw in the security screw once you’ve installed the doorbell; this will secure the doorbell to the mounting plate to prevent theft.

You’ll set such alerts in the Ring app. That’s also where you’ll set up your unit and change various settings based on your specific needs. More on the app in a moment.

Finally, the Battery Doorbell Pro supports LiveTalk with Audio+, allowing you to talk to visitors from the safety of your living room and hear what they have to say back to you, all with enhanced sound quality.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Video performance

I now have what you might call a doorbell ecosystem on my property. The front door, garage camera, front gate camera, and now the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro mounted on my garage all report straight to the Ring app, so I can see what’s going on around the house at any time, day or night.

Two of the doorbells — the Pro and the Plus mounted on my front gate — are paired to the Chime Plus in my garage. So when clients come to my house, I can have them ring either doorbell to activate the Chime in the garage. If I’m already with another client, I can use Live Talk to tell them not to come in just yet, or if I’m ready for them, tell them to come right in so we can get started. It’s super convenient; I don’t have to walk all the way to the front of my house to interact with clients.

But I can do a lot of that with other, less expensive doorbells in Ring’s lineup. What really sets the Battery Doorbell Pro apart from the others is the Retinal 4K video with 10x Enhanced Zoom. In bright sunlight, the footage is crystal clear, and I can zoom in quite far and read small text like license plates, provided they aren’t obscured by shadows and my internet speeds are sufficient.

That’s important to keep in mind: The best footage comes when your internet speeds are fast. Ring recommends speeds up to 15Mbps. My internet connection rarely, if ever, gets that fast, even on my 5g network; it tops out at 12Mbps, and is usually closer to the range of 7-9Mbps. So my video suffers slightly as a result. If you get consistently faster speeds, your images will be consistently sharper.

This is more apparent at night. In low light, I still get a fairly clear picture with true colors. But when the sun sets and there’s far less ambient light, it’s hard to get crystal clear footage. I can still make out people and objects close up to the camera, and even decently far away, but reading small text or license plates is probably out of the question.

The field of view is excellent and I love being able to see just about my entire yard in one image. It’s also great to get a head-to-toe image of anyone ringing my doorbell. Again, in broad daylight, this image is superlative. In low light, it’s still very good. At night, the image quality will suffer depending on your internet speeds. That said, it’s still pretty incredible that it’s possible to make out people and objects in complete darkness. The Doorbell Pro still allows me to make out faces clearly, especially if those faces are within a close range of the doorbell.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Battery

The battery is USB-C rechargeable. Simply pop it out of the Doorbell and throw it on the charger. Since there’s no hardwiring, you can mount the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro just about anywhere you find it useful.

In my testing, the battery life has been exceptional. After two straight weeks of use, the battery has lost less than a quarter of its full charge.

It’s important to note that the Battery Doorbell Plus comes with the Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack, and this particular battery is only compatible with the Battery Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Plus. So users may experience some compatibility issues if they have older-style batteries already at home.

I read a few reviews online about this doorbell, and users noted frustration that the Doorbell Pro isn’t compatible with the Ring Solar Panel and Charger. But I checked in with Ring and this isn’t the case; the Doorbell Pro is indeed compatible with the solar panel and charger, and if you use these accessories, your battery gets charged as it sits mounted in place, no need for you to plug it in.

Differences between the Battery Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Plus

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus costs $150, saving you $100 compared to the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro.You still get Live View, Two-Way Talk (without Audio+), Motion Detection, and Color Night Vision. But the resolution drops to 1536p HD+ video.

And while the Doorbell Plus also works with the quick release battery, you get a smaller battery pack, which means you’ll have to charge the battery more often if you’re not using a solar panel or plug-in adapter. Also, the Doorbell Pro accommodates 5GHz internet for faster speeds, but the Doorbell Plus only works with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.

Ultimately, the Battery Doorbell Pro is the more powerful, capable, and faster doorbell. But if you want to save some money and don’t mind losing a few features (among them the super-sharp 4K video), the Battery Doorbell Plus is a great unit, too.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): App and subscription fees

Much of what you’ll end up using the most when it comes to your Battery Doorbell Pro lives in the app. The Ring app is your headquarters, so to speak, and you’ll be able to see all your footage here, use the Live View and Two-Way talk features, set your 3D motion zones, and much more.

It’s a pretty streamlined app, and it’s easy to use. Downloading clips takes seconds. Navigating through the various menus is quick and intuitive too.

You can set various types of notifications here as well. This is particularly handy if you have a regular cast of characters coming to your door; with AI facial recognition, the app can tell you who’s at your door and even if they’re carrying something or visiting with someone else — even if it’s their dog. The notifications are quite thorough, and usually pretty accurate.

One thing you may want to do at setup is set your 3D Motion Detection settings. If, for example, you want to only see notifications about things happening on your front steps, or in your driveway, but not on the sidewalk, you can set this up in the app. It doesn’t take much time or effort to do so, and it will cut down on the clutter in your notifications.

Of course, many of the great features in the Ring app get taken away from you if you don’t sign up for the Pro subscription, which starts at $5/month for a single camera, and $10/month for unlimited cameras at one location.

Familiar Faces, for example, is not included in the free version of the app, nor is the ability to save video at all. It’s frustrating to have to subscribe to an app after paying for a device, but you’ll get far more out of the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro if you subscribe to the app.

AI features

With Ring's premium tier (which costs $19/month), you also get its advanced AI features, which will let you use natural-language search to look through all your footage, and will deliver more descriptive results. We tested Ring's AI against other security cameras, and found it was good, but not the most comprehensive.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Accessories

My test unit came with the Ring Chime Plus ($60), which plugs into any available wall outlet. It can sync with any and all of your ring devices, and you can even personalize your tones.

The Battery Doorbell Pro is compatible with the Ring Solar Panel ($60), which includes a 6-meter-long cable to help you position the panel wherever the sunlight comes through most clearly. There’s an adjustable mounting bracket to help with positioning too.

An extra Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack will cost you $50.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): The competition

Ring is perhaps the best-known name in the camera doorbell game, but it’s an increasingly crowded market. The Battery Doorbell Plus features 4K video and accommodates 5G networks in a battery-powered package, however, which is a tall order to compete with.

There aren't many other companies that offer 4K video doorbells, let alone battery-powered ones. Most of the competition currently tops out at around 2K, such as the Nest Doorbell (3rd gen).

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Verdict

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro isn’t perfect, but it packs a ton of features into a small and price-conscious package. If your internet speeds are up to snuff, you’ll get crystal-clear 4K video, even in low light. If your internet speeds aren’t top-notch the video quality will suffer, unfortunately. In that case, you'll want to check out some of the best Ring Doorbells which better suit your needs.

Still, for the size, functionality, and price, the Doorbell Pro gives me all the features I want in a smart doorbell system. I can zoom in quite far to see small objects and text; I can get smart notifications about my visitors and even talk to them in real time without going to the door; I can go back and view footage in the app and download clips I want; and I don’t have to worry about charging the battery frequently because it has a long, long run time.

Longtime Ring users may find it frustrating that the batteries they have on hand may not work with the Doorbell Pro. But otherwise, the Doorbell Pro is a top unit that does everything you want a smart doorbell to do, without any complexities or maintenance.

Every Prime Day, Black Friday, or other holiday, you’ll often see some of the biggest discounts on security cameras from the likes of Ring, Google, Blink, Arlo, and other well-known companies. You’ll often be able to pick up one of the best home security cameras or video doorbells for half off their original price, or get a great deal on a bundle.

But that’s how they get you. You see, these companies can afford to practically give away their devices because they know they’ll be able to hook you into a long-term subscription — because without it, their cameras are practically useless.

When Savannah Guthrie’s mother was abducted, the FBI was only able to get footage from her Nest Doorbell by combing through Google’s servers. That’s because she no longer had a subscription that automatically saved her footage.

Once upon a time, companies offered some amount of cloud storage for free. Now, some of the biggest names, such as Arlo and Ring, won’t let you store any video in the cloud unless you pay up every month.

Those costs can add up. Even some of the least expensive plans start at around $5 per month, but I would venture to guess that the most popular plans cost around $10 per month, or around $100 a year.

That might not seem like a lot, but when you’re already paying subscriptions for the best streaming services, why pay for something you don’t have to?

Fortunately, there are a few companies that offer alternatives.

Blink

This Amazon-owned company makes some very good, and very affordable indoor and outdoor cameras. While its feature set isn’t as strong as others, its battery-powered cameras have excellent battery life.

They communicate with a small central hub called the Sync Module, which, depending on the model you get, has either a USB port or microSD card slot; plug in your storage medium of choice, and it will save your video.

Eufy

Eufy’s cameras and video doorbells have either storage built in, or come with a microSD card slot so you can save footage locally. However, its devices can also be paired with Eufy’s Homebase 3, which has 16GB of onboard storage, but lets you save up to 16TB of video (you’ll have to buy the extra drive yourself, though).

The Homebase creates its own Wi-Fi network to connect directly to other Eufy devices, so that if your main Wi-Fi network goes down, it will still be able to save video. In addition, the Homebase has AI built in, so it can recognize people, pets, and vehicles, as well as familiar faces.

Google Nest

The first is Google, which offers either three or six hours of cloud storage for free depending on the product, which isn’t a lot, but it’s something. The catch is that you have to be aware so that you can download that footage before it disappears. For instance , if something happens in the middle of the night and you don’t wake up, the video will be gone by the morning.

So, while this is a good option, it's not the best if you want to save video longer-term without paying an extra fee.

TP-Link

Similar to Eufy, TP-Link also offers both on-device storage with its security cameras as well as a central hub that sits in your house and communicates directly with its devices.

Like Eufy’s hub, adding the Tapo hub to your system gives you the ability for it to recognize familiar faces, so you can more easily filter out people you know. It has 16GB of built-in storage, as well as a 2.5-inch slot should you choose to expand it further. And, it has an HDMI-out port, should you want to view a live feed from your cameras on a TV.

Wyze

Some of the least expensive cameras and doorbells that we’ve tested come from Wyze; while the quality of the video isn't quite up to par with higher-end cameras, they offer just about everything else you could want.

Most of Wyze's devices have built-in microSD card slots, so you can save video locally. Wyze also offers a cloud subscription service, should you want a belt-and-suspenders approach.

How to save video without a subscription

The companies that I highlighted allow you to record video locally on the cameras themselves, or to a hub somewhere in your home. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

SD card slots

If you have a camera with an SD card slot, it can continue to record video even if the power or the internet goes out. The downside is that a savvy intruder can simply remove the card (or the camera).

Home hub

I personally like the hub approach. In this setup, the camera or doorbell connects wirelessly to a hub in your home, where the footage is saved. In many cases, it’s a direct link, so it won’t be affected by an internet outage, though you’ll need to have the hub on a backup battery if the power goes out.

This way, you can hide the hub in a safe location in your home, so even if an intruder destroys the camera, you’ll still have the footage.

The biggest downside to this approach, though, is the higher upfront cost. You not only have to pay for the camera, but for the hub as well. But, depending on your needs, it could pay for itself in as little as two years.

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Many of the best home security cameras on the market today call themselves "smart," but there's a massive difference between a camera that fires off alerts every time a tree branch moves and one that can actually tell you what's happening at your home.

Cameras these days use AI to better analyze motion and classify what they're seeing or hearing, and many of them are leaning into generative AI for things like summaries and descriptions, so you can better wade through the hours of footage they record.

Of course, AI has become a bit of a buzzword, so I wanted to compare several cameras to see if they actually delivered on the promise of using AI to improve home security. To do so, I tested cameras from six major smart home companies — Google Nest, Arlo, Wyze, Ring, Blink, and Eufy — to see how they use AI, and if it’s worth the extra expense.

The contenders

We deliberately picked models from each brand that carry the company's most capable AI feature set. In other words, while we didn't necessarily use the most expensive model that each manufacturer has to offer, we specifically made sure that it had the same AI features.

To be sure, many companies' AI features work off-camera, so the particular type of hardware you choose doesn't factor in as much.

Here's a list of the cameras we tested:

• Google Nest Cam Indoor (Wired, 3rd Gen)
• Arlo Essential
• Wyze Cam v4 Pan Tilt
• Ring Indoor Cam Plus
• Blink Mini 2K+
• Eufy EufyCam 3C

Basic detection: Motion, person, and zones

Most smart security cameras have had some kind of smart detection for a while now. For example, they all have things like motion zones, which let you filter out alerts for some areas of the video (like the street in front of your house), while keeping alerts for others (like your driveway).

Three of the six cameras we tested offer both person detection and activity zones completely free. Google Nest handles person detection on-device and lets you customize activity zones at no cost through the Google Home app. To be clear, this "person detection" is not the "Familiar Faces" feature, which is person-recognition. That runs through the Cloud.

Wyze also has free person detection and activity zones right out of the box, with basic detection handled on the camera itself. And Eufy runs person detection locally on its HomeBase 3 hub with free activity zone support, no subscription required.

The remaining three cameras need a paid plan before they do much beyond simple motion alerts. Arlo locks person detection and activity zones behind its Arlo Secure subscription, starting at $7.99 per month for Arlo Secure Basic. Without that, the Arlo Essential is basically just a motion camera with a nice app. Ring is slightly more generous since person detection (part of the "Smart Alerts" feature) is locked behind a plan, but basic activity zones are included for free. Blink is the same as Ring, offering basic motion zones for free, but requiring a plan for person detection.

It's also worth pointing out that on-device processing, which Google, Wyze, and Eufy use for basic detection, generally delivers faster alerts since the video doesn't have to make a round trip to a cloud server before your phone buzzes. In practice it’s usually only a difference of a few seconds, so it's not a huge deal, but it's enough to push some in one direction or another.

Advanced object detection: Vehicles, animals, and packages

Once you move past basic detection, the next level of smarts is classifying specific object types — vehicles, animals, and packages. These detections are more specialized, but they also require more cloud power — which is why they're almost always locked behind a subscription.

Almost always, anyway. Google Nest is the clear leader for free advanced detection. Vehicle and animal detection are both included at no cost, processed on-device. Package detection and facial recognition (called Familiar Faces), though, requires a Google Home Premium Standard subscription at $10 per month. Wyze bundles vehicle, package, and pet detection into its Cam Plus+ tier for just $2.99 per month — easily the cheapest paid option available and arguably the best value in this entire comparison if you want multi-object classification. Ring's Solo plan at $4.99 per month (for one camera only, $9.99 per month for multiple) adds package and vehicle detection, though animal detection isn't explicitly offered even in paid tiers.

Arlo supports vehicle, animal, and package detection, but it's all gated behind the Arlo Secure subscription. The features work well enough, but you're paying at least $7.99 per month to touch any of them. Eufy also offers all of these features, and they're all processed on its HomeBase 3 without the need for a subscription. Blink is the weakest performer in this category — it simply doesn't offer advanced object classification beyond person and vehicle detection, even in its paid tiers.

In testing, I found that all of the advanced detection features worked pretty well. At this point, detecting things like packages is kind of solved — most security cameras can do it without too much effort.

Smart sound and hazard detection

AI isn't just about analyzing what a camera sees. Several cameras in our comparison can also listen for specific sounds and classify them, which can be useful for catching emergencies like smoke alarms, glass breaking, or carbon monoxide detectors going off. Sound detection can come in handy, especially when it comes to things like smoke alarms. Security cameras can basically bridge older dumb smoke alarms and smart home ecosystems, alerting you to smoke detection without needing to upgrade to a smart smoke alarm.

Wyze offers the deepest sound detection suite of any camera we tested, and it's not particularly close. Its Cam Plus+ tier ($2.99/month) covers glass breaking, smoke and CO alarms, barking, crying, and even gunshot detection. No other camera here offers barking, crying, or gunshot classification at any price. That's pretty good for what is the cheapest subscription of the set. Google Nest can detect glass break, smoke alarm, and CO alarm sounds, but these require the Home Premium Standard subscription at $10 per month. Arlo covers the same trio of hazard sounds — glass break, smoke, and CO — also behind its Secure subscription at $7.99 per month.

Ring, Blink, and Eufy don't currently offer specific AI-powered sound classification. Ring and Blink cameras have microphones and can record audio, but they're not analyzing sounds to identify particular events. Eufy has some sound-detection features on some of its cameras, but it doesn't offer sound-detection on its HomeBase 3, which has its most recent and advanced AI features.

Facial recognition and generative features

Generative AI features are the most recent additions to security systems. Facial recognition lets a camera identify specific people and handle alerts differently depending on whether someone is a known family member or a stranger. Generative AI features, built on large language models, open up capabilities like natural language video search ("Show me when the dog was on the couch yesterday") and AI-written event descriptions.

Eufy is the standout for facial recognition, and it pulls this off without any subscription, just like its other AI features. Its "BionicMind" system processes facial recognition entirely locally on the HomeBase 3, distinguishing between family members and strangers. Eufy claims 99.9% accuracy, and in testing it did seem to work very well. The fact that it all runs locally, meaning your face data never leaves your home, is definitely good too, for a facial recognition feature. No other camera here offers subscription-free facial recognition.

I found Google to offer the best-quality generative features. For starters, those features work with Google Home, which is a much more built-out ecosystem than the likes of Eufy or Wyze. They also make use of Gemini, which is considered to be one of the better large-language models out there, and in my testing provided pretty accurate and helpful results, both in conversation, and when it came to descriptions. It also seemed to get better with a little guidance. After initially setting up familiar faces, it regularly recognized me as an “unfamiliar face,” but after managing the faces a few times and merging my “unfamiliar” face with my recognized one, it got much better.

Pricing

Subscriptions range in price. Eufy comes at $0 per month for its full AI suite. Wyze's entry-level AI tier comes in at just $2.99 per month ($19.99/year if you pay annually), making it the cheapest paid option. Ring starts at $4.99 per month, Arlo at $7.99, and Google at $10.

Blink's Plus Plan at $11.99 per month is arguably the worst value in this whole comparison, considering how little AI functionality it actually unlocks compared to the competition. At the top end, generative AI and extended storage push Google, Ring, and Wyze into the $20 per month range, or roughly $200–$240 per year. Arlo's premium tier hits $24.99 per month, which is the most expensive option we tested.

Google has "Familiar Faces" through its Home Premium Standard tier at $10 per month, using cloud-based processing. Jump up to the Home Premium Advanced tier at $20 per month and you get generative AI features powered by Gemini, including AI video descriptions, daily activity summaries, and natural language video search. Google also enables natural language automations at this tier, letting you build smart home routines described in plain English. That can be pretty handy for those who don't want to dive into manual home automation, and it works pretty well.

Ring has facial recognition and generative AI with its AI Pro tier at $19.99 per month. You get cloud-based facial recognition, AI event descriptions, and natural language video search. Ring has also started testing "Unusual Event" alerts in beta, where the AI learns normal patterns for your camera and flags anomalies — someone lingering near a door, activity at an odd hour, that kind of thing. It's an ambitious idea, though its beta status means real-world reliability is still a work in progress.

Wyze may be a budget offering, but it still boasts some great AI features. Its Cam Unlimited Pro tier ($19.99/month) has Friendly Faces identification, natural language search, and AI descriptions. Wyze also offers Friendly Faces at a lower Cam Unlimited tier ($9.99/month) without the generative capabilities.

Arlo goes a different route. Its Secure Plus subscription ($19.99/month) enables user-trained custom object detection, where you teach the camera to recognize specific objects or scenarios. It's a unique feature, but it takes more effort from the user than pre-trained models do. Arlo also offers generated event captions. Blink offers no facial recognition or generative AI features at any tier.

Arlo, Blink, and Ring lean heavily on the cloud. Arlo and Blink require cloud upload for essentially all AI analysis, and neither delivers much useful functionality without a subscription. Ring handles its advanced AI in the cloud too, though its Ring Edge feature (which requires an Alarm Pro base station) enables some local processing and storage — but that's an additional hardware purchase. Without subscriptions, Arlo and Blink cameras offer near-zero AI utility, which makes their actual cost considerably higher than the sticker price might suggest.

Verdict

There's no single "best" AI security camera here — it really depends on what matters most to you. But three clear winners stand out.

For the most polished AI experience, Google is the clear winner – though it costs more than some alternatives. The generative AI features work quite well, are easy to use in the Google Home app, and Gemini surfaces good results overall, in a conversational way. Google also has audio detection and other non-generative AI features, making it well-rounded.

If you value things like generative AI descriptions, and are willing to sacrifice some polish and conversational features for a lower price, Wyze is the way to go – though don’t expect a “chat” experience like you’ll get with Google. It still has AI descriptions and search tools, and while they're not as accurate or as detailed as Gemini, they still worked quite well.

If you don't necessarily need generated features at all, but still want AI-based object recognition and a privacy-first experience — and don’t want to pay a monthly subscription — then it's worth looking at Eufy cameras that work with the HomeBase 3.

Blink and Arlo are tough to recommend on AI merits alone. Blink's total lack of advanced object detection even in paid tiers makes it a hard sell, and Arlo's insistence on gating basic features behind subscriptions undermines what is otherwise solid hardware. Ring lands somewhere in between — its AI Pro tier isn't bad, but $19.99 per month is a lot to pay for features that are still partially in beta and available for less elsewhere.

All of these cameras get regular software updates, so the competitive picture could shift. But as things stand right now, if AI features are your priority, the smart money is on Eufy for free, Wyze for cheap, or Google for best-in-class.

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Last fall, Ring updated its wired video doorbells with a new, sleeker design and more powerful 2K and 4K retinal cameras; now, the company is refreshing its battery-powered doorbells with similar capabilities, so that homeowners who need the flexibility of a non-hardwired device (or merely want a battery backup) will be able to get higher-resolution feeds from their doorstep.

In total, Ring is launching three new battery-powered doorbells, the least expensive of which is just $99, and it's also refreshing its cheapest video doorbell, the Ring Wired Doorbell, which will cost just $79.

The naming conventions of the new models — Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen), Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) and Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd gen) follows that of the ones they're replacing, so there shouldn't be much confusion over an upgrade path if you're ready for a change.

Here's the lowdown on each model.

Pricing and availability

All four Ring doorbells go on sale today (March 25), and will be priced as follows:

• Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen): $249.99
• Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): $179.99
• Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen): $99.99
• Ring Wired Doorbell (2nd Gen): $79.99

The biggest differences

Like the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen), the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) will have a 4K Retinal camera, so you'll be able to get the sharpest picture out of the three models. It will also have a removable battery, so you can recharge it without having to remove the entire unit from your front door.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus and Ring Battery Doorbell will both have 2K cameras, similar to the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen). However, only the Battery Doorbell Plus will have a removable battery. This is similar to the previous generation models, where only the Plus version had a battery that could be removed from the unit.

A new budget wired doorbell, too

Ring is also updating its least expensive video doorbell. The Ring Wired Doorbell is being replaced with the — you guessed it — Ring Wired Doorbell (2nd gen). This model will have 2K resolution and sell for just $79, making it the most affordable doorbell in the company's lineup.

In the past, we've been hesitant to recommend this product, because the first-gen Wired Doorbell did not work with a home's existing doorbell chime. Unfortunately, the second-gen model also does not work with built-in chimes, so you'll need to purchase a separate plug-in chime. Ring sells a combo of the doorbell and chime for $99.

Outlook

Ever since Ring released the 4K and 2K video doorbells in the fall, it was only a matter of time until it refreshed the rest of its lineup. The new, sleeker design of the video doorbells will be welcome, considering the company has had the same look since nearly its inception.

The addition of higher resolution cameras to its entire lineup means that Ring will be able to better compete with the best video doorbells, though it should be noted that unlike options from Nest, Wyze, and Eufy, you'll need to sign up for a Ring subscription in order to save video.

For those already in the Ring ecosystem whose video doorbells are showing their age, this upgrade should have you set for another five years at least.

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• Best video doorbells
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Having installed the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus for a review, it only made sense to expand the Ring ecosystem in and around my home. In that vein, I installed Ring’s Indoor Cam Plus in my garage so I can keep an eye on comings and goings where I store some of my favorite toys, like my motorcycle and bikes.

It’s an awesome versatility option for the Ring ecosystem and opens up viewing in other areas besides my front yard, which is scoped out by the Ring doorbell. The Indoor Cam Plus offers the same exceptional 2K video as the doorbell — when it works. I had issues with artifacts and cut-outs while using the Indoor Cam Plus, which put a damper on an otherwise convenient device — and lessened its appeal among the best home security cameras.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Price and availability

The Ring Indoor Cam Plus costs $59.99 and is available for purchase now on Ring’s website. You can choose a single camera, or up to a 4-pack of cameras at check-out, and you can also finance the purchase using Affirm. The camera comes with a 1-year warranty.

Ring also offers various packages, like the Indoor Cam Plus and a Battery Doorbell for $159.98, or a Spotlight Cam Pro and Indoor Cam Plus combo for $309.98.

The Indoor Cam Plus is also available at major retailers like Amazon. Combo options will vary depending on which retailer you choose.

Design

There’s a lot of cool stuff packed into this very small package. The biggest advantage is Ring’s Retinal Vision 2K video, which boasts lots of clarity and bright color in almost all conditions except full dark.

When the lights get dim, Ring’s Low Light Sight maintains color and clarity. Then, when the lights are out, you still get a super-clear picture in black and white, somewhat akin to night-vision goggles (minus the green tinge). Regardless of lighting conditions, you can also zoom in up to 4X to pinpoint your view on specific parts of the scene.

You can set up privacy zones within the scene to prevent the camera from recording specific locations. The swivel mount also helps with this, allowing you to move the camera to a location that works best for you. If all else fails, you can use the included removable lens cover to completely block the lens when you need to.

Automatic motion detection triggers the camera to record when it senses people or moving objects. This gets saved in your video history (which can vary based on whether you’re using the free app features or the paid subscription). The longest the videos get saved is 180 days.

Within the app, you can set up real-time notifications, motion-activated notifications, person and vehicle alerts, video preview alerts, and safety alerts. It’s easy to respond to events as they happen with Live View and Two-Way Talk, the latter of which allows you to speak to anyone in view of the camera right from your phone. If you’re not available, you can even pre-record responses for quick-replies.

The Indoor Cam Plus has 2.4GHz connectivity, and it works with iOS and Android. It also works with Alexa, though it is not compatible with other smart home ecosystems like Google.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Using the Ring Indoor Cam Plus

Setting up the Indoor Cam Plus is super easy. I set my camera up in my garage, since this is a highly-trafficked area in my home and I wanted to be able to see the comings and goings. (Usually that’s just video of me puttering around.) I wanted to wall-mount my camera, but the included power cable is very short, which made it impossible to mount the camera high enough for my preferences. Instead, I put it up on a shelf.

I often do photo shoots in my garage as well. In this case, I prefer to use the included lens cover to ensure visitor privacy. It’s a nice feature that’s easy to use, though if you mount the camera high up on a wall or shelf, you’ll have to get up there frequently to manually turn the lens cover.

