The much-rumored Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has finally been unveiled and will be released in the US and the UK on March 31, and in Australia on April 1. It’s available to pre-order from Amazon today, February 24, and costs $249.99 / £219 / AU$399.99.
The second generation of Ring’s top-of-the-range doorbell, which was accidentally leaked by Best Buy Canada earlier this month, records video in a 1536 x 1536 resolution. That’s more detailed than the FullHD resolution of the existing Ring Video Doorbell Pro, and it also offers a wider 150-degree square field of view for ‘head-to-toe’ video so you can see the full length of anyone on the doorstep, just like the Arlo Video Doorbell.
The mains-powered doorbell also has color night vision, although Ring said it would be more like the colorized night vision found on the current Ring Video Doorbell Pro. The camera takes areas of ambient light within its field of view and applies a simulated color to them – tinting the sky blue, for example. It doesn’t create a full-color picture - that's something even the best video doorbells don’t have right now.
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Identify the source of motion
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 also includes a new 3D Motion feature, which enables the user to set a motion threshold. The doorbell uses radar to identify when an object or person has passed this virtual threshold and then triggers a motion alert. This should help reduce the number of false positive motion alerts users receive.
The radar is also being used as part of a new ‘Bird’s Eye View’ feature that details the route of the person or object that caused the motion on an aerial map, to give you a better understanding of what triggered the activity alert.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has two-way audio so you can see and speak to anyone on your doorstep, but the addition of noise cancellation and several microphones looks set to make these conversations much clearer.
Like all Ring Video Doorbells, you can set motion zones so you’re only alerted about activity in these areas and even create privacy zones, where motion isn’t detected – a useful feature if some of your neighbor’s property falls within the doorbell’s field of view.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is similar size and shape to the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro, but comes with one silver interchangeable faceplate in the box, rather than four. However, once the doorbell has been set up, Ring will email a code that can be exchanged for a second faceplate. The color range has been expanded to cover 16 different shades including red, green and purple.
Ring Protect
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 also comes with a free 30-day trial of Ring’s subscription service, Ring Protect. As well as storing video recorded by the doorbell in a secure area online so you can go back and view them at any time, the subscription also offers the ‘Pre-Roll’ feature first introduced on the Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus. Pre-roll stores four seconds of black-and-white video that’s captured before the camera’s motion detection is activated – another tool in helping you identify exactly what triggered the alert. Once the trial has expired, Ring Protect costs from $3 / £2.50 / AU$4 per month or $30 / £24.99 / AU$40 for a year.
Ring has confirmed the Alexa Greetings feature, which was recently unveiled for the first iteration of the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, will be available on the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 in the US This sees Amazon's voice assistant answer the door and take a message if you can't get to the door yourself. However, it hasn't revealed if this will be extended to other regions.
A cut above the competition
We’re pleased to see the inclusion of color night vision included on the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2. If footage from the doorbell should ever need to be handed over to the police following an incident, it could help them build a detailed description of a trespasser, as you will be able to see their hair, eye and clothing color – something that’s not possible with black and white video.
Even though it’s still more expensive than competitor video doorbells, we’re not sure how useful features like Bird’s Eye will be until we actually put the video doorbell to the test, but we hope that the 3D motion scanner will at least reduce the number of false positive motion alerts received.
