Ring has been synonymous with video doorbells and home security cameras for years, but it hasn’t really made a way to physically secure front doors with its products until now. The company just announced its first smart lock, and it comes with a (literally) powerful twist.
The Ring Smart Lock looks like a standard smart lock equipped with multiple ways to unlock it. You can use an app, Alexa, the built-in fingerprint reader, or the number pad to unlock manually. That’s a solid suite of verification methods, even if it doesn’t extend to rarer biometric lock tech like the Lockly Visage Zeno’s facial recognition or the Lockin Veno Pro’s palm-vein reader.
It also has a feature I haven’t seen in any other smart lock yet, albeit one that doesn’t directly lock or unlock anything. When a smart lock’s battery runs dry, it obviously can’t unlock your door. Some smart locks have hidden ports or charging contacts so you can give them enough juice to function, but the Ring Smart Lock takes a different approach. It has a power dial you can turn to generate just enough power to drive the lock, basically letting you crank-start it so you can get inside and fully charge the battery. It’s a simple but clever solution to the problem.
The Ring Smart Lock retails for $249 and comes in black, silver, and brass finishes. You won’t see any of them for a few months, though; the lock doesn’t ship until early 2027.
Ring Indoor Cam 4K and Ring Pan Tilt Cam 2K (Credit: Will Greenwald)
New models in Ring’s bread-and-butter category of security cameras were also just announced, and they’ll be coming out much sooner. They’re higher-resolution versions of cameras Ring already offers, and include the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam in 2K ($69.99), the Ring Indoor Cam Plus in 4K ($99.99), the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus in 4K, ($149.99), the Ring Spotlight Cam Plus in 4K ($199.99), and the Ring Floodlight Cam Plus in 4K ($219.99).
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The pan-and-tilt and indoor cams can be purchased now, while the outdoor cameras are available for preorder and will ship later this month.
About Our Expert
Will Greenwald
Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics
Experience
I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I’ve served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.
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