Once I had my camera installed, I opened the Live Video feed to check out colors and clarity. Like the Ring doorbell camera, the 2K Retinal video is excellent. It’s clear, the colors come through vibrantly, and even in low light conditions the image quality is excellent. Zooming in all the way (4x) produces some grain and pixelation, which is to be expected, but it’s still remarkably clear for what essentially amounts to security footage.

My garage lights are off when I’m not in there. So being able to view the space clearly in no light is especially important to me. In the dark, the video image quality is still excellent, though you don’t get a color image. It’s like night vision. That said, it’s still very easy to see even smaller objects in the field of view.

Speaking of the field of view, it’s very generous. I can see just about my entire garage, though there are blind spots just below the camera and in extreme angles. I’ve positioned it in such a way that those particular blind spots aren’t relevant.

I also love being able to set up privacy areas. In a dream world, my garage would be my photography studio, which means I’d have a changing area for clients. This would be an ideal use for the privacy settings, and they’re easy to use and set up in the app. On your video image, the privacy zone presents as a blacked-out shape over the area you wish to hide.

You can also set up motion detection zones. These zones will trigger recordings when someone or something enters a specific part of the video’s frame. It’s as easy as setting up a virtual shape on your screen with your finger.

It integrates nicely into the app and it’s easy to pick and choose which clips are relevant to you. But, like all Ring products, you’ll have to subscribe to get the most out of the camera. You get a free trial, but it’s a pretty big bummer that you have to pay for an app after buying the product.

My only big complaint with the Indoor Cam Plus is the reliability of the video footage. While the video quality has been excellent, occasionally I’ll get artifacts, or complete cut-outs. This might be due to the quality of my Wi-Fi, so be sure you set up your camera where your Wi-Fi signal is strong. That said, I’ve never had Wi-Fi difficulties with any other smart devices, or my computer, in my garage space. So the artifacts and cut-outs were particularly frustrating.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Accessories

You can increase the usability of your Indoor Cam Plus with a few key accessories. The one I intend to purchase is the 10ft USB-A to USB-C power cable ($14.99) so I can run my camera in a higher position on the wall. It seems odd that the included power cable is so short to begin with, so it’s a bit of an annoyance that I have to buy an additional accessory for this.

Other accessories are less directly relevant to the Indoor Cam Plus and more relevant if you have other Ring accessories. You can get the Pet Tag ($9.99) and Reflective Security Stickers ($5.99), for example, or a Chime. The latter usually comes with the Ring Doorbell, but you can always add another for a different part of the house.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Subscription fees

Like all of Ring’s other products, you need to pay for a subscription if you want to use most of the Ring Indoor Cam Plus’ features — most notably, saving video. Among the best home security cameras, it’s one of the only companies that doesn’t offer any sort of video history for free.

Ring’s plans start at $5/month, which gets you 180 days of video history, as well as person, Package, and Vehicle Alerts. However, this plan only covers one device. If you want to cover an unlimited number of devices, you’ll need the $10/month plan. And, if you want to access Ring’s AI features — which include such things as more descriptive alerts, and the ability to use natural-language searches — it’ll cost $20/month.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Competition

The indoor camera market is increasingly large. Ring has perhaps the best name recognition in the market, and the video quality really is exceptional. But if you want integration with other smart home ecosystems beyond Alexa, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Eufy, Arlo, Simlisafe, and Wyze all offer camera alternatives.

One of the strongest alternatives is the TP-Link Tapo, which works with Alexa and Google Assistant. It’s also less expensive than the Ring; you can get a single camera for around $30 or a two-pack for around $60. It offers 2K video, and the option for both local and cloud storage. (You have to pay extra for Ring’s cloud storage.)

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Verdict

The Ring Indoor Cam Plus is a good complement to the Ring ecosystem if you’ve already invested in a Ring doorbell or are willing to shell out the cash for the features behind the app’s paywall. The camera itself pumps out beautiful, sharp video and it’s super easy to zoom in to see what you want to see, even in low light.

But, I was a bit frustrated with its inconsistent performance, which means you might miss certain important events or visitors in your video history. And like other Ring products, the experience would be much improved without having to shell out extra cash for an app. If you’re in the Ring ecosystem already, the Indoor Cam Plus is worth a look, but otherwise, there are better options among the best home security cameras.

Last Fall Ring introduced a new AI-powered feature dubbed "Search Party" that uses the company's network of doorbell and security cameras to help worried pet owners find their lost dogs. However, you needed to have a Ring camera to access the feature.

Ring just announced that the feature will be made available to all Ring customers, even those who don't own a Ring camera. According to Ring, the company has helped "bring home more than a dog a day" since it launched.

Search Party uses AI to find potential matches for lost dogs using footage from your neighbors' cameras. You can report a lost dog in the Ring app, and nearby outdoor cameras will use AI to scan for dogs. If a match is found, the camera owner receives an alert and can choose to share related clips with the missing pet owner. There's also an option to call the neighbor or send a message without sharing their phone number.

Compatible Ring devices

• Doorbells: All Ring doorbell models are compatible with Search Party and can participate in lost dog alerts.
• Floodlight Cams: All models work with the feature to help locate missing pets in your area.
• Spotlight Cams: All models support Search Party functionality for finding lost dogs.
• Stick Up Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.
• Outdoor Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

More to come

Now you just have to have the Ring Neighbors app to use the feature.

“Now, pet owners can mobilize the whole community—and communities are empowered to help—to find lost pets more effectively than ever before,” Ring founder Jamie Siminoff said in the announcement. “That’s why we believe it’s so important to make this feature available to anyone who shares a lost dog post in Neighbors."

The Amazon-owned Ring also announced that it will be committing more than $1 million to equip animal shelters across the U.S. with Ring camera systems and to aid shelters in reuniting lost dogs with owners. Adding shelters to the network is one way the company hopes to help dogs find their people.

When Search Party was first announced, it was promised that other animals, including cats, would be added at a later date, though that wasn't updated with today's announcement.

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It feels like the best smart rings and wearable gadgets are ever evolving, which can make it hard to know which is the best wearable for you and your sleep, health and fitness tracking.

I’ve personally always stuck by the Oura Ring, and currently wear the Oura Ring 4. What I love most is that it doesn’t really matter which ring you have when it comes to the app content, which offers most of the same features to every member.

The brand doesn’t believe in becoming a sitting duck either, and while the competition continues to heat up as we shift toward 2026, Oura has been busy developing.

The Oura Ring is still miles ahead of the competition, in my opinion, but if you are thinking about buying an Oura Ring for the first time or simply aren’t sure if you're using your ring the best way, here are my three must-try features you should consider using more often and during the holidays.

1. AI-powered heart rate and recovery tracking

Oura users can record their workout heart rates, access live readings and track heart rate data, including Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and resting heart rate. This isn't really news.

What is less commonly known is that your Oura Ring could be key to better recovery if you know which metrics to focus on. Your heart rate reveals insights into stress resilience and your overall cardiovascular health, and Oura can assess how your heart rate data looks over the weeks, months and years, especially your resting heart rate, which I recently tested for myself.

How to use it:

• Open the Oura app
• Tap the three lines in the top left corner
• From the menu, select Trends
• Tap Heart Rate Variability
• Toggle between days, weeks, months and years and view your data as a trend on the graph.

You can also ask Oura’s AI advisor to find and summarize the data for you (which I did). On your Today tab, tap the + sign at the bottom right of the app, then select Advisor. Be specific with your requests to access the most accurate data.

The Oura Ring tracks your heart rate using sensors; on the Ring 4, these are recessed and have been updated for even better accuracy, but whichever model you have, the ring measures blood flow in your finger to look at shifts in your heartbeats.

Oura can capture your lowest resting heart rate, nighttime recovery and cardiovascular balance, all of which play into resilience and recovery trends. It is well worth checking this feature out if you are interested in recovery and heart health over time.

When I tested it, Oura split my heart rate data into weekly averages and could compare weeks against each other, which is handy if you want to look at how your resting heart rate and recovery fluctuate over the holidays, which can be either faster or slower-paced for many.

I also asked the Oura Advisor to look at my sleep and stress data during the same period to see how my body was coping. Thankfully, when comparing a period of heavy workload and social activity, my lowest heart rate data remained steady, which can indicate stable recovery and consistency. On the flipside, any major shifts in your patterns can indicate that your recovery might need a closer look.

If you want to see how your body is coping with significant change or lifestyle choices, this is the feature to try.

If you plan to look at your heart rate data trends, the Oura Ring sits at the top of the accuracy range and corresponds "nearly perfectly" with ECG values, which are the gold standard for measuring heart rate.

2. Symptom Radar

A year ago, on December 5, 2024, members gained access to a game-changing health feature called Symptom Radar. I reported how much I loved the Symptom Radar feature for flagging up health concerns for me before I even knew how my body felt.

Symptom Radar assesses biometric data every morning for early signs of strain, including common cold, stress, or flu symptoms. The feature also helps you monitor which biomarkers have changed, and Oura will give severity levels: no signs, minor signs and major signs.

You can track this in-app and look at which markers look out of balance, then head to Oura’s AI Advisor to delve into the data. While it might not always come to anything (it could just be a few late nights or heavy meals before bedtime, throwing out your metrics), I have found Oura’s predictions nearly always spot on, whether it’s stress-related or a cold creeping up on me.

While it doesn’t fix the issue by viewing the data, it does help you tailor your lifestyle choices accordingly, like going to bed earlier, taking a warm bath, staying away from alcohol, or shifting your workout schedule.

How to use it:

• Tap the Today tab of your app
• Scroll to Symptom Radar
• Tap to view more

3. Stress tracking

One of the big draws of the Oura Ring is its ability to detect stress throughout the day and provide a daily and weekly report on stress levels; this also feeds into your readiness and resilience scores.

Oura’s Daytime Stress feature launched in 2023, and it’s still one of my favorite evolving features. By tracking your stress throughout the day (the data can refresh in-app every 15 minutes and starts two hours after waking), you can see how workload, social interactions, stressful situations and even workouts impact how your body deals with stress.

Oura uses biometrics like nighttime heart rate variability (HRV) and body temperature to detect stress in the body, providing feedback as restored, relaxed, engaged, or stressed. However, it's worth noting that high-intensity workouts can act like a cortisol cocktail on the body and temporarily elevate stress levels, so always contextualize this feedback for your lifestyle.

I’ve continued to use my Oura Ring to manage stress, along with the Stress Resilience tool for mapping and improving it; you can use these features to delve into trends and potential causes.

Here’s everything you need to know about these Oura Ring features. And if you’re looking for some ways to reduce daily stress in your life, you can access breathwork and meditations through Oura, too.

Bottom line

Oura doesn’t prescribe, diagnose, or cure, but these features still help to contextualize physical and mental fluctuations in your body and map your unique health journey.

Taking some time during the holidays to test these features could set you up for a happier, healthier 2026, while helping you to keep a closer eye on your relationship with exercise, sleep and stress.

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• Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
• Oura Ring 3 vs Whoop 4.0: Which is the best fitness tracker?
• Oura Ring vs Ultrahuman Ring Air.

I’m not entirely sure why, but we get a lot of door-to-door solicitors in our neighborhood, far more than I’ve ever experienced anywhere else I’ve lived. Since I work from home, you can imagine it gets tedious telling these solicitors that I’m busy or just don’t want to talk. The Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) and its Alexa+ AI features seemed like a great solution to my solicitor problem, not to mention the peace of mind that comes with it when I’m traveling for work.

And it comes with even more benefits: It has a resolution of 2K, can track your packages in the age of porch pirates, and lets me see who’s coming and going while I’m far away from the front door (I spend a lot of time in my detached garage).

The Ring Wired Doorbell is a convenient option for anyone looking to monitor the front of their house from the couch. It’s got a massive field of view and even records well in the dark. But how does it compare to the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, which has an even higher 4K resolution, as well as the best video doorbells?

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Price and availability

The Wired Doorbell Plus costs $179.99 and is available for purchase now. You can buy the unit on Ring’s website, or from other retailers like Lowe’s.

Ring sent me the Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) + Indoor Cam Plus bundle, which costs $239.98. I will review the Indoor Cam Plus separately. You can also purchase a Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) + Chime (3rd Gen) bundle for $214.98, or a Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) + Floodlight Cam Plus bundle for $359.98.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Design and setup

The Ring Wired Doorbell plus comes packaged with the doorbell unit, which mounts to your home next to your front door; installation hardware; a corner kit for angling the doorbell if necessary; and a chime that can be installed into the existing wiring for your current doorbell chime unit. Ring also includes a small tool for removing the faceplate of the doorbell unit.

Installing the Wired Doorbell Plus took about twenty minutes total. Simply remove your old doorbell and wire in the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus to the existing wiring. Ring also includes a wiring harness and wire nuts to simplify the process. The chime installs similarly on the other end of the doorbell system; use the existing chime wires and use the included wire nuts to tie into that system. It’s a pretty easy setup, even if you’re not a very handy person. Just remember to turn off the circuit breaker to the doorbell wiring before you get started.

Once installed, the app takes a few more minutes to download and sign in. Once I downloaded and created my account, and connected the Ring camera to WiFi (it is compatible with 2.4GHZ or 5GHZ signals) , the doorbell needed a firmware update, which took about five minutes to complete. From there, you’ll set up your camera preferences, or simply choose the defaults to speed through the rest of the setup.

The drawback of the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus is the wired install. At first, I wanted to install this system on my detached garage, since I operate my business out it. But there wasn’t any existing wiring in the garage, which meant this version of the Ring doorbell wouldn’t work. Ring does offer wireless video doorbells that operate on rechargeable batteries, but none that have 2K resolution.

The mini chime that came with my doorbell was easy to install and sounds out loud and clear within my house. I like that I can also shut off the chime if I want to. The Ring chime has become ubiquitous these days, and it’s more pleasant than my normal doorbell chime. But when I’m in meetings (I work from home), it sure is nice to shut off the chime and prevent my dog from reacting the way he always does: by barking his head off.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Performance

The Ring Wired Doorbell Plus 2K video is very, very good. In broad daylight, it’s easy to pick out even small objects in the frame, and you can pinch to zoom in to see even more details. The image quality doesn’t suffer much in low light, either.

Within the first week of using the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus, it came in quite handy. For starters, I was able to avoid awkward conversations with various solicitors — already the Ring camera justified its price.

On another occasion, a man came to our door asking for someone we’d never heard of. No big deal really, but it felt good to have the person on camera (both video and audio) should it have been something more nefarious, or if anyone returned later with bad intentions. As it was, nothing came of it, and all is well.

I very much like having the audio along with the video feed. And the audio is startlingly clear, as is the video image — in just about all conditions. I haven’t yet come across any video or audio clips that were indecipherable, or even close to it. The Ring doorbell’s recording is absolutely stellar.

The field of view is very wide, too. I like being able to see my entire front yard, as well as my driveway. My neighborhood recently experienced some car break-ins, and while our cars weren’t affected, someone did kindly scratch up the hood of my truck. This happened before I installed the Ring camera, and I sure do wish I had it back then.

At night, you’ll lose the color from the image, but the detail and clarity still remains. Even zooming in, while not as sharp as in daylight conditions, allows you to pick out objects and people. My only complaint here is up close, subjects get a bit blown out, so it’s hard to see someone’s features when they’re positioned close to the doorbell.

The Ring Doorbell features Low Light Sight, which looks a bit like those scenes in movies where a character is wearing night-vision goggles, minus the green tinge. It was easy to pick out objects and people close to the camera, and I was able to see with clarity objects on the street, like my trash cans at the curb.

The front of my house faces east, which means in the morning, the sun blasts right at the camera mounted by my front door. The camera handles this well; the sun doesn’t wash out the image, though some flare is of course present. Throughout the day, as the sun works its way toward my backyard, the image only improves. By late afternoon, shadows wash over the front yard, and the 2K image avoids pixelation common in low light conditions. It’s a very clear image in all conditions throughout the day.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: App and smart home compatibility

I found the Ring App easy to set up and use. There is a lot to explore within the app, and tons of various settings to either broaden the Ring’s applicability or limit it. It’s kind of easy to get lost in it all, and you’re bombarded with setup options during the initial setup process.

The Live View setting shows you what the camera sees in real time, through Retinal Vision 2K video. It’s triggered by 3D motion detection, which records segments should anyone come within range of the doorbell. You can adjust this setting in the app to exclude moving vehicles and other things that aren’t humans approaching your door if you choose.

The Live View setting also features two-way talk, which is exactly what it sounds like: you can talk to someone at your door and they can talk to you. It’s a convenient way to speak with visitors that perhaps you don’t want to meet face to face.

Video History is handy should you need to reference events that happened in the past. That’s possible with the Ring subscription. You’ll get a 30-day free trial at purchase. More on that in a moment.

Keep in mind that this doorbell works with the Alexa ecosystem only, which is limiting. If your house is already on a different system, that might be a dealbreaker for you. As it is, I already use other Alexa devices, so the doorbell integrated easily.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: AI features

While not exclusive to the Wired Doorbell Plus, Ring has added a number of AI-powered features to its doorbells that make it easier to search through your video history and identify particular events.

Video Descriptions gives more detailed descriptions of what the doorbell records, so you might get a caption that reads "a person walked through the yard carrying a package."

AI Single Event Alerts will summarize a series of alerts from the same camera within a certain time period. So, if there are kids playing on your lawn and they go in and out of the camera frame, it will group all of these events into a single notification.

Last, Smart Video Search can let you search using natural language for particular events in your video history, like "dog catching a frisbee in my yard."

However, all of these features come at a cost.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Subscription costs

You get a Home Plan 30-day trial when you install the video doorbell. After that, you’ll have to upgrade. Strangely, you can’t manage your plan in the Ring app. That seems counterintuitive.

You’ll need to go to the Ring website instead and choose between the three offered plans: Basic for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year; Standard for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year; or Premium, for $19.99 a month of $199.99 a year. While the Basic plan gives you 180 days of video history as well as Person, Package, and Vehicle Alerts, you’ll need to spring for the Premium plan if you want AI-enabled features like Video Descriptions, AI Single Event Alerts, and Smart Video Search. I find it a bit irksome that I need to subscribe at all, after purchasing the unit for what I would consider to be a high dollar amount.

You can avoid the subscription altogether, but you will lose out on a lot of features, such as the ability to save video or look at past events, as well as any AI functionality. You’ll still get Live-View, Real-Time Notifications, and Keypad Arming and Disarming, among other features.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Accessories

Ring offers a ton of products and accessories to work within the Ring ecosystem. Outdoor and indoor cameras, alarms, Alexa products, and many more options are available for purchase. Ring offers a lot of bundles too, so you can buy several products at once and save a few bucks.

Some of the more useful accessories include hardwired kits for cameras, various wall mounts, and different chime options. The Ring Beacon ($49.99) warns passers-by that your home is protected by Ring, day or night. It captures solar energy to charge during the day, and glows at night not only to show people your home has a Ring camera, but also to light your front steps or path to get you safely to your door.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Competition

Ring is perhaps the most well-known doorbell camera on the market. But several competitors have entered the space in recent years. Google Nest Doorbell is among the most prominent. This works best with the Google smart home environment, something Ring does not offer.

Other competitors in the space include Arlo Video Doorbell Camera and Chime 2 Bundle, Eufy Dual+ Security Video Doorbell, and brands like Simplisafe, Lorex, and Wyze Cam. While many of these offerings come in at a lower price than Ring, the Ring Doorbell Plus beats them all in features, video quality, and reliability.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Verdict

I didn’t expect to like the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus as much as I do. I’m not generally the type who feels the need for constant surveillance. But it has simplified my life quite a bit, largely because I no longer have to get up from my desk to go deal with the surprisingly high number of solicitors we get in our neighborhood. I also love that I can see much of my driveway in the wide field of view, so should we get another spate of break-ins or someone scratching up my truck again, I’ll have some potential for recourse.

Google released the Nest Doorbell battery (3rd) gen around the same time as Ring released the Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen), and the two share a lot of similarities, such as 2K video and AI integration for smarter alerts. Both also require a subscription to use all their features, but Google does give you six hours of video history without charging you a monthly fee.

I do wish the app subscriptions were included with the sale price. And the device is limited to Alexa ecosystems, which can be limiting for certain consumers. But if you’re looking for exceptional video and audio quality, as well as a super wide field of view, it’s hard to beat the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus — unless you want to go with the 4K Ring Wired Doorbell Pro.

The best video doorbells are great for being able to screen your visitors; if someone rings the bell, you can see who's there without having to open your door. However, there's still the matter of interacting with them. But what if you don't want to deal with the hassle of a persistent solicitor?

Ring is introducing a new feature to some of its video doorbells called Alexa+ Greetings, which will use Amazon's AI to talk to the person who's at your door and give them appropriate instructions based on the conversation. It's a step beyond the current Smart Responses, which gives a one-time reply, to an ongoing dialogue.

If someone comes up to your door offering to sell timeshares or solar panels or whatever, Alexa+ can talk to them to give them a polite but firm "no thanks."

If however, the visitor is dropping off a package, you can have Alexa+ give them more detailed instructions on where to place the delivery or ask if you need to sign for the package.

And, if a friend or family member drops by and you're not home, Alexa+ can chat with them and ask if they'd like to leave a message, which will then be delivered to you.

According to Ring, Alexa+'s interactions with visitors will vary based on a bunch of factors, such as the person's responses, if they're wearing a delivery person's uniform, carrying a package, and more.

Within the Ring app, homeowners will be able to personalize their greetings and Alexa+'s responses within the AI Features tab. From there, you can use any Alexa+-enabled smart speaker or display to further customize its actions. For example, you could tell Alexa+ that if any deliveries come over the weekend to tell the delivery person to drop the packages off at your side door.

Alexa+ Greetings is currently rolling out to Early Access customers, and it won't work with just any of the best Ring doorbells — you'll also need a Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3^rd Gen) or Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2^nd Gen), as well as a Ring Premium Plan, which costs $19/month.

While your family members may be miffed that you're using AI to talk to them, I can see how Alexa+ Greetings could make things easier — for you, at least — when it comes to dealing with everyone else who comes to your door.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve been using Alexa+ for 3 months — here are my 5 favorite features (and one I’m not a fan of)
• Alexa+ devices: Here's the gadgets that will (and won't) work
• 7 Ring video doorbell tips everyone needs to know

Everyone wants one of the best home security cameras to help secure their homes, but not everyone wants to sign up for yet another subscription fee in order to do so. And many smart security cameras have features, like person and package detection, that are locked behind subscriptions.

However, that isn't the case for the models on this list. Brands like Eufy, Wyze and Reolink offer local storage, usually courtesy of a microSD card slot, which allow you to store your footage without requiring you to pay a monthly fee.

That means you can purchase multiple cameras and secure your home without worrying about tacking on any additional costs, and these brands have excellent features and multiple models available – so you can choose from small indoor cameras to watch out for pets and kids, a budget outdoor camera that can keep an eye on an alleyway or even purchase a solar model that requires no power supply at all.

Either way, you'll wanted to take advantage of these deals before Cyber Monday ends on home security cameras that I can personally recommend based on our extensive real-world testing and reviews. You'll have to hurry as many of these sales are over at the end of the day.

Quick Links

• Reolink 4MP Indoor Security Camera E1: was $40 now $25 @ Amazon
• Reolink First 4K Solar Security Camera: was $150 now $97 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Indoor Cam C210: was $30 now $25 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350: was $140 now $79 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security S330: was $220 now $129 @ Amazon
• Wyze Cam OG Indoor/Outdoor: was $30 now $14 @ Amazon
• Wyze Cam Pan v4: was $60 now $49 @ Amazon

Home Security Camera Deals

For more great discounts be sure to check out our Cyber Monday deals live blog right now.

Installing security cameras inside your house is a great way to keep an eye on your kids, pets and everything else going on inside your home. However, for complete coverage of your entire property, you’re going to need a few of the best outdoor security cameras too and thanks to Black Friday deals, you can save big on our favorite models from Ring, Google Nest, Eufy, Wyze and more.

With the holidays coming up, there’s never been a better time to pick up a few outdoor security cameras to keep an eye on places like your driveway, garage, backyard and the rest of those high-traffic areas around your home. These deals let you do just that for less and right now, you can pick up the Ring Outdoor Cam in a two-pack for just $90. Don’t want another monthly subscription to monitor your home? The solar-powered Eufy SoloCam S220 is half off and has 8GB of built-in storage which lets you save clips directly to the camera.

There are plenty of other outdoor security camera deals I personally recommend based on our extensive real-world testing and reviews down below. And if you don’t see something you like right now, keep checking back as I’ll be updating this guide through Black Friday and beyond.

Quick Links

• Ring Outdoor Cam, 2 Pack: was $150 now $89 @ Amazon
• Nest Cam Outdoor, Wired (2nd Gen): was $150 now $119 @ Amazon
• Arlo Essential Pan Tilt 2K, 2 Pack: was $120 now $59 @ Amazon
• Blink Outdoor 2K+, 2 Pack: was $160 now $79 @ Amazon
• Wyze Wireless Outdoor Camera: was $90 now $69 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security SoloCam S220: was $100 now $49 @ Amazon
• Reolink 4K Outdoor Security Camera: was $85 now $67 @ Amazon

Black Friday Outdoor Security Camera Deals

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, AirPods and more
• Walmart Plus: 50% off @ Walmart
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia, more
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

I check my email countless times each day but the same can’t be said for my mailbox but for good reason. Unlike with my inbox, I almost never get physical mail I’m actually excited to open. Instead, it’s usually just a pile of bills and junk mail and the latter would be much better off in my spam folder.

Due to this, unopened mail has a tendency of piling up in my mailbox. In fact, it actually got so bad a few years ago that the post office stopped delivering mail to my home. This was the wake-up call to finally do something about it which is why I installed a smart sensor in my mailbox.

Last summer though, I woke to find my mailbox and the smart sensor inside it lying on the ground. Who knows, maybe it was the weather or a reckless driver but either way, I needed a new mailbox with a sturdier post. While it did take a bit of work installing the new mailbox, doing so gave me the opportunity to upgrade to a new smart mailbox sensor. Given that I went with a plastic mailbox with a backdoor this time around, this allowed me to pull off a much cleaner install.

If you dread checking the mail as much as I do or often forget to check like I used to, here’s how I gave my mailbox the ultimate upgrade and let my smart home handle one of my most annoying tasks.

A different kind of motion sensor

If you're a smart home enthusiast like myself, then you’re likely familiar with motion sensors and know all about how you can use them to turn on the lights or trigger other actions. The Ring Mailbox Sensor works in much the same way but it’s specifically designed to be placed inside your mailbox.

Back when I got my first Ring Mailbox Sensor, you needed to have a Ring Bridge ($49, Amazon) to get it to work.

