Amazon is revamping its subscription offerings for its Ring video doorbells and cameras. A new service, called Ring Home Premium, will include features like 24/7 recording and AI-powered video search, starting at $19.99 per month when it launches on November 5 in the U.S.
Less-expensive tiers, Ring Home Standard and Ring Home Basic, will include several capabilities but not 24/7 recording or the upgraded search. Ring is now the second-largest seller of security systems in the U.S., according to research firm Parks Associates.
The old Ring Protect Basic plan is becoming Ring Home Basic ($4.99 per month). Ring Protect Plus will become Ring Home Standard ($9.99 per month). And Ring Protect Pro will become either Ring Home Standard with alarm professional monitoring ($19.99 per month) or Ring Home Premium, depending on the customers’ choice.
All Ring Home subscribers get person and package alerts, video preview alerts (short GIF previews of camera motion alerts), and 180 days of video event history. Ring Home Standard customers can view video streams up to 30 minutes via “extended live view.”
The changes are a mixed bag for some Ring owners. Those subscribed to Ring Protect Pro will lose local video storage and SOS emergency response if they don’t have a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro device.
These features and more are now gated behind Ring Home Premium.
Ring’s new AI-powered features
For new customers with a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro, Amazon will also start charging $10 per month for alarm professional monitoring starting November 5.
Ring Protect Pro customers subscribed to Amazon’s $99-per-month corporate security plan with call center monitoring will get professional monitoring at no extra charge. To ease this transition, Amazon is offering existing Ring Protect Pro customers a one-year trial of Ring Home Premium with alarm professional monitoring. After the trial ends, subscribers will have to pay $10 per month plus $19.99 per month for Ring Home Premium to keep the service.
One of the headlining features of Ring Home Premium, Smart Video Search, can help users find specific moments in recorded video footage. Rolling out to select Ring customers in public beta starting Wednesday, Smart Video Search allows users to type queries into the Ring app to pinpoint noteworthy moments, such as “raccoon in the backyard last night” or “red bicycle in the driveway.”
Initially, Smart Video Search will be limited to queries about animals, locations, packages, people, time, vehicles, weather, and activities like jumping, running, playing, or riding. Amazon has implemented safeguards to block searches for potentially offensive or harmful content and will fine-tune the search feature over time.
Amazon says it is committed to developing responsible AI and delivering privacy features for customers. However, a study from MIT published in August raised concerns about potential biases in AI models powering such tools, noting that commercially available models were more likely to recommend calling the police when analyzing Ring videos from minority communities. The launch of Smart Video Search comes ahead of Google’s planned updates to its Nest cameras and doorbells, which will bring detailed captions for camera footage and similar natural-language search functionality.
Amazon’s revamp of Ring’s subscriptions and the introduction of AI-powered features demonstrate its focus on enhancing user experience and maintaining its competitive edge in the smart home security market.
Feeling stuck in self-doubt?
Stop trying to fix yourself and start embracing who you are. Join the free 7-day self-discovery challenge and learn how to transform negative emotions into personal growth.
