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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