Now though, thanks to Amazon Sidewalk which works just like Apple’s Find My network, you no longer need one. However, if you don’t feel comfortable having your devices connected to Amazon’s low-bandwidth wireless network, you can also use either a Ring Bridge or a Ring Alarm Pro Base Station to add the Ring Mailbox Sensor to your home network.

The Ring Mailbox Sensor is powered by three AAA batteries and pairs with your smartphone through the Ring app. Depending on how often your mail gets delivered, its batteries should last for up to a year before you need to replace them. If you’re setting up a brand new Ring Mailbox Sensor, it may take a few minutes as several updates need to be installed before you can mount it.

Second time’s the charm

As I mentioned before, the Ring Mailbox Sensor comes with an antenna to help its signal reach other Amazon Sidewalk-enabled devices or your Ring Bridge. Installation is optional if you have a plastic mailbox instead of a metal one but I chose to install it anyways.

Getting your Ring Mailbox Sensor installed begins with drilling a hole in the back of your mailbox for its antenna. Fortunately, Ring includes a large drill bit for this in case you don’t have one on hand. Keep in mind though that if you plan on using the antenna, you'll want to drill a hole and run the cable before attaching your Ring Mailbox Sensor to the back of your mailbox.

The reason for this is that the antenna plugs into the back of the sensor and can’t easily be accessed once you attach it using adhesive tape. You also want to leave a bit of room on either side so that you can easily detach the sensor when you need to change out its batteries.

I just recently put new batteries in the Ring Mailbox Sensor and doing so was very easy. You just pull out the tabs on either side, remove the sensor, swap out the old batteries with new ones and then reattach the sensor. After which, it took a minute or so for the Ring app to recognize that it was back online but then I was good to go for about a year.

The antenna’s cable is about a foot long so that you have enough room to position it on either side of your mailbox. Since I live on a cul-de-sac, I decided to place the antenna on the left side of my mailbox where it would be clearly visible. The antenna itself is made of black plastic but Ring gives you a sticker to put over it which looks nice but could also help deter porch pirates.

You’ve got mail

With my replacement Ring Mailbox Sensor installed on my new mailbox, it was time to add it to my smart home. If you don’t have a smart home or aren’t interested in starting one, don't worry as you still get alerts from the Ring app whenever the sensor detects motion. However, the Ring Mailbox Sensor is actually what got me started with the best Alexa speakers in the first place before I eventually upgraded to the Echo Show 15 and then later, the Echo Show 21 in my kitchen.

If you have an Alexa-enabled smart speaker or one of the best smart displays from Amazon, you can easily incorporate the Ring Mailbox Sensor into your smart home. From having a security camera record when your mail arrives to having your porch lights turn on, there’s a whole lot you can do with this little motion sensor.

As someone who grew up with AOL back in the 90s though, my first thought was “You’ve got mail” so here’s how I set it up.

Once you have your Ring Mailbox Sensor added to the Alexa app, tap on More at the bottom right corner. Then tap on the Plus icon to create a new routine and select your Ring Mailbox Sensor after tapping on Add an event under WHEN. From there, you need to choose the Detected option. Under Alexa Will, you need to select Alexa Says and enter a phrase like “You’ve got mail.” Finally, you need to pick which smart speaker or smart display Alexa will speak from. To finish off your routine, just tap Save at the bottom.

With a routine like this one in place, anytime someone opens your mailbox, you’ll hear “You’ve got mail” on your preferred smart speaker or smart display. However, you can also have Alexa deliver this line from your phone if you want too.

Making the mail fun again

Now, adding a smart sensor to your mailbox likely won’t change what kind of mail gets delivered to your house but with the right Alexa routine, it just might make getting junk mail a bit more exciting, especially if you’re a fan of the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film. Even if you’re not, at least letters won’t pile up in your mailbox when you forget to check.

I swear by the Ring Mailbox Sensor and think it’s one of the best smart home devices you can get. Not only is it inexpensive but it’s also fairly easy to install and use. Likewise, it lets you turn a mundane task into something a bit more interesting.

Now that you don’t need to buy a $50 bridge separately for it to work, the Ring Mailbox Sensor is almost a no-brainer if you’re a smart home enthusiast like myself.

More from Tom's Guide

• I gave my backyard the ultimate glow-up with these outdoor smart lights
• Amazon Echo Show 15 vs Echo Show 21: which wall-mountable smart display should you buy?
• I used this smart light strip to transform my living room and it's been a game changer for my home

I bought my first home a few years back and the first thing I did was install the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen). Since then, it’s been reliable at keeping tabs with everything going on around my front door from delivery packages to the occasional critter sneaking its way through my lawn — and even letting me know when my robot lawn mower is slacking off.

Unlike today’s best phones that get yearly refreshes, Ring takes a staggered approach with upgrading its video doorbells. I ended up replacing my video doorbell with the company’s latest model, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen), which ushers it into the 4K era.

You could say it’s long overdue, as rival smart home makers like Eufy and Arlo have been offering 4K resolution with its various security cameras for a good while. The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) might be late to the party, but let me tell you it’s worth the wait, and is one of the best video doorbells. Here’s why.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Specifications

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Price and availability

The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) fetches for $249.99, which replaces the previous model in the lineup and gets discounted down to $229.99. Unless it’s on sale, it’s not worth getting the 2nd Gen Doorbell Pro because the new one makes up the difference with its outstanding video performance.

Initially announced on September 30, 2025 alongside Amazon and Ring’s other new smart home devices, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) went on sale on Amazon starting on October 29, 2025.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: installation

Installing it is a breeze given that most of the work was already set up for me when I set up the previous model. In total, it took me about 10 minutes to complete the installation — which involved removing the old model, connecting the new one with the existing wires, and then securing it with the mounting plate.

If you’re starting fresh, it’ll take about an extra 10 to 15 minutes depending on your experience and confidence installing doorbells. You’ll need to predrill the holes needed for the mounting plate and do the wiring for the chime, but otherwise the Ring app guides you through the process.

In fact, it even asked me if the new device I’m installing is replacing an older model. There’s also a corner kit that comes with the packaging if you need to angle the camera to get a better field of view. As much as it was a breeze for me to swap my old one for this, services like HelloTech offer professional installation for a fee. I’m given a quote of $99 + additional fees to have them install it, which isn’t too bad.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Design

The first thing I noticed after installing the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) is how it looks sleeker. It’s much narrower than the previous model, while still retaining nearly the same thickness — so it doesn’t protrude any significant distance from my door frame.

Likewise, I really like its more modern looking design with its stacked, two-toned look. I have a much older home, which certainly makes the doorbell look out of place, but I still like its design better than the previous one. If one color suits your style better, you can easily remove the faceplate and swap it for another.

If there’s one gripe I have about the design, it’s that it still relies on wired power for everything. When there’s a power outage, it won’t be able to work like my other Ring cameras that work off both battery and wired power. However, I wouldn't be surprised ir Ring offered a battery-powered version in the future.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Video quality

Easily the most impressive part about this new video doorbell is how it’s one of a number of new cameras that uses Ring’s next-generation imaging technology — Retinal Vision. I was always satisfied by the video quality from the previous Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen), but it’s a leap forward with 4K Retinal Vision with the new one.

I want to start off by talking about their field of view. Even though the previous one has a wider FoV at 150-degree both ways, the 140-degree FoV of the new one makes it look more normal because it doesn’t have that fishbowl-esque look.

Secondly, I want to talk about the improved dynamic range performance I’m seeing across all lighting conditions. It does a substantially better job of neutralizing the exposure. Notice how the clouds and parts of the sky are over-exposed with the 2nd Gen Ring Wired Doorbell Pro’s footage — whereas the new one evens out the exposure.

The 4k Retinal Vision also captures much more detail and clarity. From the package delivery person to the FedEx truck in the background, there’s much better detail capture with the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen). In contrast, the previous model still looks nice, but nowhere matches its sharpness and clarity.

Nighttime has always presented a problem for most security cameras I have around my home, with details often taking the biggest hit. Yet, it’s not a problem because the imaging process with advanced AI tuning of Retinal Vision results in enhanced low-light performance.

If you watch the clips above, you’ll see how the new doorbell retains better clarity, including how it compensates the strong lighting from the string lights around my porch. Those same string lights overpower the clip from the older video doorbell, resulting in heavy over-exposure and softer details.

Finally, take a peek at the night vision performance of both doorbells above. While the previous model manages to capture the deer strolling through my lawn, it looks more like a ghostly figure than anything else. Plus, everything in the background looks completely dark. It’s a contrast with the new model because the details are much more visible with its night vision performance.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Motion detection and other features

I honestly don’t see much of a difference in terms of its motion detection performance. Just as before, it’s pretty spot on with recognizing the different things that trigger it to start recording — like a person, vehicle, and other motion.

I kept the same motion zones as before, including its bird’s eye zones that show me on a map preview of where a person has walked through my property. The one thing that has changed, though, is that I’m not seeing as many notifications about other motions. I’ve enabled the same Smart Alerts as before, like Package Zone, so that I get notifications whenever I get a delivery.

The good thing is that I’m not getting the same false alerts as I did before whenever my robot lawn mower enters the frame. That could be a testament to the improved image processing of the camera, but regardless, it’s nice that I’m getting fewer alerts.

The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) also makes use of the same Smart Responses as before. It allows the doorbell to speak quick replies, including holiday themed ones, like all the fun Halloween-inspired ones currently in the app.

But there’s still more features I’m eager to try out, like Alexa+ Greetings that would act as an attendant of sorts to do all sorts of things on my behalf. For example, Amazon explains that it’s smart enough to ask solicitors about their purpose for visiting, or provide delivery drivers with detailed instructions.

There’s also Familiar Faces that would recognize familiar people, so it can be smart enough to discern myself and my partner. And finally, there’s Search Party for dogs that will lean on an AI-powered community feature to reunite lost puppers with their owners. This will come out later in November, followed by cats and other pets. Meanwhile, Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be rolled out in December.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: service and subscription

In order to get the most out of the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen), a Ring subscription is necessary because it’ll give you cloud storage for all the videos it captures. Without one, you won’t be able to see previous videos triggered by an action. What I’m saying is that you’ll get notifications, but you won’t have access to those video recordings without a subscription.

The cheapest one offered is the Ring Basic plan that costs $4.99/month and covers up to 180 days of video event history — but it only covers one camera. That’s why I recommend going with the Ring Standard plan at $9.99/month because it would cover all the Ring devices you might already have.

However, I’m disappointed that the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) doesn’t support Ring Edge for local storage and processing. I already have a Ring Alarm Pro Base Station that acts as professional security monitoring for my home, which allows me to save the clips captured by my other Ring cameras to a microSD card stored in my base station.

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen) review: Verdict

Ring’s finally moving the needle upwards with the introduction of Retinal Vision on the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd Gen). I thought the video quality was good before, but this emerging imaging technology, coupled with 4K resolution, proves to me it’s a giant leap forward in terms of video performance. I’m better able to see all the details, even when it’s pitch dark outside.

I do wish that it had some capacity for local storage — though none of Ring's doorbells have ever had this feature, which is an issue if your internet connection goes down. And, it doesn't have a battery backup, either.

It’s smarter, too, at knowing what’s going on at my front door and sending me only the most meaningful alerts. Paired with all the features I’ve come to love, like bird’s eye view and smart responses, I’m confident about keeping a watch out when I’m not at home. And things are only going to get better when other new features eventually come out.

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In the early morning hours of October 20, Amazon Web Services suffered from what became a multihour outage that affected a multitude of websites, apps and platforms. Throughout the day several fixes were deployed though outages continued to affect a wideswath of services from banking apps to college instructional platforms and more.

Collectively, reports on Downdetector hit a high of over 50,000 reports starting around 7:50 am.

For the unaware, AWS is crucial backbone of the internet acting as infrastructre for apps and websites the likes of Snapchat, Venmo, Ring, Pokémon GO and more all went down down because of AWS' outage.

Specifically, a hub dubbed US-EAST-1 Region went down affecting people on the east coast and any services that are based on infrastructure out of the region.

We followed the outage collecting information from various services, purusing details on when a fix could be put in place and seeking comment from Amazon.

Despite a number of fixes reported by AWS, the deployment was slow and the repairs took time.

In all the bulk of the outage lasted more than 12 hours starting a 1 am Pacific and running all the way through 3 pm Pacific. And it wasn't exactly over by then, but services appeared to be coming back online in a more functional state.

As part of our coverage, we looked at all the apps and services affected by the outage (and are certain we didn't catch them all) as well as how the outage happened and why it broke the internet. Helpful readers pointed out broken services like Canvas for college students and small business applications like Shopify and ShipStation that were affecting businesses and education.

Separately, we monitored Snapchat and Venmo as both services seem totally out of commission and received the most reports.

Here's the timeline

• At around 12:11am PDT (3:11am ET, 8:11am BST), AWS started experiencing outages. And as AWS is the backbone of most of the internet, it took out hundreds of websites and services with it.
• We started seeing huge spikes in outage reports for apps like Snapchat, Venmo and Ring, Amazon services like Alexa, and games like Fornite and Pokémon GO.
• At 1:26am PDT (4:26am ET, 9:26am BST), the issue was diagnosed as a big one related to the DynamoDB endpoint of AWS — the digital phonebook of the internet.
• At 2:01am PDT (5:01am ET, 10:01am BST), the specific problem was identified and work on a fix began.
• At 2:22am PDT (5:22am ET, 10:22am BST), the fix was deployed and since then, service has been slowly but surely returning to normal.
• BUT THEN, Reddit went down, and AWS updated saying there is a backlog of issues to work through.
• At 4:48am PDT (7:48am ET, 12:48pm BST), Amazon has found a fix but is still working on issues, as Ring and Chime are experiencing outages.
• At 5:48am PDT (8:48 ET, 1:48pm BST), more fixes are being applied. But almost in an interesting game of whack-a-mole, Wordle is down, and Snapchat users are experiencing outages too. The AWS outage reports are slowly starting to creep up again.
• At 9:15am PDT (11:15 am ET, 4:15pm BST) we started seeing a huge spike in reports for Venmo, a popular payment app. This came shortly after AWS said it was still investigating the root cause and identifying mitigations. It's still an issue and most definitely not resolved yet.
• At 10:03am PDT 1:03 pm ET, 6:15pm BST) AWS posted some updates, but it didn't add much other than letting us know it's working on the problem. At 10:38 PDT, the compay said, "We are applying mitigations to the remaining AZs at which point we expect launch errors and network connectivity issues to subside."
• At 12:15 p.m. PDT (3:15 ET, 8;15 BST) AWS posted some updates that the claimed services were starting to return with some intermittent function errors. We've also seen a slow but steady decrease in reports on Down Detector.
• Between 1:00 pm PDT and 2:30 pm, AWS posted cautious updates about slowly reducing throttles as the company brought more features back online.
• At 3:00 pm PDT (6 ET, 11 BST) AWS closed the issue listing as resolved and blaming it on a DNS issue and nin internal subsystem that didn't resolve after a DNS fix.

That's a big spike!

For Amazon alone (excluding Alexa and AWS), reports have hit over 15,000 with no signs of slowing. Most users are reporting that the mobile app is hit heaviest.

The big one here is AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is responsible for hosting a whole lot of services and websites across the web. And because of servers going down across the planet, it's having a knock-on effect on other websites, services and games.

For example, huge outages are being reported at Snapchat, Robinhood, Venmo, Roblox, Fortnite, Ring, Epic Games Store, Lyft, Pokémon GO and many more.

Here's what's going on

So...there's a real technical issue going on here. It's disrupting DynamoDB and impacting 20 other services, which leads to "increased error rates and latencies."

Let's break it down — imagine AWS as the huge digital power plant for the internet. North Virginia (US-EAST-1 Region) is one of the biggest neighborhoods this plant serves. The increased error rates means a lot of packages of data are getting dropped or sent to the wrong place, and the latencies mean that those delivery trucks are moving really slowly.

More on the AWS issue

What is Amazon DynamoDB? Think of a super-fast digital filing cabinet that many apps use to save and find info quickly (like user profiles or game scores). With this being disrupted, things that rely on it will likely stop working (as we're seeing across a whole lot of services).

As for the 20 other services that are impacted (affected but not totally broken), these will cause the services to run slowly or have hiccups. This was first reported at 12:11am PDT (3:11am ET, 8:11am BST).

The problem is global

Meanwhile, a look over at Down Detector in the UK shows how widespread this is. The AWS outage in North Virginia is hitting us Brits too, and it's impacting Snapchat, Ring, all the usual suspects. Concerningly, it's also hitting banks too.

What streaming services have been hit?

If you were looking to stream your favorite movies or TV shows, you may be running into some issues! Disney+, Prime Video and Hulu have been hit by this outage.

A fix may have just been implemented

Standby for more, but we're seeing the peaks of outage reports start to fall off. All we know at the moment is that Amazon is working on the issue. The devs may have identified the problem.

Update from Amazon

"Engineers were immediately engaged and are actively working on both mitigating the issues, and fully understanding the root cause," a rep from AWS has said in the most recent update on the progress fixing this outage.

Something's happened

You can see how the symmetry of these peaks match up quite nicely with AWS' movement. My suspicion is the team has identified the issue. But we'll wait and see...

No sign of this in the UK

This is what's making me a little cautious to say the issue has actually been fixed. In the U.K. those outage graphs continue to go up.

The most concerning part about the U.K. side of things

While in the U.S. it's looking like all private companies have been hit by the AWS issues, in the U.K., the issue is a little more deeply rooted in some key infrastructure.

Online banking is down, and most concerningly, it's looking like it's impacting government services too.

Coinbase is down, but your funds are safe

Just to reassure anyone who trades crypto and has seen themselves unable to jump in to see their walled, Coinbase has confirmed that "all funds are safe."

Don't believe the Ring status page

This is a weird one. We all see the spike on Ring doorbells service on downdetector. Yet, the status page shows it's appearing as operational.

Surely this page would update in real-time with issues spotted, so no idea why it hasn't when AWS goes down. "No incidents reported today" reads the Oct 20, 2025 status.

OpenAI impacted

Looks as if some of OpenAI's services rely on AWS too. They're experiencing some Single Sign On (SSO) issues that will stop people logging into their ChatGPT, and the API for developer's apps to work.

The 2am update has not happened

According to AWS, an update will be shared "as we have more information to share, or by 2:00 AM."

This hasn't happened, so I'll update you instead! It looks as if some of the AWS issues with the US-East-1 region (what looks to be one of the key centerpoints for a lot of the internet) have been resolved, but not all the way. Reports have started dropping by 20-30% across the board.

These updates haven't hit the UK yet, as reports continue to be high with no sign of tailing off.

Lonely hearts

Dating apps are also being hit too, as Hinge has been disrupted by the AWS outage. People are experiencing app opening faults and server connection issues.

BREAKING: Update from Amazon

We have an update! Let's break it down. In short, Amazon's found the main bad guy, and it's a DNS issue!

DNS is the internet's phone book, packing a name (the URL) and a secret phone number (the IP address).

All of these are stored in the digital filing cabinet known as DynamoDB, and several fixes at once are being deployed to speedily fix this issue.

Amazon recommends that if anyone is facing issues to "continue to retry any failed requests."

Heading in the right direction

With AWS working in parallel on multiple fixes, it looks as if they're starting to take affect. in the U.S., outage reports are on the way down, and in the U.K., it's peaked with a few key services reports starting to come down too (think banks and government services).

People are worried about Venmo

And understandably so! Venmo is holding a lot of customer money right now, and with outages to the app, people can't get to it!

Problems with airlines too!

United airlines is down, and users of other airlines are experiencing app problems too.

Roleplayers are facing problems too!

CharacterAI is serving as a resource for all your RP needs with an AI avatar. But since it's a service running on AWS, we're seeing outages here too!

Elon Musk gets smug about it

Because of course he does. Also, for context, X went down on March, May and July this year (so far).

BREAKING: update from Amazon

OK! Now we're getting somewhere. According to the most recent AWS update, the fix is starting to work. The first big fix is in place, fixing the DNS problem (correcting the digital phonebook), and that is creating some "early signs of recovery."

But Amazon is not done yet. Things will be bumpy for a while as additional latency is expected (traffic will be moving slowly for a while), and there's still a big backlog.

But in short, Amazon's hit the "go" button on the fix, and they're watching to make sure it works.

Uh oh... Reddit just went out

That's a huge spike of Reddit outages! Just happened.

Desktop Reddit still works — but mobile app is down

Well this is awkward. As other services seem to be seeing services gradually get back to normal, AWS' fix may have knocked out Reddit's app.

Over 2,000 reports were made in the past 5 minutes on down detector. Luckily, it seems to just be the app, as the website is working in all our tests.

BREAKING: Another update from Amazon

So it looks like Amazon pressing the "Go" button appears to have fixed it. The team is working through a "backlog of queued requests," but things are on the up and up.

Someone tell that to Reddit, though!

The data backs it up

Amazon has claimed that there are "significant signs of recovery," and the outage reports are dropping off quick on the AWS down detector. Fingers crossed this isn't just a "fixing your own front door at the expense of others" kind of situation (the dropping reports across other services indicate this isn't the case), but we'll keep an eye on it.

What Redditors are seeing

This is what a lot of people on Reddit are seeing. This is indicative of the DNS and latency issues experienced in this AWS outage. Basically, the digital phonebook has been corrected, to take people to the right place, but the lanes of traffic haven't been fixed properly yet.

This is creating huge tailbacks on the digital highway of the internet, and causing loading issues like this. As per Amazon's advice, keep trying as things gradually go back to normal!

U.K. kinda sorta getting back to normal

Things seem to be on the way back to normal in my homeland. Government services are back to normal, and banks are on the way back.

Amazon outage reports are down below 1,000. Chances are most of you can start shopping again on the app!

So far, according to the Reddit status page, the infrastructure of the service is undergoing "degraded performance," which is backed up by nearly 5,000 outage reports on Down Detector!

Gamers rejoice! Things seem to be (almost) back to normal

Roblox is back to normal levels, Epic Games Store service seems to be back online (and Fortnite by extension), Dead by Daylight has resumed, and Steam, Rocket League and Pokémon GO are almost back to normal.

PlayStation Network is showing no issues too. Looks as if the fix has resolved some of the anti-cheat issues that seem to have caused the blockages due to AWS.

Wordle is back!

One of the more painful ones to us (given we love playing it every day and finding/sharing the answer) is Wordle. Wordle runs on AWS, and the network outage caused this to go down too. Now, fortunately, we're back up and running. Happy wordling!

Square is now back

A lot of the internet's payment systems runs on Square, and it was knocked out by AWS outages. Now it's status has changed to up, so that should be resolved.

BREAKING: Next update from Amazon is good news

Amazon is continuing to see "recovery across most of the affected AWS services." On top of that, the company confirms that "global services and features that rely on US-EAST-1" have also recovered.

With this in mind, we should start to expect a lot of these impacted services across gaming, streaming, banking and more to return to normal.

Reddit spikes in U.K. too

This seems to be both app and website loading. How is Reddit going in the wrong direction when the fix is deployed!? We're looking into this now

Over 9,000 outage reports for Reddit now!

55% of people reporting the app is down, while 34% are complaining about website outages. It's a sticky situation that seems to stretch beyond AWS fixes. Or there could be a scenario where the deployment of AWS' fix has knocked out Reddit. Nobody can be sure as Reddit's status page only reports "degraded performance."

Revenue loss expected in retailer chargebacks

With AWS outages, retailers get hit hard. It's one thing to talk about the outages of free services users are on. But what about retailers and paid-for services. They can cause issues like duplicate charges, broken confirmation pages and more.

“When AWS sneezes, half the internet catches the flu. Outages like this cause frustrated users, but also triggers a domino effect across payment flows," Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO of Chargebacks911 and Fi911 commented. "Failed authorizations, duplicate charges, broken confirmation pages, all of that fuels a wave of disputes that merchants will be cleaning up for weeks. And once a customer files a dispute, you are already on the back foot.”

Her advice to retailers seeing this? Get ahead of it: “The outage will end long before the disputes do. Any business that treats this as a one-day incident is already behind. Downtime happens, but silence and slow responses are what cause real damage.”

Ring is still down

Even though the AWS fix is deployed, Ring is still down for many people. Ring has (finally) acknowledged the outage across all its services and apps, and the Down detector outage reports are going back up.

BREAKING: Amazon confirms crisis is over, but a few issues to clean up

OK, so we have a new update from Amazon! In short, things are just about back to normal. The underlying DNS issue has "been fully mitigated," so the internet phonebook problem has been resolved. And because of that, "most AWS service operations are succeeding normally now."

But we're not fully out of the woods yet, as there are some lingering issues here. Namely "a backlog of events," as the giant traffic jam is still clearing for some specific tools like Lambda that runs code, and Cloudtrail that keeps a record of all the activity. I'm certain that Reddit uses these two services, so it's no big surprise to connect the dots and see this still being knocked out of service.

BREAKING: Reddit is on the case

The issue has appeared as an incident report on Reddit's status page, and the Down detector reports have peaked. Something tells me AWS may have gotten around to looking at the Lambda and Cloudtrail problems.

Telecoms impacted?

This I didn't expect. BT in the U.K. does have a site that runs on AWS, which is now loading fine. But broadband problems are being reported and there's a big spike around it.

The physical layer of the broadband connectivity is not dealt with by cloud providers, but it does run the things like customer account management, billing and network intelligence (to keep things running). So something may have happened here.

NOT STARBUCKS!?

For those looking to redeem points on their monday morning caffeine infusion may come a cropper, as the Starbucks app is down, due to the AWS issues. The fix has been deployed, but Amazon's now going through a backlog of smaller issues to fix these smaller disruptions.

Reddit outage reports down nearly 50%

This is an encouraging sign. Still a long way away from the baseline, but that's a big dip in a short amount of time!

Ring still seeing major issues

While some services like Reddit are getting fixed, Ring outage reports are on the rise, now at 3,296 as of writing. Hopefully, we'll see that number drop like the many other services right now.

AWS outage: All the sites and services affected

Over 40 services have been affected by the Amazon Web Services outage, which shows just how important the platform is for many different brands. Everything from Amazon, such as Alexa and Prime Video, to Snapchat and Strava went down, but fortunately, many of these services appear to be coming back to normal.

“When AWS sneezes, half the internet catches the flu. Outages like this cause frustrated users, but also triggers a domino effect across payment flows," Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO of Chargebacks911 and Fi911 commented. "Failed authorizations, duplicate charges, broken confirmation pages, all of that fuels a wave of disputes that merchants will be cleaning up for weeks. And once a customer files a dispute, you are already on the back foot.”

Here's a list of all the services affected:

• Amazon (including Alexa and Prime Video)
• Apple Music
• Blink
• Chime
• Coinbase
• Delta
• Duolingo
• Epic Games Store
• Fanduel
• Fortnite
• HBO Max
• Hinge
• Life 360
• Lyft
• McDonalds app
• Microsoft Teams
• My Fitness Pal
• Office 365
• PlayStation Network
• Pokemon Go
• Reddit
• Ring
• Roblox
• Roku
• Signal
• Slack
• Snapchat
• Square
• Starbucks
• Steam
• Strava
• Ubisoft Connect
• Venmo
• VR Chat
• Wordle
• Xbox
• Xero
• Zoom

Apple Music, Zoom back on the rise

Apple Music is back on the rise with over 250 reports, but this isn't as bad as other services have been (Ring is still on the rise, too). Even Zoom on Down Detector is starting to see a spike again. It isn't all completely fixed, but as Amazon confirmed, AWS services should be coming back to normal. We'll keep you posted!

Amazon 'continuing to work towards full recovery'

In its latest update, Amazon has stated: "We are continuing to work towards full recovery for EC2 launch errors, which may manifest as an Insufficient Capacity Error. Additionally, we continue to work toward mitigation for elevated polling delays for Lambda, specifically for Lambda Event Source Mappings for SQS. We will provide an update by 5:00 AM PDT."

So, while AWS services are coming back to normal, there are still some issues to iron out. Hopefully, we'll see a full return to form in the next update.

Still some issues with AWS

It's clear that AWS is still working on the issue, with Ring and Chime now seeing a spike in outage reports. Down detector shows that while reports have gone down, there are still problems to iron out!

Ring, Chime outage on the rise

Chime and Ring are continuing to see increased outage reports, according to Down Detector, with over 4,000 reports currently. This shows the issue isn't fixed completely just yet.

As per the AWS status page, the latest update states: "AWS features that depend on Lambda’s SQS polling capabilities such as Organization policy updates are also experiencing elevated processing times."

This could be the problem causing services like Ring and Chime to be down.

Chime is still 'continuing to monitor for any further issues'

As per Chime's status page, the service is still experiencing outages. That includes its website, mobile app, MyPay feature and more. While Chime states the incident has been resolved, it's still experiencing issues with reports on Down Detector on the rise.

For now, Chime is "continuing to monitor for any further issues."

Multiple Ring systems are still down

Along with Chime, Ring is experiencing multiple issues with its systems. According to its status page, Ring.com, Ring Protect, Live Calls, Video On Demand and more are seeing a partial outage, and this is backed up by the continued rise in reports on Down Detector.

Starbucks finally seeing a fix?

Even those morning coffees (to redeem points, anyway) from Starbucks were being affected by the AWS outage! It's been on the rise, but now it's finally seeing a dip in reports, which is hopefully signs that a fix is now in place.

Snapchat going through another spike?

Turns out Snapchat is going through yet another spike! On Down Dectector, Snapchat has seen a major dip after AWS has been reportedly fixed, but it's now seeing a steady rise back up to nearly 10,000 reports.

This rise started as of 8 a.m. ET / 1 p.m. BST, so it could be that East Coast users are now waking up to a wave of issues. Will that second-spike reach the heights of before? Here's hoping the fix will clear that issue right up.

You can find out more in our Snapchat outage live blog if that's the service you're focused on!

Ring is being fixed!

While Ring's support page shows there are still partial outages across its systems, Down Detector shows a steep decline in outage reports! Now under 1,000 (934 reports at the time of writing), that's a good sign that the service is coming back to normal (finally).

Amazon is still sorting out issues with AWS, so it's only a matter of time until we see all services work as they should. We're keeping track of how it looks, but in the meantime, it appears Ring and Chime are getting the fixes they need.

Chime is back up and running (it appears)

Along with Ring, Chime is seeing a massive decline in outage reports over on Down Detector, and according to its status page, all of its services are fully operational! That's a couple of services now on their way to see a full recovery, but we're not out of the woods just yet.

Snapchat continues to see a steady rise in outage reports, while other services like Zoom and Apple Music appear to still be experiencing some issues. Since AWS is still going through its fixes, we're sure to still see a few issues pop up. We'll keep you updated!

Is Reddit back up and running?

Reddit saw a big outage at around 5am EST / 10am BST, but it now appears to be fixed according to its status page. That said, the servers that support Reddit are still seeing performance issues, but at the very least, reddit.com is operational now! With just a few lingering outage reports on Down Detector.

At the very least, it works for me and the team. Will Snapchat see the same fixes soon? Here's hoping.

AWS outage: Over 1,000 companies affected

The AWS outage is massive, and to know just how big it is, there are over 1,000 companies affected by the Amazon Web Services issues this morning, as per a BBC report.

In fact, Down Detector noted that it saw 6.5 million reports globally, and that includes apps like Snapchat, Ring, Reddit, Starbucks and plenty more (find out all the apps and services affected by the AWS outage).

If you've been affected, you definitely won't be alone!

BREAKING: AWS 'making progress on resolving the issue'

Amazon has updated its AWS status page on the ongoing issues it's clearing up, stating: "We are making progress on resolving the issue with new EC2 instance launches in the US-EAST-1 Region and are now able to successfully launch new instances in some Availability Zones. We are applying similar mitigations to the remaining impacted Availability Zones to restore new instance launches. As we continue to make progress, customers will see an increasing number of successful new EC2 launches."

This essentially means that services should soon see a return to form, as we've seen with Chime, Starbucks and other services that saw continued issues. That should mean that Snapchat will see some fixes soon (fingers crossed), as it's now see a second spike of reports on Down Detector.

More updates on AWS will be on the way soon, and we'll be keeping track!

BREAKING: Wordle joins Snapchat in a second spike

I hope you managed to get your Wordle answers in to keep your streak alive, because it looks like the game is down again! Users are struggling to login to play today's puzzle.

This joins the second spike of outages led by Snapchat.

Apple Music's second spike exceeds first outage

Uh oh... The peak around the first stint of the AWS outage hit 359. Now it's peaked again at 364 with users reporting music streaming problems. Issues seem to be localized to New York and Los Angeles right now, but could be more widespread as the U.S. wakes up and tries to play their get up playlist!

BREAKING: Huge spike of outages on Instacart

Online grocery shopping might be off the cards for you atm, as a huge jump in Instacart outage reports has just occurred. We're trying to get to the bottom of what's happened here, but everything seems to be tying back to the EC2 instance launches not being effective or scaling to a larger pool of users.

A new statement from Amazon is IN

OK, so, we're all a bit confused because Amazon tells us its fixed, but then services are still experiencing problems. Now there's an update, and it paints a bit more of a picture.

Basically, what Amazon is trying to say here is that while the DNS issue has been fixed (the digital phonebook of the internet now directs people to the right places), the tool that connects people is still jammed, and are causing massive slowdown across all of its sites.

This is why services are being rate limited, to stop the system from crashing and allow the existing problems to fully clear. This is a temporary cap on how many people can go to certain sites — like a bouncer at a crowded Halloween party (I'm dressing up as Peacemaker btw). This should stop the system from crashing and allow existing problems to fully clear.

Pinterest outages spike

Looking for tasteful living room ideas or inspirational quotes written entirely in helvetica? That's not going to be possible for a lot of you, as the rate cap has seemingly spiked outage reports on Down Detector about Pinterest.

Apple system status suggests Music is back... Let's see

Even though Apple Music outage reports continues to grow, Apple itself is confirming that the outage has been resolved. We'll see whether this is true in a few minutes if that curve goes down.

Also worth noting if you're having business, school management or iCloud issues, the Cupertino crew are already looking into these too.

BREAKING: Tidal is down

This spike makes the potential Apple Music outage look like a minor speed bump! Over 1,000 reports in the past few minutes, with 54% of people across the U.S. reporting audio streaming issues. This, again (I believe) is probably down to the rate cap that AWS has put in place to ease pressure while fixes are implemented.

AWS problems have exposed how dependent the UK has become on "fragile cloud infrastructure"

While in the U.S. there's been some big outages of banks and grocery services, the U.K. has seen outages of Government sites like HMRC (the bit that deals with tax and revenue) and the overall Government website.

This is incredible problematic, as Cybersecurity Expert Christian Espinosa from Blue Goat Cyber talks about.

“The widespread outage that affected Amazon Web Services and major platforms across the UK is a stark reminder that our digital world is built on a surprisingly fragile foundation. Cloud concentration, where a handful of providers host most of our critical systems, creates a single point of failure," Espinosa comments.

"When one data region or provider goes down, ripple effects hit everything from retail and finance to logistics and communications. For UK businesses, this affects security more than prductivity. During outages, normal safeguards are often bypassed: staff use personal devices, backup credentials circulate, and attackers exploit the confusion."

BREAKING: A new update from Amazon confirms "significant" errors

When it rains, it pours for Amazon. The company has now confirmed some significant API errors (basically the way developers plug their work into), and connectivity issues across multiple services in the US-EAST-1 Region!

We're starting to see what that means across lots of services.

Yep, Venmo is down again

Oh boy, here we go again. With a ginormous spike of 4,440 outage reports on Down detector, Venmo is down again!

As we've seen from the past one, your money should be safe if you have any in transit. And you can report anything that seems off with your transfers once you're back on. But this again seems to be down to that rate cap. No update from AWS yet on lifting it!

More issues confirmed by Amazon

Another update has just dropped on the AWS status page, and it's more issues creeping up. "Network connectivity issues" are plaguing the web services platform, so others will see them too. But "early signs of recovery" are being spotted, as the root cause continues to be investigated.

This one is a big problem

For those who aren't in the know, Life360 is a location-sharing app that families and friends use in close circles to see each other's live locations on a private map. This is good for establishing designated meeting points, and giving people an SOS button for emergencies, while also ensuring people get home safe.

This service (unfortunately) is on AWS, and the app is down for a lot of people. For those who are just looking after their loved ones, this is incredibly problematic.

Pinterest is on the rise

Pinterest, another popular social network, is seeing a rise in reports. Like many of the big outages, we have to assume this one is connected to AWS and the ongoing issues it's having. It really puts into perspective how much we rely on Amazon Web Services to keep the internet chugging along smoothly.

A sudden Verizon spike

It looks like some people are experiencing issues with Verizon, though it's unclear whether it's landlines or mobile at this time. We also don't know if this one is linked to AWS or something else entirely, but we'll certainly keep an eye on it either way.

A small update to say... not much

AWS released a status update that doesn't offer much clarity. In short, the company acknowledges the issue and is investigating, which was already the assumed situation.

"Oct 20 8:04 AM PDT We continue to investigate the root cause for the network connectivity issues that are impacting AWS services such as DynamoDB, SQS, and Amazon Connect in the US-EAST-1 Region. We have identified that the issue originated from within the EC2 internal network. We continue to investigate and identify mitigations," reads the AWS status page.

Higher than the original

We're seeing more reports on Down Detector for AWS than when this first started. The previous peak was around 6,000, and now it's up to 6,400. It's clear this outage is going to last a while longer, but hopefully not for too long, as the internet is really struggling today.

How much is this affecting you?

Almost everyone is being impacted by this outage in some way, but we're curious how much it's messing with your flow. Vote in the poll above and let's see how much Tom's Guide readers are being put out by this AWS situation, which experts say could cost billions of dollars.

"The home delivery specialist Parcelhero says that, when a similar event happened last year at Crowdstrike, it cost $5.4 billion in losses for Fortune 500 companies and impacted a wide variety of companies globally," said Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks.

End in sight, maybe?

Amazon might have a solution on the horizon!

"We have narrowed down the source of the network connectivity issues that impacted AWS Services. The root cause is an underlying internal subsystem responsible for monitoring the health of our network load balancers. We are throttling requests for new EC2 instance launches to aid recovery and actively working on mitigations," the company said on its AWS Health Dashboard.

It doesn't sound like we're out of the situation yet, but we're getting closer, which is good news.

Peloton joins the outage

We're seeing a huge rise in reports for Peloton (relative to the size of the service). It's at almost 800 reports, which is a high number. Users are obviously having issues connecting the relatively costly exercise service.

AWS will have an update soon

"We have taken additional mitigation steps to aid the recovery of the underlying internal subsystem responsible for monitoring the health of our network load balancers and are now seeing connectivity and API recovery for AWS services. We have also identified and are applying next steps to mitigate throttling of new EC2 instance launches. We will provide an update by 10:00 AM PDT," reads the company's live blog.

The long-reaching issues with outages like this

The internet is dependant on AWS, which is fine most of the time. When something goes wrong, though, it's a scary reminder of how important one service like this is. Rob van Lubek, EMEA Vice President, Dynatrace spoke about that in a comment to Tom's Guide.

"Global incidents like this are a clear reminder of how dependent our world has become on software and digital systems operating as expected. Today's IT environments are far more complex and interconnected than many realize, so when an outage occurs, the ripple effects can quickly spread across industries and into people's daily lives," said Rob van Lubek.

“For large enterprises especially, the difference between disruption and recovery often comes down to visibility and speed - how fast an organization can pinpoint what's gone wrong, understand why, and act to restore service continuity. That level of digital resilience requires deep insight into how systems connect and where vulnerabilities might emerge, so teams can focus on what truly matters in a crisis," he continued.

Ok, now they're taking away my Wendy's

Half the internet is down, so it was only a matter of time until the fast food industry felt it. But why Wendy's?

The losses are huge

We're receiving a lot of interesting tidbits from different analysts talking about the far-reaching effects of this outage. One that stood out says that $75 million is being lost per hour that this outage continues — with Amazon itself taking more than $72 million of that figure.

The data comes from Tenscope, and here's what it shows in terms of losses for some of the major companies:

• Amazon: $72,831,050 per hour 
• Snapchat: $611,986 per hour
• Zoom: $532,580 per hour 
• Roblox: $411,187 per hour 
• Fortnite: $399,543 per hour 
• Canva: $342,466 per hour 
• Slack: $194,064 per hour 
• Reddit: $148,402 per hour

As far as how Tenscope reached this conclusion, the company says it used "last year's publicly available revenue data for the affected companies, divided by 8,760 to determine hourly revenue loss during the AWS outage."

AWS posts an update

AWS updated its status page, albeit a little late. The company said, "We continue to apply mitigation steps for network load balancer health and recovering connectivity for most AWS services. Lambda is experiencing function invocation errors because an internal subsystem was impacted by the network load balancer health checks. We are taking steps to recover this internal Lambda system. For EC2 launch instance failures, we are in the process of validating a fix and will deploy to the first AZ as soon as we have confidence we can do so safely. We will provide an update by 10:45 AM PDT."

Based on that, it looks like we're going to have to wait another 45+ minutes to see if anything major changes.

So many red bars

Zooming out on Down Detector is truly a sight to behold. Everything from gambling sites to social networks to videos games are dealing with outages because of these AWS problems. It's scary.

In case you missed it...

As of this writing, our quiz asking how much this outage is affecing you on a scale of 1-100 is a 81%. But there's still time to vote!

Amazon on a downswing

Amazon is seeing another downturn in reports. Could this be the beginning of the end or is just users no reporting outages as frequently. We'll continue to monitor.

AWS comments again

"Our mitigations to resolve launch failures for new EC2 instances are progressing and the internal subsystems of EC2 are now showing early signs of recovering in a few Availability Zones (AZs) in the US-EAST-1 Region. We are applying mitigations to the remaining AZs at which point we expect launch errors and network connectivity issues to subside," reads the company's latest status update.

More of the same...

Unfortunately, there isn't much new to report. AWS is hovering a little below 10k reports as of this post, which is where it has been for the last couple of hours.

Next AWS update

Amazon says its will post another update by 11:30 am PDT (2:30 EDT), so we'll learn more soon. Hopefully it's good news!

And AWS says...

There seem to be some improvements happening, based on the latest comment from AWS.

"Our mitigations to resolve launch failures for new EC2 instances continue to progress and we are seeing increased launches of new EC2 instances and decreasing networking connectivity issues in the US-EAST-1 Region. We are also experiencing significant improvements to Lambda invocation errors, especially when creating new execution environments (including for Lambda@Edge invocations). We will provide an update by 12:00 PM PDT," reads the status page.

Which service is hurting you the most?

With so many services affected by this outage, it's hard to know which one is hitting our readers the most...

So we made a poll to find out! Let your voice be heard and tell us which AWS outage is hitting you the hardest. Are you on an epic Snapchat streak? Do you need to get a last-minute birthday present from Amazon? Money stuck in Venmo? Is it something else entirely? Vote in poll and we'll come back with results later on!

No update from AWS

The AWS Service Health page promised an update at 12 pm Pacific, but as of this writing (12:15 pm), there has yet to be an update.

The previous update from around 11:22 am, indicated that things were starting to turn around, albeit slowly.

Color me wrong

Welp, as soon as we posted that last update, AWS dropped their own.

So, what are they saying now?

According to the most recent update, they "continue to observe recovery across all AWS services." It does not that some customers may still face "intermittent functions errors."

This does seem reflect a decrease in reports on Down Detector across many of the affected services and AWS itself.

Ring services down

Ring, an Amazon-owned home security subsidiary, has been affected by the AWS outage all day.

My colleague, John Velasco, shared this image from his Ring system showing the modes aren't available. He reported that notifications are heavily delayed and that if you subscribe to the home security service the option to change modes is unavailable.

So if you had it turned off, you can't turn if back on through the app.

Outage affecting small businesses

A reader, Rob W., reached out us to note that the AWS outage is affecting small businesses that rely on services that utilize AWS. His examples included Shopify (which hosts stores), Finale Inventory (ecommerce software), and Shipstation (shipping management).

Rob said that he hasn't been able to access his Shipstation account at all today with other issues affecting the other services.

"This AWS outage is very much hurting small businesses too," he said.

As mentioned, there are a ton of services and sites that use AWS as a major part of their infrastructure. Even with the fixes, it may not be enough to recover the day for some businesses.

Managing tickets via Ticketmaster may not be working

If you're attempting to attend a live event tonight and had to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster, you may not be able to access them.

As noted by the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Seattle Mariners in the MLB playoffs tonight, the issue means that people can't manage their tickets for the game.

As of this writing, no solution has been presented for potentially affected fans.

Latest update from AWS

AWS provided another update on its Service health page saying that "service recovery across all AWS services continues to improve."

That does appear to be the case based on Down Detector. We're seeing a number of services that were impacted with declining reports. The AWS page has steadily gone down from a high of nearly 10,000 reports to around 6,500 as of this writing.

That doesn't mean we're out of the weeds. It's clear that things aren't quickly turning back on and some services may still be experiencing ongoing outages.

Platforms coming back online

While a number of platforms, apps and websites have been affected by the ongoing AWS outage we've specifically focused on Venmo and Snapchat which seemed to see more reports than others.

We can see that things are starting to settle down as both of significantly declined in reports since earlier highs.

At one point, Snapchat hit 22,000 reports on Down Detector before dropping precipitously before holding around 7,000 for several hours. As of this writing, that number finally dipped under 2,000.

Venmo, which peaked around 8,300 reports around 8:30 am Pacific, has dipped all the way under 700 on Down Detector.

This isn't to say that every service has recovered equally. I'm currently seeing sites like Fetch, Ancestry.com and Fan Duel spiking but I am currently unaware if those services use AWS or are seeing a delayed impact.

How the AWS outage happened

As we've seen today, AWS is a lynchpin of the internet, concerningly so.

With that in mind, my colleague Amanda Caswell, took a look at how the outage happened, why it may have occurred and why it broke the internet. If you want to know more, I suggest you give it a read.

Looking up from AWS

The AWS Service Health page received another update and things looked to be on their way to repaired.

The severity has been reduced from "degraded" to "impacted" though that impact is still hitting 82 AWS services.

From what I can see, AWS is starting to open things back up a bit as they "continue to make progress toward pre-event levels."

Reports over on DD have finally gone under 5,000 for the first time since things started spike around 6 am Pacific.

Let us know, are things back up for you?

With service seemingly back on track from AWS, let us know if you're starting to see apps and websites working again.

For example, do you use Snapchat or Venmo? Can you use them. Or do you have Ring and can update your cameras again?

You can email me at scott.younker@futurenet.com.

You reported in, and things are still down

A little bit ago I asked if people were seeing things come back online and received several emails from readers that basically saying, "Nope."

Here's a little roundup of services that readers are saying they can't access or isn't working properly:

• Ally Bank
• Amazon Firestick
• Amazon Pharmacy
• Autodeck Creative Cloud inckuding Revit
• Canvas by Instructure
• EA
• Epic Games
• Physical ATM in Kansas
• ShipStation
• Sling
• Steam
• Toast
• xtraChef

The affected region covers the east coast and some of the midwest of the United States and that's where reports appear to be coming from.

Again, it's a reminder of how many services utilize AWS and how widespread this outage actually is.

We appreciate readers reaching out and letting us know how this ongoing outage is affecting them.

Where we stand after more than 12 hours

If you haven't been following along since the start we've been covering the AWS outage since 1 am Pacific/4 am Eastern/9 am UK.

Like the Crowdstrike outage from 2024, today's AWS problems were massive and affected multiple services across the country, though not as global.

Things haven't completely settled back to normal with though reports have been in a steady decline since 11 am PT. On Down Detector, reports are hovering around 3,500, a nice drop from our 2:30 pm check-in when it was at 5,000. Though that may be going up again.

AWS just posted an updated reporting that its restored "EC2 instance launch throttles to pre-event levels" and the launch failures have recovered everywhere.

The company does note that there is a backlog of analystics and reports that need processing.

As seen by our previous post, despite declines on Down Detector and encouraging updates from AWS, things aren't fully back yet and it may be a minute before we get there.

Fan Duel down?

The sports betting service Fan Duel seems to be down. A few readers reached out saying they couldn't login.

Fan Duel appears to use AWS and I'm seeing it spike on Down Detector.

AWS calls it

I'm still seeing a lot of reports on Down Detector and a few readers are saying they still can't access some apps, but more are writing in to say that their services are back up.

On the AWS Service Health page, the issue is now resolved as resolved.

Here's the full summary from AWS:

Between 11:49 PM PDT on October 19 and 2:24 AM PDT on October 20, we experienced increased error rates and latencies for AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region. Additionally, services or features that rely on US-EAST-1 endpoints such as IAM and DynamoDB Global Tables also experienced issues during this time. At 12:26 AM on October 20, we identified the trigger of the event as DNS resolution issues for the regional DynamoDB service endpoints. After resolving the DynamoDB DNS issue at 2:24 AM, services began recovering but we had a subsequent impairment in the internal subsystem of EC2 that is responsible for launching EC2 instances due to its dependency on DynamoDB. As we continued to work through EC2 instance launch impairments, Network Load Balancer health checks also became impaired, resulting in network connectivity issues in multiple services such as Lambda, DynamoDB, and CloudWatch. We recovered the Network Load Balancer health checks at 9:38 AM. As part of the recovery effort, we temporarily throttled some operations such as EC2 instance launches, processing of SQS queues via Lambda Event Source Mappings, and asynchronous Lambda invocations. Over time we reduced throttling of operations and worked in parallel to resolve network connectivity issues until the services fully recovered. By 3:01 PM, all AWS services returned to normal operations. Some services such as AWS Config, Redshift, and Connect continue to have a backlog of messages that they will finish processing over the next few hours. We will share a detailed AWS post-event summary.

The team behind AWS previously said that it would take some time to cycle through the backlog and data which may be why some services aren't totally back up yet.

As an example, Fan Duel was spiking but I'm already seeing those reports start to go down.

The $2.5 billion question

Our Managing Editor, Computing, Jason England, asked an important question this morning: How many more AWS outages until the internet builds a real backup plan?

We mentioned it several times during the course of this live blog that the internet is heavily reliant on AWS, perhaps a little too much. The billions of dollars lost during the outage should be a message to everyone, but we'll see if the internet actually takes notice.

And to top it off, we're seeing another small spike in Down Detector reports for AWS today. Could we be in for another day of AWS issues?

Over 1,000 reports again

So AWS went down yesterday due to a DNS issue that cascaded to services across the planet. This was supposedly fixed yesterday, but reports have started creeping up again on Down Detector this morning.

And you'll never guess who the culprit is...yep, it's US-EAST-1 again. I've already written about this being a key problem in having a lot of the internet reliant on one server region.

Could this be trolls hitting Down Detector to get the internet riled up or something more serious? We'll keep you posted.

Other services reporting issues

As we know, when AWS goes down, a lot of the internet goes down with it. So it's no surprise to see Anthropic's status page showing a Claude outage. Will more services start to go down? It depends on whether AWS is just experiencing a blip or a second round of the massive outage is underway.

Cloudflare showing warning signs

Currently, we're seeing network issues in Frankfurt. In case you're not aware, Cloudflare is often used with AWS, which could be another sign that things aren't all good in the Amazon Web Services space, but we'll have to wait and see.

You can read more on what's happening with Cloudflare on the status page, but it's worrisome to say the least.

Staying steady

AWS reports are remaining mostly steady on Down Detector. It's still a high number of reports, 1,447 as of this post, but it's nothing like yesterday when we saw reports rise into the ten thousands range. We'll continue to monitor the situation to see if it gets worse, but for now it seems we're stuck somewhere between a full outage and a small bug.

Is it just updates?

This could just be fixes being applied on the fly by AWS, but not expecting this to be as hugely widespread as yesterday. We'll keep an eye on it

AWS status is okay

On the AWS status page, everything looks to be in working order. The last update it from yesterday when the hosting giant said everything was resolved, so it's still not quite clear why we're seeing this sudden rise in reports this morning.

1,000 range

We've officially made it into the 1,000 range, which is close to where it hovered overnight due to straggling reports coming in. It's not quite low enough where we'd call anything resolved yet, but it's getting there.

Those NFTs are...

NFTs are amazing because you apparently “own” them but the AWS outtage yesterday took out everyones apes lol

— @junlper.beer (@junlper.beer.bsky.social) 2025-10-21T15:09:31.565Z

Someone on Bluesky noticed that popular NFTs seem to have been taken offline by the issues with AWS. It's odd to see images that people "own" going down.

Under 1,000 now

We've officially dropped below 1,000 reports, with Down Detector sitting at about 950 as of this post.

It seems okay... for now

Based on the reports slowly dropping, I think AWS is okay, at least for now. If, for some reason, you're still experiencing issues, make sure to head to Down Detector to report it

Among other new features announced at Amazon's event, Ring announced Search Party, an AI-powered community feature that turns outdoor Ring cameras into a neighborhood network for finding lost dogs.

The feature launches as pet owners posted over 1 million lost or found pet reports in the Ring app during the last year alone. Search Party uses artificial intelligence to scan outdoor camera footage for dogs matching descriptions of missing pets reported in the app. When a potential match is detected, nearby camera owners receive notifications with images and relevant footage that might help reunite the dog with its family. Rolling out in November to users in the U.S., Ring plans to expand this feature to cats and other animals at a later date.

How Search Party works

When your dog goes missing, you report it in the Ring app with a description and photo of your missing pet. This alert triggers Search Party for outdoor Ring cameras in the surrounding area.

AI analyzes footage from participating outdoor cameras to identify dogs that potentially match the lost pet's description. The system looks for visual matches based on the information provided in the missing dog report.

Camera owners receive notifications when a possible match is detected. The alert includes a picture of the reported lost dog alongside relevant footage from your camera showing the potential match.

You control whether to participate in each Search Party. When you receive an alert about a possible match, you can choose to ignore it or share the footage with the neighbor who reported the lost dog.

The feature reflects Ring's broader vision of using AI to create connected communities where neighbors actively help each other. Search Party represents one application of this community-focused approach to smart home technology.

Compatible Ring devices

Search Party works with the following Ring cameras and doorbells:

Doorbells: All Ring doorbell models are compatible with Search Party and can participate in lost dog alerts.

Floodlight Cams: All models work with the feature to help locate missing pets in your area.

Spotlight Cams: All models support Search Party functionality for finding lost dogs.

Stick Up Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

Outdoor Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

We're curious to see how well this feature works, and if it will help set Ring video doorbells apart from the best video doorbells. Now that AI is being integrated into just about every company's product, it's features like this that could differentiate one device from another.

More from Tom's Guide

• 7 Ring video doorbell tips everyone needs to know
• How to put Ring Doorbell motion detection on a schedule
• Make your Ring Doorbell smarter — how to set up quick replies

Amazon's annual Devices and Services event took place overnight, kicking off at midnight on October 1 for Aussies. And while we may be missing out on some key products launching globally, my predictions for the new devices have officially come true.

Yesterday, I speculated on several price drops on current Amazon devices in the lead-up to Prime Big Deal Days next week. These drops largely pertained to Amazon's home security brands, Ring and Blink, and a potential new eero router. At the time, I had no inkling that any Echo revamp was on the horizon. And boy, was I wrong to think otherwise.

Amazon has unveiled an extended lineup of new and improved devices in Australia, across Ring, Blink, Echo and Fire TV products. Unfortunately for now, Aussies will miss out on the new Kindles — the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and updated Kindle Scribe models, in fact — but my fingers are crossed that they'll be announced Down Under soon.

In a quick snapshot, here are the 15 devices coming our way, including pricing and release dates. All devices are available to preorder right now.

Echo Devices

• Echo Dot Max: AU$199, October 29
• Echo Studio: AU$429, October 29
• Echo Show 8: AU$349, November 12
• Echo Show 11: AU$429, November 12

Fire TV Devices

• Fire TV Stick 4K Select: AU$89, October 15

Ring Devices

• Wired Video Doorbell Plus: AU$299, November 12
• Indoor Camera Plus: AU$99, November 12
• Spotlight Camera Pro: AU$299, November 12
• Floodlight Camera Pro: AU$449, November 12
• Wired Video Doorbell Pro: AU$399, November 12
• Outdoor Camera Pro: AU$329, October 15

Blink Devices

• Video Doorbell: AU$89, release date TBC
• Blink Mini 2K+: AU$59, release date TBC
• Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Mount: AU$69, release date TBC
• Blink Arc Mount: AU$35, release date TBC

New and improved Amazon lineup unlocked

Notably, the biggest lineup falls under the Ring umbrella, with six new products launching within the next six weeks. The range has received a nice facelift, not only when it comes to design, but also with new advanced features. Select new cameras will come with Ring Retinal 4K vision, the brand's next-gen imaging technology that'll improve footage resolution, offer up to 10x zoom, and add more visual clarity for users.

In a similar vein, Blink has confirmed the expansion of its Australian catalogue, offering more affordable options for budget-conscious buyers. Blink's Video Doorbell will rival sister brand Ring's options, offering crisp head-to-toe view, package or person alerts, and cloud storage via the Blink Sync Module core, for a fraction of the cost at AU$89. The new Blink Mini 2K+ will also offer higher resolution for indoor monitoring and can be paired with the Blink Arc mount accessory for a wider scope.

Meanwhile, Echo devices get a much-needed glow-up in the Echo Show 8 (2025) and Echo Show 11 (2025) home displays. Aside from the updated in-cell touch and negative liquid crystal screens, both devices include new front-facing stereo speakers and a custom woofer for room-filling spatial audio.

Joining the new smart displays are the new Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio. A step into the world of premium audio for the brand, the Echo Studio combines a powerful high-excursion woofer that delivers deep bass and three full-range drivers to create immersive sound. It also supports Dolby Atmos and spatial audio. The Dot Max, on the other hand, features almost 3x the bass of the Echo Dot (5th gen), and its sound can automatically adapt to your space.

Finally, Fire TV will deliver its most affordable 4K streaming device yet in the Fire TV Stick 4K Select. The new plug-and-play device will feature enhanced clarity, contrast and colour — all for AU$89.

As mentioned, all of these new devices are available for preorder on Amazon Australia right now.

Amazon's big fall hardware and services event is happening right now, and you can follow along with our Amazon event live blog. The company kicked things off by announcing shiny new Ring cameras with Retinal Vision technology. These cameras also feature Alexa+ greetings, the ability to identify familiar people, and a Search Party feature that helps locate missing dogs.

The new models include both 2K and 4K cameras, as well as video doorbells, so there's something for every household.

Ring Retinal 4K devices

Amazon has revealed several devices that support its new Ring Retinal 4K technology, which powers its most advanced cameras. The Wired Doorbell Pro, Spotlight Cam Pro, Floodlight Cam Pro and Outdoor Cam Pro are among the devices to feature Amazon's most vibrant video quality.

This is Ring's first batch of 4K devices, which the company says is useful for more than just making videos and images look better. In fact, this higher resolution captures critical details with lifelike precision, which means that if something happens, you can see the person or animal more clearly.

The Retinal Vision portion appears to be about more than just capturing 4K video. According to Ring, "it optimizes every step of the imaging process with advanced AI tuning." With 10x zoom and enhanced low-light performance, these devices should be able to capture everything happening within their field of view.

Alexa+ greetings

This sounds like a good use for Amazon's new AI-powered feature that transforms Alexa into a smart doorbell attendant. Let's say someone is soliciting at your house. In that case, Alexa+ can do the talking for you and ask the purpose of their visit. It'll keep you informed of what's happening the whole way, so you can decide if you want to talk to the person at the door or send them on their way (I never talk to door-to-door salespeople, so my answer would also be to "go away.")

With Alexa+, the Familiar Faces feature identifies familiar people, allowing you to reduce notifications triggered by their routine activities. This will reduce clutter and allow you to receive only the notifications that truly matter.

And finally, the new Search Party for dogs is an AI-powered community feature that enables the cameras to reunite lost dogs with their families. Using the Ring app, someone can report a lost dog, and nearby outdoor Ring cameras can start a Search Party using AI to find possible matches.

Ring Retinal 2K

Ring also revealed its Ring Retinal 2K tech, which is available in two new products, the Indoor Cam Plus and Wired Doorbell Plus. "Retinal 2K represents our commitment to continuous invention and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in home security. Every pixel matters when it comes to keeping your home safe," said Ring in a press release.

New Ring devices availability and pricing

As for pricing, with Ring's Retinal 2K devices, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro costs $249.99 and the Wired Doorbell Plus will sell for $179.99.

The company's devices with Retinal 4K tech include the Outdoor Cam Pro at $199.99 for the regular version and $299.98 for the Power over Ethernet one.

The Spotlight Cam Pro is $249.99 for the regular model and $349.98 for the Power over Ethernet one.

Ring's Floodlight Cam Pro is $279.99, the Indoor Cam Plus goes for $59.99 and the Wired Doorbell Elite retails for $499.99.

All of the new devices are available for pre-order today but the cool new Search Party for dogs will start rolling out in November, followed by cats and other pets while Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will launch in December. So while you can get the devices now, some of the cool new selling points won't launch right away.

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Amazon is gearing up to announce new branded products in the coming hours, with its annual Devices and Services event starting at 10 am ET / 12 am AEST (Wednesday). But the tight-lipped retailer might have just dropped a sneaky hint about what's to come in the lead-up to Prime Big Deal Days.

Prime Big Deal Days kicks off globally on October 7, 2025, with deals expected on the latest tech, appliances and more. Often, a week before the sale starts, the retailer discounts its own device range as early Prime Day deals.

After looking into the newly available deals, I've spotted several price drops in Amazon's existing lineup. Multiple Ring, Blink, and eero devices have had their RRPs slashed. For simplicity's sake, I've popped them into a table below, highlighting each device's previous pricing.

Security cameras have come such a long, long way from the blurry, black and white CCTV cameras used in businesses just a few decades ago.

From night vision, two-way talk, pan and tilt, privacy shutters and alarms, there's a whole host of features that come with the best home security cameras – and almost all of them can be controlled right from your smart phone.

These days more and more smart home cameras are incorporating AI and touting AI-enhanced features to try and impress potential customers. As with any feature though, it's worth testing and trying out all the bells and whistles to make sure that they actually stand up to real-life situations and aren't just a fancy add-on to help justify a higher price.

To that end, I took four of the most popular smart home cameras from well known manufacturers, and tried out the AI features on each one to see how they stacked up in real-world use and against each other.

Ring Indoor Cam 2nd Gen

Ring's second generation Indoor Cam is a lightweight, cylindrical camera with an adjustable mount, a wired connection and a manual (as well as removable) privacy cover that, when shut, will turn off both the video and audio feeds. We like it as a budget choice because it offers 1080p HD video and color night vision, two-way talk and a siren all for $60.

It has features like customizable motion zones, real-time notifications, quick replies with pre-recorded responses and, my personal favorite, motion alerts with advanced pre-roll that let you see a short snippet of the recorded activity right from the notifications on your phone. You can also view the live feed as a picture-in-picture view within the app while performing other tasks.

Smart Video Search

Ring's Home plan provides users with 180 days of recorded history and access to it's main AI feature: Smart Video Search. The AI feature is only available on the Premium tier of the plan for $19.99/month. This feature uses AI to help you find what you're looking for in your recorded event history and it was, in a word, essential. It is an absolute winner of a feature. It makes finding any clip, or searching for anything specific, incredibly easy.

I was able to search by general terms, for example "kids running," or "cats at night," or even "person wearing black" and get many results organized by date and time. I went from thinking this was not going to be an impressive feature, to realizing I would not want to have a smart home security camera without it.

Ring Home also has a feature called Device Modes that lets users easily change modes and customize settings in regard to how the camera records when you're away, but you can also turn it off when you're home. This was helpful too because it meant the camera essentially disabled itself while we were home, so I didn't get dozens of alerts every time a cat moved through the motion zone.

Eufy Security Indoor Cam C220

Eufy's Indoor Cam C220 has 2K video with night vision and a full 360 degree pan and tilt (which is a feature I use frequently). It has multiple mounting options, and a privacy mode where it will turn its camera away and turn itself off. It requires no subscription to use but if you want any video playback you'll either need to pay for cloud storage or use an SD card.

The noise recognition on this device is great, it regularly picks up sound in the next room or two over, but that does mean you'll get extra notifications for what it senses. And while it touts real-time notifications, I did notice a small lag in that area.

The app is very intuitive to use, and offers a lot of control over two-way talk, night vision, zoom, motion zones and more. For the price point there is a lot to like about this indoor security camera.

AI motion tracking

Eufy's AI features are mainly grouped around how the camera can locate motion and track it. This is a feature that I've grown fond of as I've continuously tested the camera over the past several weeks. It's quite useful to know that the device is tracking whatever motion it senses in the room – particularly when I have been using it as a baby monitor in the kids room.

However, it sometimes will grab motion and then wander into a corner, which leaves it in a position where I have a bad view. So the feature has a few drawbacks, and you have to play around with it a bit at times to get it to function right in particular rooms or at certain angles.

The camera was able to pick up motion even in my kids cluttered bedroom, at night and even when the motion was a black cat, or my tiniest cat who is less than five pounds. And when one of the kids had a nightmare, it did a good job of sending an alert to my phone about detecting noise and motion so that I was able to get there quickly.

Wyze Cam V4

The Wyze Cam V4 is a petite, boxy little thing that looks like it could be the star of a Pixar film. It features a 2.5K QHD video resolution, 116-degree field of vision, color night vision and local storage thanks to an SD card slot. It's rated IP65 weatherproof so it's one of the options on here that can also be used outdoors like one of the best outdoor security cameras, and it has a motion activated spotlight and siren along with two way communication.

The Wyze Cam V4 has multiple mounting options, but there's no privacy shutter. Likewise, a lot of the features that come included with other smart security cameras are only available on a higher tier subscription called Cam Unlimited ($9.99/month) which includes custom automations, facial recognition and smart modes.

It's also worth noting is that all my Wyze notifications were automatically sent to my iOS summary so I wasn't initially seeing them because I wasn't looking for them in a "smart" place.

AI Smart Focus

Wyze's AI capabilities center around Smart Focus: an AI motion tracking feature which can identify, zoom in and follow a subject as it moves around the camera's field of view. It will capture subjects within a virtual box, identify them as a person or pet and then follow them while they appear on camera.

Wyze's person/pet identifier had no issue identifying my family members, even when my kitchen table was cluttered with backpacks and buckets of Lego, or tracking my kids when they were jumping all over the place.

Two of the features I like most — finding relevant videos using AI and Descriptive Alerts which provides detailed descriptions of the motion events in the notifications (i.e. "Front Door camera saw a suspicious person pick up a package on your porch.") — are only available with Cam Unlimited Pro, one of the priciest plans at $19.99 a month.

Arlo Essential Indoor 2nd Gen

Arlo's Essential Indoor 2nd Gen camera has a lot of the same features as the other cameras on this list: It records 2K (or HD) video, has night vision, two way audio, real time notifications and an automatic privacy shield. The hardware and software here are fairly straightforward and uncomplicated.

Its image based motion detection will catch people, animals, package deliveries, vehicles and uniquely (though I didn't test this) fires. There's no local storage, but it does offer modes and automations from within the app for the camera to schedule. The Essential Indoor 2nd Gen camera also has a siren and can work to contact first responders (police, fire or medical aid) by sharing your location and additional information.

AI Secure Plan

Arlo's AI features all fall into the Arlo Secure Plan (starting at $7.99/month) which really centers around an improved sense of home security: there are four features in the AI-enhanced plan, which Arlo says delivers personalized, actionable alerts around the clock for better emergency responses.

First, you can view, share and save 60 days of video and event recordings, however, there's no way to search through them easily aside from date or time. Next is the real-time alerts about people, vehicles, packages, animals and even fires. I only was able to test for people and pets, but can say this works as advertised.

The last two features are the customizable activity zones that highlight specific areas to focus on; you'll only get alerts for the events that matter most or that happen in the highlighted area when you use this feature. Lastly, there's 24/7 emergency response, a feature unique to Arlo, which allows you to send first responders to your cameras location in a single tap – a feature I wasn't able to specifically test for, but I can see several scenarios where this could be extremely useful.

AI winners all around

In the end, not a single one of these cameras performed poorly or let me down. Each one of them has its own pros and cons when it comes to features, set up, hardware designs and app functionality.

I will say that running multiple security cameras all over your home isn't something you should do unless you're very willing to play around with settings and notifications, because it can become overwhelming quickly.

Overall though, I'd say that the AI identification for people, packages, pets and vehicles should be a bare minimum feature that you should find on any home security camera you're interested in. This seems to be a feature that is being offered more and more, and it shouldn't be something you should have to pay extra for (in addition to a regular subscription at least).

That being said, Ring's ability to use AI to enhance the search abilities of the event history is a truly useful feature that worked really well in practice.

So if you find yourself frequently going back through camera events, then its home security cameras should certainly be on your shortlist. And if you don't just want your AI to identify people, but also to literally follow them as they move around your home or property, then Eufy might be a better choice, especially if you don't want have to pay another monthly subscription.

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If you noticed a flurry of unauthorized devices logged into your Ring account recently, you’re not alone and no, you weren’t hacked.

As reported by BleepingComputer, Ring, which makes some of the best video doorbells and home security cameras, has revealed that a bug in a backend update led to customers around the world believing their accounts might have been hacked.

In a post on Facebook, the company explained that it was aware of “a bug that incorrectly displays prior login dates as May 28, 2025.” Ring also updated its status page, explaining that the bug led to information being incorrectly displayed within the Control Center in its app. The company also went on to say that “we have no reason to believe this is the result of unauthorized access to customer accounts.”

In addition to fake login entries, some Ring customers reported that they saw unknown devices, strange IP addresses and even countries they’ve never been to in their Authorized Client Devices list. As BleepingComputer points out, this led many of them to believe that these entries couldn’t just be previous logins.

To make matters worse, it took Ring a lot longer than many customers believed it would to reverse the faulty backend update that led to all this confusion in the first. In fact, even after three days, some users are still seeing logins from unrecognized devices.

Likewise, some users reported seeing live view activity when no one within their household had accessed the app. At the same time, other customers reported that they didn’t receive security alerts or multi-factor authentication prompts when new devices were added to their Ring app.

How to keep your Ring account safe from hackers

Seeing unauthorized devices access your video doorbell and home security cameras is certainly the kind of thing that can leave someone shaken up. It could also indicate that your account was hacked which is why this backend update bug led to an uproar online from Ring users.

If you’re worried about unauthorized devices accessing your Ring account, you can open the app, head to Control Center and then to Authorized Client Devices. There, you’ll see a list of all devices and logins. If there are any there you don’t recognize, then you should remove them immediately.

Although Ring has done its best to assure users that this was not a data breach, it’s still a good idea to change your password if you haven’t done so recently. Just like with the rest of your online accounts, you want to ensure you’re using a strong and complex password in the Ring app. If you have trouble coming up with passwords on your own or even just remembering them, then you might want to consider using one of the best password managers. Not only will they generate strong and unique passwords for all of your online accounts but a password manager also stores all of your credentials securely in one place so that they’re easy to find.

In addition to changing your Ring password, you should also set up two-factor authentication for your account if you haven’t done so already. That way, anyone who tries to login to your account will also need a single-use code to gain access to it.

I’ve reached out to Ring in regard to this recent backend update bug and will update this story accordingly if and when I learn more. In the meantime though, an incident like this one while scary could be the wake-up call you needed to start taking your online security more seriously.

It’s one thing to lose access to an account and it’s another to potentially have strangers watching your every move online. When it comes to the best home security cameras, you always want to make sure that you keep their apps updated and that you’re using a strong and complex password that you aren’t using for any of your other online accounts.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for Ring cameras
• Which Ring Video Doorbell should you buy?
• Ring backtracks, lets cops once again request video from your doorbell and security cameras

A year after removing the ability to police to request security camera and doorbell footage from Ring owners, Ring is backtracking partially due to a new partnership.

Earlier this year, Axon, the maker of Taser, announced (spotted by Business Insider) that it was partnering with Ring to allow customers to share "relevant video with law enforcement to help solve crimes faster and safeguard neighborhoods.

This will affect all of the best Ring video doorbells.

It's a reversal of the video sharing policy introduced in January of 2024 when Ring removed the "Request for Assistance" button from the Neighbors app. This meant that public agencies could no longer request and receive video directly in the app except in emergencies.

It was another step in scaling back law enforcement involvement by Ring due to privacy concerns.

With the Axon partnership, police can now request footage from Ring users via Axon's digital evidence management system. As of this writing, it's unclear if police solicitations will appear in the Neighbors app.

Tom's Guide has reached out to Ring for clarification on the Axon partnership and how new law enforcement requests will appear for customers.

According to Axon, the once a request is made, Ring owners can decide to to send the footage or not. If they do it will be “encrypted and securely added to the case file."

This year, former CEO and founder of Ring, Jamie Siminoff, returned to Amazon, taking over Ring and several other smart home companies within Amazon's umbrella. Business Insider reports that he has made sweeping changes across the company with a desire to have Ring return "to its founding identity as a crime-prevention tool."

Emails to employees read that Siminoff wants to return Blink to its original goal of making neighborhoods safer.

Ring is not without controversy. In 2023, the FTC sued the company after reports that it enabled workers and hackers to spy on customers, as reported by The Verge. Motherboard reported in 2019 that the company was coaching police on how to get footage without a warrant from users.

Currently, Ring has partnerships with over 2,000 police and fire departments across the country.

Ring has partnerships with over 2,000 police and fire departments across every U.S. state. The last official number we could find came from a letter Ring sent to Senator Markey (via Wired) in 2022, which noted 2,161 partner "law enforcement agencies" and 455 fire departments.

The company has an "Active Agency Map," which Ring claims is regularly updated. From that, we were able to find 113 "local government agencies," mostly animal services and emergency management, 2,678 "local law enforcement," and 622 fire departments. An additional 517 and 167 police and fire departments have been added since 2022.

Ring Alternatives

Ring makes some of the best video doorbells, and even takes up multiple slots in our picks.

However, if the sudden turn to more of a law enforcement-enabling company makes you uncomfortable, there are alternatives, including the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual and the Nest doorbell. Again, this won't necessarily stop company's from sharing videos with cops without your consent, but other doorbells don't have quite the same privacy controversies as Ring.

It should be noted that Siminoff is not only in charge of Ring but also the Amazon-owned company, Blink, which makes one of the best home security cameras in the Blink Outdoor 4.

The Ring founder has combined teams for Ring, Blink, Key, and Amazon Sidewalk, but it's unclear if this Axon partnership will remain exclusive to Ring devices.

But just in case, you could try alternatives like the Wyze Cam v4 and Arlo Ultra 2, both excellent choices.

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There are plenty of great reasons to have one of the best home security cameras, from package thieves and nursery needs to simply wanting to see what kind of wildlife stumbles across your driveway. There's a good camera out there for almost any need or task from budget outdoor cameras to ones that don't require a subscription to cameras that don't even need Wi-Fi.

And fortunately, this Amazon Prime Day is the perfect time to add one – or several more – to your household. Below we've found deals on almost every single one of our recommended home security cameras from top brands like Wyze, Ring, Eufy, Blink and Google. Some are down to just $25, and others are more than 60% off.

Quick Links

• Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro: was $250 now $160 @ Amazon
• Google Nest Cam Outdoor or Indoor, Battery: was $180 now $117 @ Amazon
• Google Nest Cam with Floodlight: was $280 now $199 @ Amazon
• Wyze Cam v4: was $36 now $25 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350: was $140 now $85 @ Amazon
• Blink Outdoor 4: was $180 now $70 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Cam 3: was $220 now $123 @ Amazon
• Arlo Ultra 2, two camera system: was $600 now $350 @ Amazon
• Eufy 4G LTE Cam S330: was $250 now $161 @ Amazon

Home Security Camera Deals

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Owners of Ring cameras and doorbells just got access to a new AI-powered feature called Video Descriptions. Intended to provide a detailed description of the events recorded around your home, Video Descriptions can help you determine whether or not an activity is urgent or ordinary by sending you a concise notification about it.

In a statement released about the feature, Ring’s inventor, Jamie Siminoff said the company is “seizing on the potential of gen AI to shift more of the work of home security to Ring’s AI.” Video Descriptions is the first step in that direction, by helping users quickly determine how important a motion event is with a glance. It will be rolling out first in beta to Ring Home Premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.

The feature can be enabled through the Ring app and will work with all currently available Ring cameras and doorbells. Once active, it will begin sending users notifications of text descriptions of the motions and activities it picks up, in real time. For example, it can provide helpful information like “two people are peering into a white car in the driveway” or my favorite example, “a dog is tearing up paper towels on the rug.”

Video Descriptions uses real intelligence to limit the notifications to only the main subject of the motion and their action, which keeps the alerts short and to the point. At the same time, Ring is adding custom anomaly alerts which learn the routines of your household and can send you a notification when something is out of the ordinary for your property.

Siminoff said the company is thinking about how to build Ring today as if they were starting with AI as the foundation, and they are just starting to scratch the surface of AI. They see unlimited potential for using it in new experiences they can invent for their customers. “The team and I look forward to introducing new impactful features to all our products, making them better and better, and helping us deliver on our mission to help protect our neighborhoods and communities.”

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Securing your home has never been easier, with an array of advanced home security systems becoming increasingly popular. With features such as live view, cloud storage, and even wireless, battery-operated cameras, Ring's lineup of cameras and video cameras is hard to beat, especially when it comes to price.

Coming off the Big Smile Sale last week, Ring's indoor and outdoor cameras have been discounted on Amazon, with up to 60% off select devices. These discounts come at an appealing time for the brand, as Ring has just released a new beta feature, Smart Video Search, that allows subscribers to search their saved footage history via text-to-image search.

We've hand-picked the best deals below, but you can find a complete list of Ring's discounted devices on its Amazon storefront. You'll need to act fast if you're keen to nab any of these home security deals, though, as these discounts won't stick around long.

Before investing in a Ring camera ecosystem, it's important to point out a couple of things, especially as a fellow Ring user myself. For starters, you'll need to sign up for a paid subscription if you wish to save your footage.

Now, when you first set up your camera, you'll score a nice 30-day free trial of a Ring standard plan to try out. This will allow you to review old footage, save clips, and receive alerts. If you don't pay the monthly fee after the free trial, starting from as little as AU$4.95p/m for the Basic plan, you can only view your live footage.

If you can get around that, or can reasonably fit the subscription cost into your budget, then snapping up one of these Ring deals is worth considering.

Ring's home security lineup just got a little more impressive, thanks to the introduction of a new smart feature heading to the brand's video doorbells and cameras.

Launching today (March 27) in the Australian and New Zealand markets, the home security brand has rolled out Smart Video Search, a new text-to-image app search that promises to help you find specific footage, faster. Powered by Ring IQ — a combination of in-house tech and Ring-developed AI — Smart Video Search scours footage using key terms to identify specific moments.

Using visual language modelling (VLM), the software matches user-input text to images in their footage history. Customers will be able to search questions relating to animals, locations, packages, people, time, vehicles, weather, and activities such as jumping, running or bike riding.

So rather than wondering why the bins were knocked over or who threw your package over the fence, you can just chuck a couple of words into your Ring app and hey presto, that video from last Thursday is ready for viewing.

Ring's APAC MD, Mark Fletcher, says the new feature adds to the current person, pet and package alerts that help users manage their home, "but historically, finding a specific moment can take more time than you might have".

"With Smart Video Search, you can now quickly find something you’re looking for — and even some surprising moments — giving you a better sense of what’s happening around your home," Fletcher added.

Smart Video Search is available in public beta today in Australia and New Zealand, and can be used across all Ring devices, including older models. The feature has launched alongside new Ring 2K outdoor cameras, available in black or white for AU$179 on Amazon.

Is Smart Video Search actually worth it?

Frankly, I'm a fan of this new feature. It could be particularly useful in situations like checking when exactly a package was delivered or how your pets got into a sticky situation when you're away.

I've found myself trawling through my saved footage time and time again to check in on my pets, trying to find when they got up to mischief, but to no avail. Searching through motion alerts can be tough, as I've found it can be ultimately time-consuming to dig through every "dog barking" or "person detected" notification I receive. In terms of simplicity, searching key terms like "black dog barking at cat" or "bin falling in kitchen" would save me and many other Ring users a plethora of time (and brain power).

However, there are a few caveats that would still prevent me from investing personally in this new video search feature or a paid Ring subscription plan for that matter. For starters, this new feature is exclusive to the Ring Premium subscription plan, which costs a whopping AU$29.95p/m or AU$299.95p/y.

The plan features 180 days of video history (which is accessible for all paid Ring subscriptions), person, package and pet alerts, opt-in 24/7 recording, and continuous live view across all connected Ring devices. Comparatively, the entry-level, basic Ring plan costs AU$4.95p/m, but only offers saved footage history and alerts.

If you purchase a Ring camera, you'll get a free 30-day subscription for Ring's standard plan, allowing you to download, rewatch and check old footage for the first month of owning the camera. After that time, you can forego a subscription or choose from Ring's pricey plan offerings. It's not off-brand for Ring to add a feature that is exclusive to the highest sub, considering most users need to pay to keep tabs on their footage history.

Now, without a paid subscription, users can access their Ring camera footage live through the app without cloud saving. This is mildly alarming as Ring devices don't come cheap, costing customers AU$99 and up for a single indoor camera. But, if saving six months of footage comes at a AU$30p/m cost, it's not something I'd cash in every month. While it's a nice bonus to have a smart video search feature, I don't think anyone should have to pay to keep their camera footage, especially if you've already purchased the safety net of a home security system.

Ring's latest VLM feature is only available in beta right now, making it an optional feature to try for Premium subscribers. After getting hands-on with the new software at a Ring event, the company confirmed its beta rollout is primarily to seek feedback from consumers and to finetune the experience.

Considering the feature is fresh for consumers, and competitors like TP-Link haven't jumped on the bandwagon, users have yet to rate the new software. Of course, we'll keep you posted on how this pans out for Ring subscribers in due course.

Growing up with a firefighter dad, I have an inherent appreciation for fire safety. My father taught me the importance of limiting potential fire risks, practicing fire escape plans (you have one, too, right?), and of course, regularly replacing the batteries in the smoke detectors throughout my home.

That's easier said that done. We've all been there — at 2 a.m. (it's somehow always the middle of the night) a recurring beep echoes throughout your house. One of your smoke or carbon monoxide detectors needs new batteries, but which one?

Rather than keep on the ridiculous tradition of hunting down the source of incessant beeps, Kidde and Ring have partnered up to release a set of wired smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that will tell you exactly which unit is trying to get your attention, even if you have several alarms situated throughout your home.

Launching as exclusives at The Home Depot in April, the Kidde Smart Smoke Alarm ($54.97) and Kidde Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm ($74.97) are the first from the 100-plus-year-old fire detection brand to offer Ring compatibility.

As an existing Ring customer, this new detector is a no-brainer. Once set up through your Ring app over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, in the event of a smoke or carbon monoxide emergency, you’ll receive instant alerts directly to your phone.

Can automatically call emergency services

In the case you're not near your phone or able to take immediate action yourself, Ring is offering a special monitoring plan for these smoke detectors that will automatically call emergency services.

This plan will cost $5/month, which is significantly more affordable than the Ring Alarm Professional Monitoring plan that costs $20/month. If you do happen to have Ring Doorbells or a Ring security system on an existing paid plan, there will be no added fee for emergency calling when you install these specific Kidde detectors.

There are no shortage of smart smoke detectors on the market currently, so if you're already bought into another smart home device system, this new one from Kidde might not be right for you.

Plus, there are compelling products like the Nest Protect are battery-powered only, though they're quite a bit more expensive. But if you're already in the Ring family or are still new to connected home security products, there's a lot to like.

Besides, chances are it might be time to replace your existing smoke detectors. They're meant to be replaced every 10 years to ensure effectiveness. Dust and pet dander can build up over time, making your smoke detector less reliable. Personally, that's not something I'm willing to find out.

Fixing that pesky battery beeping aside, there's plenty of reason to consider a smoke detector upgrade. Whether it's this Ring-compatible Kidde one is your choice, but I'm pretty confident it'll be a good one.

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Smart doorbells aren't a new thing, and it's now common to see more houses with one than not when walking down your street.

The Ring doorbell was one of the first smart doorbells on the market—and it’s still one of the best. Whether you already own one or are considering buying one, we're going to cover how to make the most of its features.

These devices are popular not just for convenience, but also for security. With one installed, you can see and interact with visitors at your door from anywhere, and innovative safety features give you that peace of mind.

We've created this comprehensive guide to help you get the most out of your Ring video doorbell, whether that's getting the installation process right, choosing the best placement, or using the more advanced features.

And that's it—you've learned 7 must-try tips to get the most out of your Ring doorbell. Whether you want to use voice commands, play music from a smart speaker using Alexa, or curate your home's lighting, there are dozens of home smart devices to choose from.

While Ring's devices have often ranked among the best home security cameras, they've generally been lacking in one area when compared with the likes of Arlo, Wyze, and Eufy. Up to this point, only two of Ring's cameras — its Floodlight Cam Pro and Spotlight Cam Pro offer a resolution of 2K — while the competition has 4K options.

That's changing (somewhat) with the just-announced Ring Outdoor Cam Plus, the third from the company to offer a resolution of 2K. In addition, the camera has a 160° diagonal, 140° horizontal, and 80° vertical field of view, as well as low-light sight, which will give you a color image, even in poorly lit conditions.

Similar to Ring's existing outdoor cameras, the Outdoor Cam Plus can be mounted on walls or ceilings, and it has multiple power options available including plug-in, battery and solar panel. It’s durable and weather-resistant enough to handle exterior conditions, and can operate in temperatures from -4°F to 122°F (-20°C to 50°C).

Unlike some of Ring's other outdoor cameras, the Outdoor Cam Plus does not have a built-in spotlight.

When paired with a Ring Home Premium subscription ($19.99/month), 24/7 recording is also available – as is the AI-powered Smart Video Search which allows users to quickly locate specific moments captured by Ring cameras. However, Ring's subscription plans start at $4.99/month, with a more limited feature set, but with 180 days of video history.

The Outdoor Cam Plus is available for preorder starting today, February 20th, for $99.99 at Ring.com or at Amazon and will ship starting March 26. It comes in either white or black.

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The RingConn Gen 2 is one of the thinnest and lightest smart rings available today. Subscription-free and compatible with iPhone and Android smartphones, it boasts an impressive range of sleep-tracking features, including sleep apnea detection, personalized AI-backed wellness tips, up to 12 days of battery life (or 150-plus days when topped off with the included quick-charge case) and a lower starting price than the Oura Ring 4, the best smart ring we've tested.

The RingConn Gen 2 is one of the three recently launched subscription-free smart rings vying for the title of best Oura Ring alternative in 2025. The other two are the Circular Ring 2 and Luna Ring 2, both of which I checked out in person at CES 2025.

In addition, RingConn faces stiff competition from 2024's Samsung Galaxy Ring, my favorite smart ring for sleep tracking, and the Amazfit Helio Ring which at $199, is the best value smart ring you can buy today. Can the RingConn Gen 2's unique mix of features, specs and affordability help it beat out these peers? Read on.

RingConn Gen 2: Price and availability

The RingConn Gen 2 was announced in fall 2024 and recently became available on Amazon; you can also buy it directly through the RingConn site. With a starting price of $299, it's $50 cheaper than the Oura Ring 4 and Circular Ring 2, $100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Ring, and the same cost as the Luna Ring 2.

Available in black, gold or silver, sizes range from six through 14. To ensure you end up with the best size possible, RingConn offers a free sizing kit with dummy rings. As a reminder, smart ring sizing doesn't align perfectly with traditional ring sizing.

The Gen 2 comes with RingConn's clamshell-style quick-charging case which can reportedly recharge the ring 12-15 times before needing to seek out a wall outlet. You can also pick up an accessory desktop charging dock for $39.

RingConn Gen 2: Key specs

RingConn Gen 2: Design

RingConn says that the Gen 2 is the "thinnest and lightest" smart ring in the world. While I can't verify that fact with 100% certainty, I can tell you that it is noticeably thinner and lighter than most of the smart rings I've tested lately, including the Oura Ring 4 and Amazfit Helio Ring.

While weight varies depending on your size, the RingConn Gen 2 weighs somewhere between 2 and 3 grams with a thickness of just 2mm. The next-closest easy-wearing smart ring to it is likely the Ultrahuman Ring Air, which clocks in at between 2.4 and 3.6 grams depending on size, with a thickness of 2.4 to 2.8mm.

A full gram lighter than its predecessor and 1mm thinner, the RingConn Gen 2 is indeed comfortable to wear. While the outside is a perfect circle, the inside has a flat portion where the sensors are. This makes it surprisingly easy to keep the ring correctly oriented without looking; the sensors face the inside of your finger.

The exterior is titanium alloy with a PVD coating for scratch resistance while the inside is medical-grade epoxy. Two of the sensors along the inside protrude slightly but not uncomfortably so.

Water resistance is 100 meters and the RingConn Gen 2 is IP68-rated against dirt, dust, moisture and grime. Overall, the device feels well-constructed and built to last but more wear-testing is needed to verify my initial impression.

RingConn Gen 2: Features

The biggest feature that sets the RingConn Gen 2 apart from the other major (and minor) smart ring players is sleep apnea detection. It also monitors everything from your heart rate and respiratory rate to body temperature and blood oxygen saturation.

Sleep data is accompanied by digestible summaries with details into things like sleep cycles and stages, movement and time spent asleep, along with a daily sleep score out of 100 similar to what other wearables offer. You also get personalized, AI-powered tips to improve sleep and overall well-being.

According to RingConn, the heart rate and SpO2 sensors work with 98% accuracy. Similarly, respiratory tracking should be accurate within one breath per minute, and step-count tracking should be about 95% accurate.

The RingConn Gen 2 tracks a relatively modest number of physical activities including running, cycling and yoga. In addition to monitoring daily movement, it also keeps tabs on how long you've been sitting, offering (optional) periodic reminders to get up and move.

There are also stress tracking and management tools similar to what the competition offers along with menstrual health forecasting and nap detection.

RingConn Gen 2: Battery life

The RingConn Gen 2 is quoted as lasting between 10 and 12 days per charge, a claim I look forward to testing. By comparison, the Oura Ring 4 lasts up to eight days and the Samsung Galaxy Ring lasts for up to seven days. However, with the included charging case, RingConn says that the smart ring can stay powered on for over 150 days, suggesting that users can expect it to provide 12-15 full recharges when fully juiced up.

By the way, the quick-charging case is impressively built with an all-metal construction and a lid that snaps shut with satisfying force.

RingConn Gen 2: Outlook

The RingConn Gen 2 potentially beats our favorite smart ring, the Oura Ring 4, in three key areas. These include the device's unique sleep apnea detection feature, a noticeably lighter/thinner design and the availability of a pocket-friendly quick charging case (something the industry leader still frustratingly lacks). It's also cheaper than the latest Oura Ring both upfront and in the long run (an Oura Ring subscription is $5.99 per month or $69.99 per year).

Of course, the RingConn Gen 2 isn't the only smart ring with a nifty quick charging case. The Luna Ring 2 will also be sold alongside an optional clamshell, which promises to extend its battery life from five to six days up to 30. That's not quite 150-plus but it's still impressive.

While the RingConn Gen 2 is one of the first smart rings with sleep apnea detection, the Circular Ring 2 is among the first with on-finger ECG readings and FDA-cleared AFib detection. It also boasts a potentially revolutionary new digital sizing process that could spell the end of wasteful dummy ring sizing kits forever.

With the RingConn Gen 2 and Luna Ring 2 in hands — and a Circular Ring 2 review unit promised — I should have a better sense of how this exciting new class of smart rings compares soon. Stay tuned for more content, including full reviews, on each.

More from Tom's Guide:

• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring — which smart ring wins?
• Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 — all the rumors so far
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When Samsung's Galaxy Ring arrived late last year, I will admit to being caught up in the hype that comes whenever one a tech giant enters a new product category.

While I'd never extensively used a smart ring before, I went into the Galaxy Ring with a pretty good idea of what it would be capable of, having kept an eye on earlier smart rings from companies like Oura and Ultrahuman for years.

There's no doubt these companies have helped steer the category towards mainstream acceptance, but when a company as big as Samsung joins the party, that time has officially come.

As as far as first-gen products go, the Galaxy Ring is incredibly polished, packing a surprising amount of tech into its slim design, but that is that enough to justify its $399 / £399 / AU$699 price point?

Having used the Galaxy Ring almost every day for the last three months, I can see that while it's not quite a smartwatch replacement, especially when it comes to activity tracking, it's had one clear benefit to my health — it has encouraged me to get better sleep.

Sleeping comfortably

It probably won't come as a surprise for you to hear that a small ring is far more comfortable to wear while sleeping than a bulky smartwatch, but sometimes the obvious has to be stated.

I've been curious about tracking my sleep patterns for a while now, but the idea of wearing a wristwatch to bed couldn't be less appealing to me. I'm fully aware that even my older Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is more than capable of tracking the quality and length of my sleep sessions. However, my goal is to improve my sleep, not disturb it — and a clunky device on my wrist would surely do the latter.

Thankfully, the Galaxy Ring is so small and light, that I'll often forget I'm wearing it. I've worn it to bed almost every night for the last three months, and not once did it bother my sleep or provide any kind of discomfort.

Detailed sleep tracking

I also appreciate the information it's able to provide on my sleep quality — the Galaxy Ring is can track my sleep time, physical recovery, mental recovery, restfulness, number of sleep cycles, skin temperature and blood oxygen readings from within the Samsung Health app.

The Ring is also able to distinguish between different types of sleep, measuring how much light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep I get throughout the night.

Based on my readings, the Samsung Health app will then give me an AI-generated 'energy score' for the day, tracked on a scale from 0 to 100. According to Samsung, your energy score is essentially a "daily measurement of your physical and mental energy and readiness." So far, my energy score over the last three months has ranged from 'Fair' to 'Excellent'.

As for my blood oxygen readings, they seem to consistently hover around the 85-100% range every night, which I suppose is good? Not much information is provided on this reading, and I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with it, but I won't fault the ring for showing it to me.

Results after three months

With regards to sleep time, the Samsung Health app is able to show my average bedtime and wake-up time over the last 7 days, 31 days and 12 months.

Based on the data gathered over the last week, I can see that my sleep times have marginally improved since I started using the Galaxy Ring. While I started out with an average of 7 hours and 21 minutes sleep per night, I'm now at an average of 8 hours and 4 minutes per night.

So is the Galaxy Ring an essential part of my sleep routine? It's hard to say — It's certainly made me more aware of when I go to bed, and I will occasionally try to schedule my bed times so that I aim to wake up with a sleep score of 'Excellent'. However, I still find it difficult to achieve consistent sleep patterns when I'm working from home every second day of the week and don't have to factor in travel time.

The Galaxy Ring won't replace your smartwatch

When opting to try the Galaxy Ring, you should first decide whether or not this sleep tracking data is essential to you. If you want full fitness and activity tracking, the Galaxy Ring isn't ideal, as it's really only suited to walking and running exercises.

The main reason I bought my Galaxy Watch 4 was to get real-time heart rate monitoring and blood pressure estimates. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Ring isn't the right choice for these, either — it can measure your heart rate, but doesn't do it continuously, and isn't equipped to measure blood pressure. I know that even the Galaxy Watch's blood pressure readings are based on your calibrations and aren't entirely accurate, but it has been a helpful guide for me in the past.

It's also been stated that more accurate health readings can be achieved when Samsung's Galaxy Ring is paired with a Galaxy Watch. I can't really get behind that proposition — when someone has already shelled out hundreds of dollars on a Samsung smartwatch, the idea of paying an additional $399 / £399 / AU$699 for a smart ring for improved accuracy seems like too much to ask of most people in this economy.

My advice for Samsung users to pick one or the other — if you're looking for a comfortable sleep tracking device which can measure your overall wellness and act as a step counter, the Galaxy Ring is a good option — especially as it doesn't require you to pay an ongoing subscription. If, however, you're more interested in fitness tracking for a large range of activities, you're better off with a Galaxy Watch 7 or Galaxy Watch Ultra.

One of the challenges when you own one or more of the best home security cameras is sifting through all of the recorded footage to find the moment or event you're looking for. However, Ring, and now Wyze, are leveraging AI so that you can use natural language search to dig through your hundreds of hours of videos. However, using these features doesn't come cheap.

Wyze's new service, called Cam Unlimited Pro, launches today (Jan. 14) for $19.99 per month or $199 per year; it's available anywhere in the world, though many features will be geo-locked to the U.S. and Canada.

Wyze Cam Unlimited Pro uses AI for two features in particular: Descriptive Alerts and Video Search. Like Ring's AI-enabled version, Wyze's Video Search will let you type in a phrase, such as "person wearing orange jacket walking two dogs," and it will scour your footage for a scene fitting that description.

Descriptive Alerts will give you more detailed information at a glance when one of Wyze's cameras detects motion. Instead of something like "pet detected," you'll receive a notification such as "small brown dog playing with tennis ball."

Wyze Cam Unlimited Pro will work with every Wyze camera except the Wyze Cam v1, Wyze Video Doorbell v1, and Wyze Cam Outdoor v1.

Among the best security camera storage plans, Wyze's $19.99/month price is the same as Ring's Home Premium service. However, one key difference is that Wyze's plan only saves videos on a rolling 14-day basis, while Ring's will store videos for 180 days; this spring, Wyze will increase the storage to 60 days, but that's still a sizable difference.

To be fair, Wyze does have one of the least expensive plans, which starts at $2.99 per month for one camera, and includes person, pet, package, and vehicle detection; however, you don't get the AI features.

Wyze's AI features also don't work with its Home Monitoring service, so if you’re currently subscribed to the latter and upgrade to Cam Unlimited Pro, you'll lose features such as professional, and Wyze's sensors will no longer work with your system.

It's only a matter of time before other security camera companies also offer AI in some respect; Arlo uses it for person, package, animal, and vehicle detection, but not to the extent that Ring and Wyze are implementing it. While Ring's cameras aren't overly expensive, now that Wyze is entering this area, it gives homeowners a lower-cost entry into home security with AI features.

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In 2025, the best smart rings last for roughly a week per charge. Want more battery life than that? The new Luna Ring 2 — announced at CES 2025 and one of my 7 favorite wearables at the show — promises four times the longevity, with up to 30 days of battery life. Of course, there's a catch.

The 30-day rating includes the use of the brand's forthcoming, pocket-sized charging case to top off the ring's power supply. Still, with health features and insights seemingly on par with Oura and Samsung, along with promising smart features, like a voice-activated AI assistant, the Luna Ring 2 is worthy of your attention.

Subscription-free and shipping in March, here's everything you need to know about the Luna Ring 2, including my first hands-on impressions.

Luna Ring 2: Price and availability

The Luna Ring 2 is manufactured by Noise, one of the largest makers of smart wearables in the world. Based in India, the brand has yet to make its debut in the U.S. or U.K. but that's about to change.

The Luna Ring 2 is available for preorder now — $50 holds your preorder and gets subtracted from the total cost once the ring ships. You order through Luna directly, with availability expected in March 2025. The starting price for the Luna Ring 2 will be around $300.

No word yet on whether the accessory charging case will be available as an add-on but I'm told by representatives from Noise that it likely won't set users back more than $50 and possibly much less.

Luna Ring 2: design

Like many of the top smart rings available, including the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring, the exterior of the new Luna Ring 2 is made from high-grade titanium — excuse me, "fighter jet-grade" titanium, as noted by Noise. I'm also told it should be a bit lighter than the current Oura Ring.

I tested the brand's sizing kit at the Noise booth at CES and within moments settled on a size 11 ring. Noise recommends that users wear the ring on their index finger, by the way.

The sizing kit is similar to what you get with Oura and Samsung but I've been assured that Noise has no intention to nickel-and-dime customers with an extra $10 fee for said kit. Once you make your purchase, the kit is mailed to you to try before confirming your final size choice. Then, your Luna Ring 2 is sent.

Of course, I prefer the digital sizing feature launching with the new Circular Ring 2, which I also demoed at CES.

At launch, The Luna Ring 2 will come in sizes six through 12. By comparison, Samsung, which just upped its Galaxy Ring size selection, has sizes five through 15 now available. Oura, meanwhile, offers the latest Oura Ring 4 in sizes four through 14.

Sensors cover half of the Luna Ring's interior, protruding out only slightly but not enough to cause any discomfort. The inside material appears to be some sort of high-grade plastic. A slight wave marking on the outside of the ring is the device's only real unique design element. It's presumably meant to face outward toward the world.

Speaking of aesthetics, the midnight black option has a mirrored metallic finish that appears to shift shades depending on the light, something I quite like. Other finishes include gold, rose gold, stainless steel and silver.

The ring feels well-made and quite comfortable on my finger. It also doesn't seem like it will scratch easily, though time will be the ultimate judge. Water resistance is 50 meters and a one-year hardware warranty is included with the purchase.

Luna Ring 2: features and battery life

On its own, the Luna Ring 2 is expected to get between five and six days per charge, a little less than Oura and Samsung. However, with the accessory case, Noise is claiming up to 30 days of usage or between five and six full recharges.

Samsung sells a similar case with the Galaxy Ring, but from our battery testing, it's good for only about two full recharges. Still, that extends the device's battery life to a maximum of 21 days per charge.

Wellness features are plentiful on the new smart ring with sleep, stress and women's health tracking, heart health monitoring, nutrition and exercise coaching, daily fitness and recovery insights and more. Noise notes that the device uses sensors made by Philips that promise 98.2% accuracy.

Another cool feature is the voice-activated AI assistant. I haven't tried it out yet, but some examples of questions it should be able to answer include "What should be average heart rate be during sleep?" and "Should I eat fruit for breakfast?"

Luna Ring 2: outlook

With no subscription cost and an app that works with both Apple and Android devices, the forthcoming Luna Ring 2 has an immediate advantage over each of its biggest competitors.

The level of holistic insights and AI-backed tools seem impressive and I'm looking forward to testing them out ASAP. Likewise, the voice-activated AI assistant dedicated to wellness info seems like a great feature, assuming that it truly provides valuable (and accurate) insights.

We're barely into 2025 and the best Oura Ring alternative competition is already heating up. Beyond Samsung, Noise will need to take on the new Circular Ring 2 and the recently launched RingConn Gen 2. Both of these devices cost about the same, play nicely across smartphone platforms and come without subscriptions.

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The Samsung Galaxy Ring is making waves as one of the best smart rings money can buy. However, unlike smartwatches, it must be available in the right size to work. Samsung is adding two new sizes to its offerings for those with larger fingers.

To top off the Galaxy Ring news, Samsung took to its newsroom to announce new sleep-tracking features for the Galaxy Ring that'll benefit existing owners and people who buy one of the larger sizes.

New Galaxy Ring sizes

Samsung announced two new Galaxy Ring sizes — 14 and 15. This expands the offerings to sizes five through 15, up from 5 through 13. If your fingers are smaller than size five or larger than 15, you'll still be left out of the tracking fun, but sizes outside that range are scarce.

Interestingly, one of the biggest Galaxy Ring 2 rumors was that it would come in more sizes. Since Samsung has released more options for the existing model, we know little about the sequel to Samsung's smart ring.

Samsung also revealed that the Ring is launching in all sizes in 16 additional markets, bringing the total to 53.

New Galaxy Ring sleep features

In its Health app, Samsung showed off new features, including a sleep environment report, sleep time guidance, and mindfulness tracker.

"With this expansion, Samsung reaffirms its commitment to improving sleep health through innovative technology, ensuring more people can benefit from its cutting-edge solutions," said Samsung in a press release.

The sleep environment report provides tips on optimizing your sleeping environment. It checks temperature, humidity, air quality and light intensity to help you create a place conducive to sleep.

Sleep time guidance suggests the best time to go to bed and wake up based on your sleep patterns, habits and conditions.

Finally, the mindfulness tracker improves health and sleep by managing mood, breathing, and stress levels.

All of these features sound great for anyone who wants to sleep better, though we'll need to get our hands (fingers) on the update before we can decide how useful they are.

Whether it's enough to revive the flagging smart ring market remains to be seen, especially since the Galaxy Ring seems to have done little to topple the Oura Ring 4 from it's spot as market leader.

One of the Oura Ring's strengths is that it works on iPhone and Android, while the Galaxy Ring runs best with Samsung phones and many Android models. But Oura has a subscription, and Samsung doesn't.

If you're still on the fence of which finger-based tracker you should buy, we've compared the Samsung Galaxy Ring vs Oura Ring to see what you get for your money.

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Oura may be the smart ring brand to beat in 2025, but there's no shortage of new products on the horizon that could very well give the Oura Ring 4 a serious run for the money. One of those is the Luna Ring 2 from Noise, which I just checked out at CES 2025.

A short hands-on demo with the second-generation smart ring has me seriously intrigued with its billing. With promising wellness tech and insights on par with the best smart rings out there, including the latest Oura Ring 4 as well as the Samsung Galaxy Ring, here are three reasons why the new Luna Ring 2 could spell trouble for the competition.

1. The Luna Ring 2 is cheaper than Oura Ring 4

With an estimated starting price of $300, $50 less than the latest Oura Ring, and zero subscription costs (the Oura app is $5.99 a month), the Luna Ring 2 is easier on the wallet both right out of the gate and in the long run compared to its main competitor.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is also subscription-free but starts a full $100 more than the Luna Ring 2.

2. 30 days of battery with optional charging case

On its own, Noise, the brand behind the Luna Ring, estimates it should last between five and six days on a single charge with normal use. That’s a little less than the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring. However, with the optional clamshell-style charging case fully juiced up, users can get closer to 30 days of longevity if they occasionally pop it inside of said charger.

Samsung offers something similar for the Galaxy Ring but there’s no such charging case for the Oura Ring.

3. A free sizing kit and app for Android an iOS

Finally, both Oura and Samsung highly recommend that users shell out $10 for their respective sizing kits. Noise isn’t following suit. While the brand still suggests a set of plastic dummy rings be sent before purchase for optimal sizing, Luna Ring reps assure me that it won’t cost you a dime.

Personally, I prefer the new Circular Ring 2 digital sizing tool, but if a brand is going to recommend that you pick up a physical kit, I’m glad in this case it’s at least free.

The Noise Luna Ring 2 plays nicely with Android and Apple devices, like Oura but unlike Samsung. Constructed of jet-grade titanium, it's expected to be available in sizes six through thirteen with lots of sleep and energy insights, stress and meal tracking tools, and AI-backed workout coaching features on offer. (Stay tuned for a full review.)

Preorders for the Luna Ring 2 are expected to open later this month with units shipping in March.

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• My 7 favorite wearables of CES 2025 — from a smarter smart ring to electric-powered pants
• I just went hands-on with the Amazfit Active 2 — and it could be the new budget smartwatch to beat
• I tracked my day at CES with the new Garmin Instinct 3 — and walked over 17,000 steps

I just got back from CES 2025 and to say it was a good show for tech and health wearables would be an understatement. I saw and demoed dozens of intriguing products ranging from the coolest new smart rings — of which there were many — to a pair of e-power pants that can actually help you walk longer, faster and further… something I wish I could’ve worn the entire duration of the show, though a one-hour demo was enough to leave me wanting more.

Including launches from both major players (like Garmin) and newer startups, these are the seven newly-debuted products I’m most excited to get my hands on for testing in 2025.

1. Garmin Instinct 3

Even before the Instinct 3 launched I was a fan of Garmin's Instinct line and frequently found myself recommending various Instinct 2 models to friends, family and readers.

The Instinct 3 isn’t an earth-shattering update over its predecessor but it also doesn’t need to be; here are my initial impressions of the Instinct 3.

Garmin was wise to stick with what the people love about the series: a tough and sporty build-quality with a best-in-class battery, loads of health tracking tools, accurate GPS and a stomachable price point. Rather than fix what wasn't broken, the GPS device giant made small but meaningful improvements.

The new model, like its predecessors, comes in a bunch of varieties, including with or without solar charging, and in 45mm or a monstrous 50mm case size. The non-solar versions now sport a bright and immersive AMOLED screen — a first for the line — yet still maintain up to 24 days of battery in smartwatch mode. With enough sunlight, the solar model can in theory last forever.

A super-handy LED flashlight adorns the 12:00-position on all the models in the line and a new metal bezel adds to the device’s durability. Finally, GPS accuracy should now be even more precise thanks to an upgraded dual-band antenna.

Thanks to the kind folks at Garmin, I was able to snag a 45mm AMOLED model to wear during the show — I logged 17,000 steps on the second day alone — and it’s still on my wrist as we speak. So yeah, you could say that I'm liking it. Stay tuned for a full review in the coming weeks.

2. Amazfit Active 2

My other favorite smartwatch that debuted at CES 2025 was the Amazfit Active 2, a svelte and well-built little device with high-end features ordinarily found on devices three to four times its price.

Starting at just $99, the Active 2 boasts an all-metal circular case with a faux tachymeter around the bezel for a touch of class, a 2,000 nit max AMOLED screen similar to what you get on the latest Apple Watch 10 and Pixel Watch 3, support for downloaded maps that can be used for offline navigation — even the Garmin Forerunner 265 doesn't have this — and over 160 workout/sport tracking modes.

A premium version of the watch is also on offer for $129. That extra dough gets you an upgraded sapphire screen, a brushed stainless case and a soft, easy-wearing leather strap.

Like the Instinct 3, stay tuned for a full review of the Active 2, to be published soon. In the meantime, there’s good reason to believe that it could be the smartwatch to beat for under $100 in 2025.

3. MO/GO power pants

It’s been a little over a year since I first caught wind of the MO/GO power pants and at CES 2025, I finally got the chance to slip them on and take the robot-powered legs for a spin. The experience was nothing short of awesome (demo video below).

While I only got to climb up and down a dingy set of basement stairs on the tradeshow floor with the power pants on, my mind was off to the Cascade Mountains of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, cruising up my favorite hiking trail like some sort of intrepid Inspector Gadget-type fellow… but with an Arc’teryx puffer instead of a trenchcoat.

This mobility device is intended to help folks conquer new terrain and hike without pain. A collaboration between outerwear brand Arc’teryx and Google hardware spinoff Skip, I’m already looking forward to make next opportunity to test them in the actual wild. Thankfully, the fine folks at Arc’teryx are just a day’s drive away, so, a more in-depth demo should be in the cards!

For now, you can get on a waiting list to demo the MO/GO pants for yourself by heading to Skipwithjoy.com.

4. Circular Ring 2

I saw a lot of smart rings at CES 2025 but the Circular Ring 2 was the most impressive thanks to its potentially revolutionary new digital sizing process, which could be the nail in the coffin for annoying and wasteful plastic sizing kits.

It also is among the first smart rings with an ECG sensor and is even approved by the FDA for AFib detection. Beyond that, the Circular 2 is subscription-free, sorry Oura, and plays well with all major smartphone operating systems, sorry Samsung.

Read more about the Circular Ring 2 in our best of CES 2025 product roundup.

5. Luna Ring 2

The Luna Ring 2 is another noteworthy smart ring I got the chance to demo on the show floor. Developed and manufactured by the India-based brand, Noise — which has a huge presence outside the U.S. but is somewhat new here — the Luna Ring 2 has a whole lot going for it.

Callouts include a $300 price point with no subscription and an all-titanium design that is slightly lighter than the Oura Ring Ring 4, and packed with similar health sensors to monitor heart soundness, sleep quality, energy levels and more. Battery life is between five to six days, however, with the optional charging case, users can get closer to 30 days of battery by occasionally popping the ring inside of said clamshell case.

I tried on the ring and also handled the case, both of which felt solid and high-end to me. Luna was rad enough to send me home with a reviewable unit, so, like all the products mentioned above, expect much more review content on the Luna Ring 2 soon.

6. VIV Ring

Shoutout to my colleague on the TG Sleep Team, Eve Davies for spotting the release of the VIV Ring at CES. While it may look like other smart rings out there — indeed it monitors a similar set of biometric data points and offers sleep tracking and wellness insights — the VIV Ring is the only smart ring I’m aware of that can use your body data to generate audio aimed at improving your sleep quality.

Did I get to demo the feature? No. Even if the folks at the VIV both were able to offer a demo, I’m not sure there’s a human on earth capable of taking a snooze inside a crowded and brightly lit tradeshow hall.

Even still, the VIV Ring and charging case are both reassuringly well-constructed. There are no pricing details yet but I have a sneaking suspicion that the product will come in at a lower cost than the competition. Sizing is expected to be six through 13. And like the Luna Ring 2 and Circular Ring 2, this smart ring is titanium and without a subscription.

7. UltraHuman Rare Collection

Okay, this is the final smart ring, I promise. Ultrahuman didn’t have any earth-shattering new tech to show off but there was a flashy new set of luxury smart rings on display, part of the brand’s new Rare collection. With a gold, platinum, and silver option — each with a somewhat silly name, like Dune, Desert Rose and Desert Snow — Ultrahuman appears to be courting the soon-to-be-wed tech geek crowd with this offering.

The Desert Rose and Dune rings are both gold and will cost around $1,900 while the Desert Snow ring is platinum and will start at $2,200. In terms of onboard tech and features, these devices are identical to the Ultrahuman Ring Air, which starts at $349. Of course, that model contains no precious metal.

My immediate question when seeing the Rare collection and hearing the cost was, ‘What happens in a few years when the battery inevitably dies?’

I was assured that purchasing the Rare collection comes with some sort of lifetime guarantee. However, I’ve yet to come across concrete details about said coverage but will update this post when I do find out more.

Bonus: Withings BPM Vision

Withings didn’t have a truly operation version of the new BPM Vision heart rate cuff and blood pressure monitor available to test but I did get to see a demo of how it works (along with the brand's weird new Omnia smart mirror). The whole idea with this product is that the current slate of at-home blood pressure monitors can be tricky to use correctly, resulting in skewed results.

Withings wanted to simplify the process for better accuracy and ease of use, especially for elder users. To accomplish this, the brand equipped the BPM Vision with a large, high-resolution screen that displays helpful tutorials to guide users on how to best prepare before their readings and wear the cuff for the most accurate results possible. It also explains how to make the most out of the resulting data.

I’ve used at-home heart rate monitors and they’re finicky, to say the least. The new Withings BPM Vision, which looks kind of like a goofy Nintendo Switch Lite (IMHO), could potentially revolutionize at-home heart health monitoring.

However, with a launch price of $129, it’s a lot more expensive than what’s currently available; the heart rate monitor I used set me back just $35 on Amazon. That said, if it truly makes the process of monitoring one blood pressure easier and more accurate, then that added price could well be worth it.

The Withings BPM Vision is still awaiting FDA approval but is expected to launch in the U.S. in April.

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“This is wild!” I exclaimed while I felt every single pinch-to-click gesture on a computer thanks to the Afference ring. Checking this out in a hotel hallway while at CES 2025, it became abundantly clear that I am indeed seeing the missing link in spatial computing.

As you may recall, I do believe this new frontier of computing is the future, but it needs a lot more time in the oven. Beyond the things I mentioned, one key element needed is tactility. The personal relationship you build with a laptop through its keyboard and touchpad is something that pinch gestures without physical feedback cannot replicate.

And that’s what the Afference ring does using electrical currents. It’s truly a mind-blowing piece of tech, and is one of the more exciting glimpses of the future that I’ve seen.

How does the Afference ring work?

This is an entirely solid state ring with no vibration motors whatsoever, so how does Afference pull this off? It comes down to neuroscience — the team is made up of neuroscientists with decades of research experience after all.

You see, the way you feel things is actually quite fascinating. The nerve cells in your skin sense touch and send electrical impulses up your spinal cord to the brain. From here, your gray matter perceives the sensation and programs the physical response to it.

The Afference Ring kind of acts like a middle man to this. Conductive contacts around the inside of the ring create the electrical signal information that is sent to your brain — creating sensations. Put simply, it creates artificial touch that can be used across multiple devices, but the most interesting ways are in the VR and AR space.

For the demo, Afference partnered with another cool company that I found at CES 2025. WowMouse gives you full hand movement and gesture control on computers, phones and VR headsets by using an app on your smartwatch. This meant I could move my hand around, touch different objects and actually feel them.

The next step in spatial computing

The first demo was simple — popping bubbles. But it was so much more than that, as the difference in every bubble size provided me with a different unique haptic response. Smaller bubbles produced a smaller ping on the tip of my finger, but the larger ones offered a more sustained impact that could be felt throughout my whole digit.

Next, I interacted with menu options like opening up a messaging app, long pressing items to show contextual menus and dragging sliders.

On paper, this seemed to be the more boring demo, but in practice, it brings Afference’s vision truly to life. From the small clicks that grew in intensity as I turned up the volume to the unique responses to tapping every menu icon, I could see this really forming a personal relationship between myself and a spatial computing experience.

Finally, I played a golf mini-game (which I was terrible at — I’m more of a sim racer). Preparing the strength of the swing produced a growing tapping response based on how hard I was going to hit the ball. And on top of that, as the ball moved away from my starting position, I feel felt impact grow softer and softer as the distance increased.

There is no limit to what kind of touch sensations the Afference ring can produce. Developers can add whatever they wish to enhance their apps. To me, this felt almost as significant of a haptic moment as feeling the PS5 Dualsense when loading up Astro’s Playroom for the first time.

Outlook

Now it’s worth saying that this is just a proof of concept — a device used to woo developers and companies to invest and partner with them to really take the tech to new heights in other devices.

For example, co-founder and CEO Jacob Segil mentioned that the Samsung Galaxy Ring on his finger could support this kind of haptic tech. It’s kind of convenient given Samsung did invest in Afference, but I won’t read anymore into it than that.

However, in use, the tactile engagement on offer here is clearly one of the missing pieces of spatial computing and VR experiences. To be able to touch things and feel them within an XR environment bridges that gap between the device and the human to make this new generation of computing make sense.

Now, it’s just a case of seeing how this new kind of neural haptics takes off. If Xreal is reading this (hi — love your One Pro AR glasses by the way), I’d get in touch because this is the future.

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The biggest global tech event of the year is here and we've been keeping an eye on all the gadgets gaining traction through our CES 2025 live blog. As a sleep writer, one product in particular that's caught my eye is the VIV Ring, aka the world's first intuitive smart ring with generative sleep aid sound.

Chris Yeh, CEO of Blitzscaling Ventures in Silicon Valley, recently identified smart rings as a leading technology trend for 2025, highlighting their potential in the personal health revolution. With real-time health data collection and AI-powered health predictions, the VIV Ring is poised to become a standout product in the wearable market.

The VIV Ring has similar features to Oura and Galaxy smart rings. It analyzes biometric data including heart rate variability, oxygen saturation and stress levels. But where it sets itself apart is in its sleep enhancement features.

VIV's "Generative Sleep Aid Sound" technology evaluates the biometric data, sleep patterns and sleep cycles collected by the smart ring and uses an AI algorithm to build a personalized sleep audio. This audio is constructed of natural sounds, including recordings of ocean waves, rainfall and birdsong combined with monaural and binaural sounds, to enhance sleep quality.

Having reached the final stage of production in December 2024, the VIV Ring is debuting at CES and is set to go on sale in February 2025. Although the cost of this sleep tech is yet to be confirmed, if the best smart rings on the market are anything to go buy, you can expect the VIV Ring to be priced between $200 and $400. If you're as intrigued by this revolutionary sleep product as we are, you can bag yourself a discount by signing up to a member's waitlist.

• Read more: Binaural Beats are your secret weapon to the perfect daytime nap – here's why

VIV Ring: Launch information

The VIV Ring is manufactured by digital health startup VIV Health, based in Seoul, South Korea. The company achieved its initial production milestone, completing development of the VIV Ring in December 2024.

After debuting at CES 2025, the VIV Ring is expected to commence sales in February 2025. While the price of the smart ring is yet to be confirmed, you can join a member's waitlist, which will bag you 10% off at VIV Ring.

Although the VIV Ring isn't recommended for medical use, a stand out feature of the VIV Ring is its continuous blood pressure tracking. VIV works with Gangnam Severance Hospital, a top university hospital in Korea, for their clinical trails. The company is working towards a medical-grade health tracking device to launch in mid 2025.

VIV Ring: Features

The VIV Ring is a wearable device that tracks your health trends day and night to help you learn more about your body and biometrics.

The ring is designed to be aesthetic and comfortable as well as functional. It features a scratch-free concave center, weightless titanium and sleek sensors and is complete with a satin finish, diamond-cut chamfered edges and a reflective surface, so you look good while tracking your health.

It offers 24/7 health monitoring for non-medical, wellness purposes, allowing you to track and hack your day-to-day wellness routine. From sleep cycles to heart rate, stress, step count and exercise tracking, like all the best wearable health trackers, the VIV Ring offers constant insights into your health trends, providing you can access the compatible app.

VIV focusses on simplifying user experience through their easy-to-navigate app where you can access and monitor your personalized health and activity data.

Offering insights into your sleep cycles and overnight breathing rate, the VIV Ring can help you understand what happens within your body through the night and identify areas where you can take action to improve your sleep quality. For example, if your breathing rate indicates symptoms of sleep apnea, you can take precautions to stop this breathing disorder from disrupting your sleep.

Thanks to the sleep aid sound feature, the VIV Ring is a plush edition to your bedtime routine, providing natural meditative sleep sounds for you to drift off into a calm, restorative sleep. A sunrise alarm clock has been my favorite piece of sleep tech for some months now, making waking up on dark mornings easier, but I can see this audio ring taking the top spot. 

Ring is branching out beyond the best video doorbells and home security cameras into another area of home safety: Fire prevention. The company announced that it's partnering with Kidde to launch a new smart smoke detector that will alert Ring customers in the event of a fire or smoke event in their home.

In addition, the companies are also launching a professional monitoring service that will notify emergency services as well as emergency contacts.

The companies will offer two products: a smart smoke & carbon monoxide detector and a smart smoke detector. Both will need to be hardwired, but will use two AA batteries as backup. The detectors connect directly to Wi-Fi, and no other Ring products are needed in order to use them.

In the event of an incident, the smoke detectors will alert the user via the Ring app (as well as blaring out a siren). Optionally, you'll also be able to sign up for a 24/7 Smoke & CO Monitoring service, where an agent will contact any emergency contacts you have in your Ring app, as well as the local police and fire departments.

The alarms will be available in April exclusively through The Home Depot. The optional monitoring service will be available on April 2, and will cost $5 per month.

The Smart Smoke Alarm will retail for $54.97 and the Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm for $74.97. Kidde already offers several smart smoke detectors, which cost around $115; the ones it's offering in partnership with Ring look to be versions of its Detect line of products. These models all cost around $40-$50, but aren't currently Wi-Fi enabled.

While Ring has offered a home security system for a while, its branching out into the world of the best smart smoke detectors seems like a logical choice in an area that hasn't seen many competitors recently.

In some ways, it's comparable to Alexa Emergency Assist, which also costs $5 per month, but uses your in-home Alexa smart speakers to listen for smoke alarms, and notifies emergency services in the event of a fire. However, with the service built right into the smoke detectors themselves, you're not relying on a separate device to give you an alert.

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Ring's devices have long been on our list of the best home security cameras and best outdoor security cameras, but they've been eclipsed in recent years by competitors who have offered devices with better features and higher resolutions.

That's changing — somewhat.

Today, Ring announced that two of its cameras, the Ring Floodlight Cam Pro and the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro, will receive an update to boost their resolution to 2K. This update will roll out starting on January 8, 2025, and will be offered at no extra cost to Ring customers.

This is a small, but important step for one of the major players in the security camera space. Other companies, such as Arlo and Eufy, have offered cameras that can record 2K and even 4K video for several years now.

The Floodlight Cam Pro and the Spotlight Cam Pro are at the top of Ring's offerings among its security cameras, and cost $249 and $229, respectively. Hopefully, this will be the first step towards Ring offering similar capabilities with its top-end video doorbells, too.

Of course, a sharper picture is just one aspect of today's best security cameras.

In recent months, Ring has also rolled out an AI-powered Smart Video Search feature, though it's only available to those users who subscribe to its Ring Home Premium subscription, which costs $19.99 per month. Other companies, such as Wyze and Eufy, have also begun incorporating AI into their security cameras in order to make it easier for camera owners to identify people, pets, and other objects in their footage. This feature can help whether your are securing a shed or outbuilding or your home.

Higher-resolution cameras have become more practical in security cameras owing to the greater throughput offered in the best Wi-Fi 6 and newer routers, as well as the advent of 5G phones, which make it easier to see 2K and 4K streams without lag.

Granted, a 1080p camera will be more than sufficient for most homeowners, but higher resolution feeds do let you see objects in greater detail, and make it more practical to use digital zoom without losing too much in the way of video quality.

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Just in time for CES 2025, Circular has lifted the curtain to reveal the new Circular Ring 2, a completely redesigned smart ring that offers two key features that no other smart ring, including the Oura Ring, can match. These include on-finger ECG readings with FDA-cleared atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection and a potentially revolutionary new digital sizing process.

The Circular Ring 2 is set to arrive in four finishes this spring boasting specs and a starting price comparable to the best smart rings available in 2025. Here's everything you need to know about the new Circular Ring 2.

Circular Ring 2: price and availability

Announced on January 5th, 2025, the Circular Ring 2 is expected to launch via a crowd-funding campaign in mid-to-late January before shipping in March with a starting price of $349, the same as the Oura Ring 4; but unlike Oura, the Circular Ring is subscription-free.

Perhaps a more direct competitor, price-wise, is the Samsung Galaxy Ring, which is also subscription-free, and costs $399.

No word yet on sizes but 2023's Circular Ring Slim is available in sizes six through 13 — and your choice of a black or silver finish — and it's safe to assume that the Circular Ring 2 will be available in a similar range of dimensions.

The Circular Ring 2 will also ship in two new finishes, gold and rose gold, as well as silver and black.

Circular Ring 2: design and key features

The Circular Ring 2 has been completely redesigned. While the Circular Ring Slim is made from a mix of materials, including aluminum, titanium and unspecified non-metal material on the inside, the new Circular Ring 2 has an all-titanium exterior.

The Slim is notoriously easy to scratch — just ask our colleagues at Tech Radar — so, I'm hopeful this shift in materials will lead to a more durable outer surface on the Circular Ring 2.

The Circular Ring 2's environmental sealing rating has been slightly increased over the Ring Slim, from IPX8 to IP68. This still isn't quite enough water resistance for swimming but it should be enough for hand washing and showering.

In addition to the exterior redesign, the Circular Ring 2 boasts new sensors for better holistic tracking accuracy. More importantly, the Ring 2 is officially one of the first smart rings on the market promising on-finger ECG readings to monitor heart health, along with FDA-approved AFib detection.

Neither the Oura Ring 4 nor the Samsung Galaxy Ring support ECG readings or AFib detection via the finger, but plenty of Samsung smartwatches, including the latest Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, do.

Circular Ring 2: battery life and charging case

One of our most notable complaints about the Circular Ring Slim is its unimpressive battery life, averaging just two days of use per charge. However, the new Circular Ring 2 touts a whopping eight days of life per charge. And that's with 24/7 health and sleep monitoring.

This level of longevity puts the Ring 2 in the same camp as the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring. The Circular Ring 2 also ships with a new wireless charging dock, which sounds similar in concept to what you get with the Galaxy Ring (a dock we like very much).

Circular Ring 2: updated sizing process and app

One of my greatest frustrations about smart rings in 2025 is how tedious the sizing process tends to be. Even if you know your ring size, smart ring sizing marches to the beat of its own drum and varies from brand to brand.

While the big players, including Samsung and Oura, still recommend customers buy a $10 sizing kit before purchasing their smart ring, Circular is taking a more earth-friendly approach to smart ring sizing.

Digital Ring Sizing is a new feature coming to Circular's companion app that presumably uses your camera to get an exact ring size measurement, saving you the hassle of ordering, waiting for, using, and tossing out a superfluous kit before committing to a ring.

The companion app has also been redesigned to make navigation easier.

Circular Ring 2: outlook

I haven't had a chance to try the Circular Ring Slim but its quirks are fairly well documented, particularly by my colleague, Sam Hopes, who initially loved the device, but ultimately ditched it in favor of her Oura Ring 3. Her biggest qualms: a less-than-comfy design that scratches too easily, a confusing app with spotty data transfer reliability and unimpressive battery life.

The Circular Ring 2 seemingly addresses each of these pain points, and then some. And if it fully delivers in the battery life, durability, usability and reliability departments then it could very well be the subscription-free, smartphone OS-agnostic alternative to the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring that the people deserve.

In fact, if the Circular Ring 2 lives up to its billing and the ECG and AFib detection features work reliably, Circular could very well steal Oura's crown as the smart ring manufacturer to beat in 2025.

I'll be checking out the new Circular Ring 2 in person at CES 2025 this week and look forward to sharing my hands-on experience and initial impressions in the coming days.

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• 5 smartwatch and smart ring predictions for 2025 — Apple Watch Ultra 3, Samsung AR glasses and more
• The Amazfit Helio is my favorite smart ring — here’s why its sudden price drop is a problem

The next-generation Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 — which could be revealed as soon as January — is tipped to be more inclusive than the current version thanks to additional size offerings. This move would make the device’s range of sizes a near match with industry leader Oura, maker of the best smart ring available.

Presently, the Samsung Galaxy Ring is available in sizes five through 13. By comparison, the Oura Ring 4 ships in sizes four through 15. However, according to known leaker Max Jambor — and initially reported on by 91mobiles — the Galaxy Ring 2 may arrive in two additional sizes: 14 and 15.

This information is supported by a leaked Samsung user manual and a recent certification document from the electronics approval agency, Nemko (national approval of electrical equipment in Norway) both of which mention the new sizes.

So, why are these new sizes such a big deal for Samsung? With Oura dominating the smart ring market, Samsung must meet or surpass anything the OG finger wearable brand does in order to lure as many customers away as possible. And (nearly) matching Oura’s size offerings is a good start.

According to Jambor, the size 14 Galaxy Ring 2 will boast a 23mm interior diameter, and the size 15 ring will have a 23.8mm interior diameter.

Unlike smartwatches, correct sizing for smart rings can make or break the reliability of the device’s measurements. This is why most smart ring brands recommend users first size themselves with a proprietary sizing kit before making a purchase.

Frustratingly, smart ring sizing doesn’t align perfectly with standard ring sizing, so, even if you know your index finger is normally a size 10, it may be an 11 or a 9 in the Galaxy Ring/Oura Ring.

That said, according to Korean leaker Lanzuk, the next-generation Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 may feature an improved sizing experience, too. Here’s hoping!

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• The Amazfit Helio is my favorite smart ring — here’s why its sudden price drop is a problem
• I test smartwatches for a living — my favorite wearable of 2024 is a battery-life champ
• 5 smartwatch and smart ring predictions for 2025 — Apple Watch Ultra 3, Samsung AR glasses and more

I rated the Oura Ring my favorite smart gadget of 2023, and the smart ring tops the charts again for me as 2024 draws to a close.

While key competitors like Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring, the Ultrahuman Ring Air also became a big hitter and the competition for the best smart ring continues to heat up. However, Oura’s hardly been a sitting duck this year. In fact, the brand has been pretty busy.

Oura launched the highly anticipated Oura Ring 4 this October; the app got a major upgrade; and a brand new Oura app feature has been spun out right in time for the holiday season.

Oura’s unique perspective on health, sleep and holistic well-being (not just becoming another fitness tracker) has catapulted the brand ahead of the competition to date. And the holidays are the perfect time to discover Oura’s wealth of features, old and new. Here are three ways I’m using my Oura Ring 3 during the holidays this year to hit rest and reset on physical and mental health.

1. Symptom Radar

The holidays can be busy and stressful, so although prioritizing your physical and mental health is paramount, it often becomes a last priority.

As of December 5, 2024, members get access to a game-changing health feature called Symptom Radar — the first beta-tested feature to make it from Oura Labs to the app. If you’re unfamiliar, Labs allows members to test features and provide feedback; successful features are re-modeled and released as permanent additions to ring 3 and 4 wearers.

Symptom Radar assesses your biometric data (in-app) every morning for early signs of strain, including common cold or flu symptoms. Armed with these telltale markers ahead of time, Oura aims to help you proactively take action for your health.

The feature also helps you monitor which biomarkers have changed and what it means, and Oura will ping you with “severity levels”: no signs, minor signs and major signs. You can track data and potential trends as the days unfold using your history graph, plus Oura provides the biometrics that contributed to your score.

If you’re getting that subtle scratchy feeling in the back of your throat, it could be time to check out Symptom Radar. The feature sits in the Today tab of your app for your latest feedback.

2. Rest Mode

The Tom’s Guide fitness team believes building mental strength is just as important as building physical strength. As we draw closer to the holidays, taking your foot off the gas isn’t always easy, especially with wearables pinging out reminders to close fitness rings or hit step counts.

Oura’s got a neat solution to that. Toggling to Rest Mode signals Oura that you want to focus on recovery during stressful times like jetlag, sickness or poor sleep. Or maybe you just need a break.

Oura can let you know when your body is in a stress state (more on that later), which can help you decide whether or not to toggle on Rest Mode in the Oura app. To do so, simply tap the three bars in the top left of your app and select Rest Mode from the menu.

Once active, activity goals, scores and “related contributors” are paused. Instead, your Readiness Score will highlight recovery-based metrics. You can switch back at any time, and scores will gradually return to normal. Don't worry, you won't be smacked in the face with data straight away.

3. Explore: Breathwork and meditation

Forget YouTube, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, the Explore tab is the place to be. This feature still exists, but the app upgrade moved it to the drop-down menu on the left — where Rest Mode also lives.

You can choose to meditate, breathe, or listen to stories, and exercises range from just a few minutes to 30. There are also categories such as Awaken, Reset, Unwind, Focus, or Relax. But don’t worry, breathing exercises don’t need to be extensive or performed in a dark room with your eyes closed and incense sticks burning.

You could just plug in a pair of the best headphones and prioritize two minutes during your morning commute or between meetings; we’ve put together some additional breathing exercises for beginners if you’d like to incorporate those, too.

My favorite Oura breathing exercises are the body scans, which help me step back into my body when I’m feeling super stressed out. And when I toggle on Rest Mode, Oura even recommends meditations for me.

Ironically, there’s a lot of noise surrounding the benefits of meditation and breathwork for your health. But, discerning between fact and fiction, ever-growing bodies of research do tell us that even a few minutes can reduce anxiety, boost mood and mental clarity and improve sleep quality.

Although the effects can be instantaneous for many (these techniques take the nervous system from the sympathetic fight-or-flight mode to the calm, rest and repair of the parasympathetic nervous system) long-term practice yields the best results for most.

It turns out that you can’t physically hide from the impacts of stress, either. Oura’s Daytime Stress feature launched in October 2023 and gives members insights into their stress levels throughout the day, refreshing in-app every 15 minutes two hours after waking.

The remarkable feature uses biometrics like night-time heart rate variability (HRV) and body temperature to detect stress in the body, providing feedback in categories: restored, relaxed, engaged and stressed.

It’s worth noting that “healthy” stressors like high-intensity exercise can also soar you into stressed mode due to spikes in cortisol, so remember to always contextualize this feedback around your unique lifestyle.

That said, I’ve used my Oura Ring to manage stress over time and found it extremely helpful. Plus, the Oura Reflections tool (a personal journal) and Stress Resilience tool (for mapping and improving stress) can help you delve into trends, causes and solutions. Here’s everything you need to know about these Oura Ring features.

Bottom line

A “Stress in America” report published by the American Psychological Association found adults aged 35 to 44 experienced “the highest increase in mental health diagnoses” from 31% in 2019 to 45% in 2023. Adults aged between 18-34 show the “highest rate of mental illnesses” at a whopping 50% in 2023. And those are just some of the alarming stats the report found.

If you needed a sign — this is yours. So take a hot minute to check-in. Although Oura doesn’t claim to prescribe, diagnose or cure, these features could help you contextualize whatever your body is throwing up physically or mentally and find potential ways to manage it or escalate findings to a qualified healthcare provider.

I’ve been using my Oura Ring 3 for three years, and these features are becoming the most useful tools I own for managing my health. If you’re totally new to the Oura Ring or you’ve just invested in one, here’s what happened when we wore an Oura Ring for an entire year, including likes and dislikes and what to watch out for.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
• Oura Ring 3 vs Whoop 4.0: Which is the best fitness tracker?
• Oura Ring vs Ultrahuman Ring Air.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is one of the best smart rings available in 2026, despite launching in 2024, and the best alternative to the Oura Ring 4, thanks to impressive AI health features, a durable design, nearly a week of battery, and no monthly fees. But could an updated version steal Oura's crown? Recent rumors and leaks suggest that the answer might be yes.

I've been keeping track of all the Galaxy Ring 2 rumors for over a year and have summarized the most likely upgrades below, along with a potential launch date and price. In short, expect a smarter, longer-lasting device with enhanced holistic insights backed by AI.

Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 biggest rumored upgrades

Samsung Galaxy Ring 2: Biggest rumors: cheat sheet

• Release date prediction: Late 2026 or early 2027
• Price prediction: From $399 and up
• Design: A slimmer design is possible; improved sizing with expanded options
• Battery life: Greater than seven days
• Wellness upgrades: Rearranged sensor structure could result in holistic tracking accuracy improvements; new tools aimed at improving sleep quality and managing stress; an onboard body temperature sensor
• AI/Smart features: New AI-backed smart features are rumored, but details are light so far

Samsung Galaxy Ring 2: Potential price and launch date

The Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 didn't appear at the winter Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event, and it's unlikely to appear at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 (rumored for late February), either.

Thanks to an ongoing patent dispute with rival Oura, initially filed in November 2025, it seems highly unlikely that the Galaxy Ring 2 will materialize until legal matters are sorted. Afterall, if Samsung loses the case, the result could be a mandate to pull all Galaxy Ring models from store shelves.

More likely, the Galaxy Ring 2 will launch sometime in late 2026 or even 2027.

Pricing details on the forthcoming release are scant, but we'd expect the finger-based wearable to start at roughly the same cost as the current model, $399. The Samsung Galaxy Ring is already one of the priciest smart rings out there — the Oura Ring 4 starts at $349 — so we don't expect to see further price hikes (fingers crossed).

Samsung Galaxy Ring 2: Design predictions

A rumor from back in November 2024 shared by leaker Lanzuk on the Korean search engine and blogging platform, Naver suggests that the next-gen Galaxy Ring will boast several design improvements, including a possible thinner profile and improved sizing. Currently, the Galaxy Ring sizing process is a bit tedious, so any advancements here would be appreciated.

Of course, Lanzuk also said that the Galaxy Ring 2 would ship ahead of schedule, so those design improvements are far from certain.

Separate leaks also suggest that Samsung will expand the size range for the Galaxy Ring 2, which seems likely given the recent announcement of two new sizes for the OG Galaxy Ring, 14 and 15. If Samsung manages to add one additional size option on the smaller end, then the new Galaxy Ring 2 will be a match with the Oura Ring 4 (available in sizes 4-15).

Another potential design upgrade is the inclusion of an onboard body temperature sensor. A somewhat recently filed Samsung patent suggests that the technology could do more than just monitor a user's temperature, but also take the temperature of a separate individual or object using the outside of the ring.

For parents of small kids, this means that in theory, you could use the ring to check both your child's body temperature for signs of fever and the temperature of bath water to ensure it's not too hot.

In addition to smart rings, in an interview with CNN, Won-joon Choi, an executive at Samsung, hinted that other wearables, like smart earrings and necklaces, could be in the works. Sound familiar? In an exclusive interview, Oura VP Jason Russell similarly hinted at ‘complementary wearables’ to assist your smart ring.

Samsung Galaxy Ring 2: Possible features

Health features

In addition to a new body temperature sensor, we may see Samsung rearrange the existing sensors or add redundancies to improve overall tracking accuracy. Oura did something similar with the jump from the Oura Ring 3 to the Oura Ring 4, recessing the sensor array for greater comfort while expanding the number of sensors to increase the amount of data coming in.

Other new Galaxy Ring 2 health features may be more software-based. Back in January 2025, the brand revealed a variety of new holistic tools currently in the works and set to debut in compatible wearables later this year.

The first is a sleep environment report that offers users tips on improving their room conditions for optimal rest. It looks at factors like room temperature, humidity, light intensity, and air quality.

Also aimed at improving rest quality is a sleep time guidance tool that does exactly what it sounds like: recommends the best times to hit the hay and wake up based on lifestyle and health factors. Finally, Samsung wearables now have a mindfulness tracker that monitors stress and mood by analyzing a user's breathing patterns.

In addition to the above, Samsung also recently added several holistic tools coming to the Samsung Health app, including a vascular load indicator to help users understand how their exercise and daily routine impact their heart health, with tips for reducing strain.

The other recent addition is an antioxidant tracker that monitors beta carotene in the body to help users improve their nutrition through tailored meal plans and recipe suggestions.

I tested both of these new wellness monitoring tools on the Galaxy Watch 8 and found vascular load tracking to be insightful, while antioxidant index monitoring was less than useful.

Smart features

The Samsung Galaxy Ring already offers useful integration with compatible Galaxy phones, including a Double Pinch gesture that allows you to do things like remotely fire your camera's shutter or silence your phone's alarm.

This smart functionality is one thing that really sets the Galaxy Ring apart from the competition, and I fully expect further compatibility between Samsung's next-gen smart ring and smartphones. However, what form this expansion will take is still unknown.

The Galaxy Watch 8 also introduced Samsung's new AI-powered Running Coach feature that analyzes your abilities and helps guide you through fitness goal-setting and training via multi-week plans. No word on whether the Galaxy Ring 2 will inherit this potentially useful tool, which, as a newbie runner, I found useful.

Battery life

There's a strong possibility of battery life enhancements for the Galaxy Ring 2. Again, according to the Korean leaker Lanzuk, the Galaxy Ring 2 will top its predecessor's seven-day battery life rating (which is closer to six days IRL based on our usage).

A more recent report in the South Korean publication Money Today suggests that the Galaxy Ring 2 could sport a solid-state battery. Compared to liquid electrolyte batteries like those used in most smart rings (including the current-gen Galaxy Ring), solid-state batteries offer higher energy density and faster charging, i.e. they're superior across the board.

The best smart ring on the market today, the Oura Ring 4, is advertised as lasting eight days, though that hasn't been our experience. With that in mind, I'm putting my money on the Galaxy Ring 2 delivering ten days of battery per charge.

Samsung Galaxy Ring 2: Outlook

The original Samsung Galaxy Ring left us seriously impressed with its health-tracking features, battery life and design, but a somewhat annoying sizing process, limited smart functionality with non-Galaxy phones and a high initial cost kept it from being named the best smart ring, even if it is the best Oura Ring alternative.

I don't expect the Galaxy Ring 2 to cost any less than the current Galaxy Ring. I also expect that it will continue to boast smart features that can only be unlocked with one of the latest and greatest Galaxy handsets. Finally, if you're an iPhone user hoping for cross-platform compatibility, then I've got a bridge to sell you in the East River.

With that real talk out of the way, I have no doubt the Galaxy Ring 2 will offer new and genuinely useful wellness tools to help users understand the macro and micro details of their holistic data. The forthcoming sleep environment report and sleep time guidance features already sound promising. Here's hoping they prove as valuable as Samsung's daily Energy Score and Sleep reports.

Lastly, a thinner or possibly lighter design with improved sensor placement, better battery life, and an onboard temperature sensor all seem like real possibilities; the same goes for a better sizing process. For the latter, the question is, can Samsung match the ease of Circular's super-simple digital sizing tool? Time will tell.

More from Tom's Guide:

• Apple Ring — everything we know so far about Apple's rumored smart ring
• Ultrahuman launches Cycle and Ovulation Pro — and they say it’s the most accurate cycle tracking on any smart ring
• Ringconn Gen 2 Air review — this budget smart ring beats the Oura Ring 4 in three big ways

What new wearables can we expect in 2025? From a possible trio of new Apple Watches to a sleek pair of Samsung smart glasses to a redesigned Galaxy Ring, the Year of the Snake is tipped to be a blockbuster in the wild world of wearable technology.

Of course, 2024 was no slouch. We saw the debut of Samsung's first Galaxy smart ring, a true competitor to well-established and Oura Ring (which also got a refresh). The Google Pixel Watch series blossomed in its third iteration with the addition of a larger, longer-lasting 45mm model.

In addition, Samsung rolled out its first rugged Wear OS smartwatch in the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Oh, and the flagship Apple Watch 10 debuted sporting a slimmer, lighter profile with sleep apnea detection.

But all of that's in the rearview mirror. Now, it's time to look ahead to 2025 and the likely releases that will keep us on the edge of our seats.

1. Samsung Galaxy AR glasses

There's a very good possibility that we'll see Samsung's forthcoming augmented reality (AR) glasses launch sooner rather than later, with reports hinting at a January 2025 debut. At the very least we should get a tease at the event.

Similar to Meta's Ray Ban AR glasses, these high-tech specs are rumored to be sleek and stylish and meant for daily wearing.

Feature-wise, expect the Galaxy Glasses (I'm guessing the name) to play nicely with other devices in the Galaxy ecosystem, including the best Samsung phones and the Samsung Galaxy Ring, with a heavy emphasis on AI-backed features and gesture controls. Industry experts also expect that you'll be able to use the wearable to pay for items via some form of Google Pay.

We should know more soon. Rumors suggest that Samsung will launch the brand's Extended Reality (XR) platform, which the new smart glasses will run on, later this month.

2. Apple Watch Ultra 3 and SE 3

I can't lie. I was a bit disappointed when Apple's fall product announcements didn't include a refresh of the Apple Watch Ultra or SE lines. Based on the brand's prior launch cycles, both devices seemed likely.

The first Apple Watch Ultra launched in 2022 with the Ultra 2 refresh coming a year later in 2023. Similarly, the Apple Watch SE first debuted in 2020 with the SE 2 following in 2022. Clearly, annual and bi-annual updates for both of those lines are no longer the norm.

Or maybe Cupertino is simply cooking up something extra special and groundbreaking for the refresh of both lines? Either way, I expect to see an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch SE 3 arrive in the fall of 2025.

With the current-gen SE selling for $100 off the week of Black Friday and beyond, it's obvious that retailers are trying to clear out inventory. So, what will Apple's new budget-friendly smartwatch model offer? Apple Watch SE 3 rumors suggest the case material may switch from metal to plastic to keep costs and weight down.

There are also hints that the new device will launch at $149 which is coincidentally the same price the SE 2 was just going for after discounts. Hmm. Finally, a larger case size option may be on offer. Better even yet, we may see the Apple Watch SE 3 launch with a new iPhone SE model as soon as Spring 2025. The Ultra 3, meanwhile, will more likely make its debut in the fall.

Unlike the SE 3, Apple Watch Ultra 3 rumors are less plentiful. The good news is that there's a very strong possibility both of these new devices will support Apple Intelligence, bringing the company's best AI tools to your wrist.

3. Apple Watch Series 11

While we're on the subject of Apple Watches, I might as well acknowledge the fact that an Apple Watch Series 11 is all but certain to debut in 2025, and likely with some cool Apple Intelligence-based features showcased. Unlike the SE and the Ultra, Apple has refreshed the flagship smartwatch line every year for a decade straight and I don't expect that to change in the coming year.

However, like the Apple Watch Ultra 3, details on the Series 11 are scant. Still, I can wishfully speculate. There's been a lot of chatter about MicroLED technology lately. And for good reason. The standard Apple Watch line has been stuck at the same battery life for years.

Like the original model from 2014, the current Apple Watch Series 10 boasts just 18 hours of battery under normal operating conditions. A switch to MicroLED screens could change that. Not only is the technology notably more power efficient than OLED but a move to MicroLED could also bring about improvements to screen brightness, resolution, saturation and color accuracy.

There's also been reports that Apple has been investigating ways to bring blood pressure monitoring and perhaps even blood-glucose tracking to the Apple Watch, but there's no definitive timetable.

4. Samsung Galaxy Ring 2

It seems like only yesterday Samsung debuted its first smart ring when in reality, the Galaxy Ring was launched in January 2024. Of course, we had to wait until summertime to finally get our hands on one. When we did, it impressed us, earning the team's respect as the best Oura Ring alternative.

The finger-based wearable may still be wet behind the ears but rumors of a follow-up abound. According to one leaker, the Galaxy Ring 2 will sport a thinner and lighter design with better battery life and additional features. Specifics are notably lacking, though.

While we may get a sneak peek at the ring during the expected January launch of the Samsung S25 smartphone, my guess is we'll have to wait several months more before the product is actually available for purchase.

5. No new Fitbits

Google went ahead and put the kibosh on the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa smartwatch lines in 2024. In 2025, I expect more of the same. As of writing, only the entry-level Fitbit Inspire 3, mid-range Fitbit Charge 6 and kid-centric Fitbit Ace LTE remain.

So, which will be the next Fitbit model to have the plug pulled? I'd rather not speculate, though the ACE is less than a year old, so I doubt it will be that. Either way, the end for the Inspire and Charge lines will be unceremonious and likely go mostly unacknowledged by Google. This is all to say, I don't expect a Fitbit Inspire 4 or Fitbit Charge 7 in 2025. (Though I'll be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong).

More from Tom's Guide:

• Fitbit is exiting the cheap smartwatch race — and this brand could replace it
• Apple Ring — everything we know so far about the rumored smart ring
• Smartwatch vs. adventure watch — which is best for you?

The CEO of Oura has suggested Apple won't make a smart ring to compete with the best smart rings in case it undercuts sales of the Apple Watch. Furthermore, he suggested that it's "hard to do this product category right."

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Tom Hale explained that he believes Apple's top brass will be "unconvinced about the value of having a ring and watch together," and "they’re probably keeping a close eye on Samsung and a close eye on us."

Oura has been developing smart rings since 2013 and recently unveiled it's latest wearable, the Oura Ring 4. The company has been somewhat uncontested in the smart ring space by the big tech brands until Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Apple has made constant strides to improve the fitness and sleep credentials of the Apple Watch. Within watchOS 11, Apple launched Vitals — basically the iOS Health app but on your wrist. As you continue to wear your Apple Watch on a daily basis, You’ll be able to see how different markers (ie. activity, sleep, heart rate) are impacting your health. Which is a lot like what Oura offers with its Readiness score.

It's understandable that Apple wouldn't want to compromise this; so Hale's argument does have some merit. Furthermore, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg,landed on the exact same argument in his Power On newsletter last month.

"Apple isn't actively developing a ring and has no plans to launch one," he wrote. "[because it] would detract from the Apple Watch."

However, rumors persist that Apple is investigating the possibility of launching a smart ring. Allegedly, Apple even sent out surveys to employees in September that teased the smart ring's existence.

So, will we see an Apple Ring in the near future or not? It's possible only Tim Cook knows the answer to that — but we'll keep monitoring the rumor mill for any new Apple Ring leaks, just in case.

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Apple may have cancelled the much rumored Apple Ring, or the Cupertino-company could still be developing the potential wearable. Who knows.

Currently, we're leaning toward, Apple is designing a smart ring. 

The latest rumor comes to us from the Korean blogging platform Naver, where yeux1122 revealed that Samsung might accelerate the release timeline of the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2. At the end of their post, they briefly mentioned that Apple is working on its version of a smart ring and smart glasses

"Apple is also still developing a ring-type wearable, and recently, attempts to develop band-type and smart glass-type wearable devices have been detected."

There isn't much information beyond that though.

The rumors surrounding the Apple Ring have been incredibly vague and mostly based on speculation. Allegedly, Apple sent out surveys to employees in September that teased the smart ring. Reportedly, another survey with a similar question was revealed in October as well. 

Both the smart ring and potential smart glasses have been tipped to launch in 2026, or maybe 2027.

Apple is behind Samsung now in the wearables field concerning rings, but the company also just received a patent to embed sensors in watchbands or headbands which signals a potential expansion of the company's wearables lines.

On the other hand, the Apple Whisperer himself, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, claimed in his Power On newsletter from October that Apple actually has no plans to launch a ring.

"Apple isn't actively developing a ring and has no plans to launch one," he wrote. "[because it] would detract from the Apple Watch."

He added that Apple "has no reason to cannibalize a product that still has room to grow and is the envy of the fitness-tracking industry."

Gurman is, usually, pretty spot on with his predictions and rumors. So we do have to really consider his information.

As we've seen with the Samsung Galaxy Ring, an Apple Ring could easily integrate into the Apple health tracking ecosystem. And a ring may be a preferable form factor compared to the watches which can feel bulky at times. 

Apple has plenty of patents surrounding gesture control and biometric tracking, though that's not indicative of whether or not a ring will come out. 

Alongside the sensor patent the company received this week, it also received a number of patents related to cars, which may be left over form the cancelled Apple Car project. which has been dead since at least February.

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A new leak out of Korea claims that Samsung may launch the sequel to the Galaxy Ring early with a few improvements. The leak, shared on the Korean search engine/blogging platform Naver, said that the Galaxy Ring 2 will be released "a bit earlier than originally scheduled" (machine translated).

Samsung launched its new ring in July of this year. In our Galaxy Ring review, we said that Samsung's version "makes a strong case for smart ring adoption" while giving it our editor's choice. It quickly made our list of the best smart rings.

Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S25 phone series in January next year, though that is probably too early. It has been rumored that Samsung might launch a Galaxy S25 Slim later in the spring. That could be a potential early window for the Korean company to accelerate the release date of the next Galaxy Ring. However, it's unclear what "early" actually means here.

The leaker, Lanzuk, did add that Galaxy Ring 2 should have a thinner band, longer battery life and "more features." However, they did not provide more details on what those new features might include. They commented in their post that the sensor structure and measurements have been improved.

We assume it'll have the improved health tracking features, which are expected to come with the One UI 7 update that should launch in early 2025. Presumably, Samsung will introduce other non-health tracking features to the ring, too.

At the end of their blog, Lanzuk added in a line that Apple is working on its version of a smart ring and smart glasses. Apple has allegedly sent employee surveys that reveal the company is working on a smart ring. Meanwhile, the smart glasses may be an attempt by the company to produce a cheaper smart device than the Vision Pro, which is struggling to find a foothold. Both devices have been rumored and tipped to launch in 2026 or potentially 2027.

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In an effort to keep up with some of the best home security cameras, Ring is rolling out four new features for its devices and rebranding its subscription offerings — and fortunately keeping the price the same. 

The new features, such as 24/7 video recording, aim to give Ring camera owners greater knowledge about what's going on around their property. Here's a quick look at each new feature, when they'll be available, and on which devices they'll work.

24/7 video recording

Ring cameras will now be able to record 24/7 video for a span of up to 14 days, as well as capture events that occur outside motion zones. This feature will initially be available on the Ring Stick Up Cam and Stick Up Cam Pro, Indoor Cam 2nd Gen, and Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam, and only for those who have subscribed to the Ring Home Premium tier, which is $19.99/month.

Doorbell Calls

In order to help speed up the time to which you can respond to someone at your front door, Doorbell Calls will allow you to answer a buzz at your doorbell as if you were answering a call on your phone, as well as see a live view from the doorbell's camera. This feature will work for all Ring video doorbells.

Video preview alerts

While Ring's cameras have provided thumbnail images on your phone when someone rings your doorbell or triggers a motion alert, push notifications will now include a short video clip, to give you better context before deciding whether or not to open the Ring app to see a live view or talk with the person on the other side. 

Extended Live View and Continuous Live View

Extended Live View will let you watch a live view from your camera for up to 30 minutes. Granted, you won't want to use this often on battery-powered cameras, as it'll drain the battery life faster, but it's convenient to have. It will work with all of Ring's latest cameras and video doorbells, including the Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam, Battery Doorbell, and Spotlight and Floodlight Cams.

Continuous Live View is essentially the same feature but longer, and is only available on cameras that have 24/7 recording enabled. 

When you can get these features 

All of these Ring features will start rolling out this month, and will be fully available by November 5. While the 24/7 continuous recording is only going to appeal to those who want to pay up for Ring's premium tier, it's a welcome addition to bring Ring's offerings in line with those from Arlo and Nest — the latter of which offers 24/7 recording for just $15/month, but only gives you 10 days of recording history.

Still, Ring's plans are among the best security camera storage plans for the amount of recording history they give you. It should also be noted that you can also get continuous recording with a number of Eufy cameras, provided you have a local base station.

Far more useful for more Ring owners will be the video preview alerts and Doorbell Calls, which will be used far more often and by more people.

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The Eufy S350 was one of the best home security cameras I've tested this year. You can use the included app to move this motorized pan and tilt model for 360 degrees of 4K resolution coverage of any room you place it in. These types of security cameras are becoming more popular than ever but tend to cost more than their static counterparts.

Even Ring has joined in on the 360-degree trend with its own Pan-Tilt Indoor camera earlier this summer. While it's more compact and sexier looking than the Eufy S350, its HD camera quality is the same as standard models that cost a quarter of the price. So are you better off with cheaper, well-placed static cameras or is it worth spending more for one that moves around? Read on to see what I like and don't like about these types of security cameras.

What I like: Widest possible coverage area

Rotating pan-tilt cameras cover all nooks and crannies of a room that fixed cameras can't. You get more bang for your buck since you don't need to buy multiple devices to get different angles within a space. Open-concept floorplans or rooms with multiple entry points benefit the most from this. 

For example, I used to keep a single camera in the back left corner of my living room. While this captured movement from the main entryway or if someone entered it from the kitchen, I couldn't see events along the wall the camera was mounted to. With a pan-tilt camera in the center of the room, I can point it in a new direction and see all activity taking place. Now I'm able to direct the camera into the rooms the entryways lead to or zoom in to look past the windows. Since I can see the wall the camera was placed on I can check on the fireplace, see if I left the TV on, or tell if my in-wall A/C unit is running which I couldn't before. 

What I like: Subject tracking and auto patrol

Both Eufy and the budget Wyze Cam Pan v3 support subject tracking that follows a person or pet as they move through a space. This gives you a clearer look at what's happening behind the scenes. (The Ring Pan-Tilt camera lacks these autonomous features, requiring you to steer it around manually from the app). This highlights the glaring issue I have with normal cameras: When a subject walks past its field of view you have no idea what they're up to.

Automatic tracking and cruise modes keep these cameras on their toes as they move around on patrol. If they see something they lock onto it and follow it until it leaves the room. This is especially great for keeping an eye on pets while you're away from home. A standard security camera can't be adjusted once you place it down, which limits how much activity you can see.

What I like: Deters trespassers

Lastly, it's harder for someone to miss a pan-tilt security camera. While it feels a bit creepy, a camera that supports auto-follow will move around with a subject and make a small whirring sound. This makes its presence known and tips people off to the fact that you can see everything. While it's nice to hide a camera out of sight and mind in a corner it's way less intimidating.

What I don't like: Wires limit placement

Pan and tilt cameras require a wired power source because they're constantly moving around. This would drain a battery quickly, which creates a reliance on electrical outlets. In reality, this ends up limiting where you can place or mount these cameras since you have to take into account distance from a socket as well as how you plan to run the wire into a central space.

Should you get a pan/tilt security camera?

Pan-tilt home security cameras are rising in popularity for a reason — who wouldn't want a personal security guard to cover all corners of their room? You can maximize your protection from a single device with 360 degrees of coverage and redirect your view from anywhere. That's provided you have the right space and a nearby outlet to accommodate it.

If you have a large space to cover then I'd easily recommend buying a pan-tilt security camera. But among the best home security cameras, a basic non-moving model is more than sufficient for smaller areas like an office or baby's room, and gives you the option to use battery-powered models, too.

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