What Ring's $250 Flying Camera and $1,000 Robot Mean for Buyers

Amazon's Ring unveiled two security robots on Tuesday: a $249.99 indoor flying drone for homes and a $999.99 patrol robot for businesses, according to GeekWire. The Rover Cam is due to ship Dec. 16, while the Drone Cam is slated for Jan. 27, 2027, and some of its features will need a paid subscription.

The Ring Drone Cam and Ring Rover Cam are the first products under the Ring Robotics name, which the company describes as "a new category of autonomous, mobile security." NBC News reported that the pitch is coverage of places a fixed camera cannot reach.

What this means for buyers

The Rover Cam is for stores and offices, not homes. GeekWire reported that it is available for preorder in the U.S. and uses a periscope camera to see over counters and shelving. The Shortcut said it also has a siren that sounds when it spots intruders.

The drone's timing is less certain. The Shortcut said both products can be preordered now. GeekWire reported that Ring is only taking email sign-ups for the drone and that the fine print says it has not yet received the required Federal Communications Commission authorization.

Some functions come with a recurring cost. According to GeekWire, scheduled flights and patrols, and reviewing the Rover's recorded video, require a Ring Protect subscription plan. Ring did not say which plans qualify, so the full cost of ownership is unclear.

The Rover is priced at less than half what Amazon charged for its earlier business robot, GeekWire noted. It also costs far less than the $5,000 surveillance trailer for parking lots that Ring introduced in January.

How the drone works

Ring says the drone stays docked with its camera off until it is sent out on a schedule, on demand, or automatically when another Ring device is triggered, according to GeekWire. It cannot be flown manually, The Shortcut reported; it follows set surveillance routes.

A system Ring calls AI Pilot builds a floor plan as the owner carries the drone through the house, suggests spots worth checking and steers around obstacles such as furniture. The Shortcut reported the drone records 2K video with a 148° field of view and has a flashlight. NBC News said Ring also cites the ability to rotate 360 degrees and LED lighting for low-light rooms.

Battery life is short. The Shortcut reported flights last five to eight minutes, and a full recharge after a maxed-out flight can take 64 minutes. Amazon says the drone is meant to fly briefly and return to its base.

The Shortcut reported that most of the processing happens in the cloud rather than on the drone. Siminoff said the drone carries only enough intelligence to land. If it loses its connection, it waits, and it lands if the connection does not return.

Users get a live view, and the drone can connect with Amazon's new Alexa Home Map, a 3D view of the home, The Shortcut reported.

Why Ring is trying again

Both products revive earlier ideas that stalled. GeekWire reported that Ring unveiled a flying indoor camera called the Always Home Cam in 2020 at the same $249.99 price, but it never went on general sale. The Shortcut dates that product to 2022; the reports differ on the year. Siminoff acknowledged, per The Shortcut, that revisions added sensors, computing power, battery and stronger rotors, making the drone harder to fly.

The Rover traces back to Astro for Business, a rolling security robot Amazon launched in November 2023 at a starting price of $2,350. GeekWire reported that Amazon discontinued it less than a year later, refunded customers and shut the robots off. Ring says the new robot was inspired by Astro customers who named roving security as their favorite feature.

GeekWire named Knightscope and Cobalt AI as competitors in security robots. Indoor Robotics makes a ceiling-docking drone for offices and warehouses, but flying security cameras for the home remain rare, the outlet said.

Siminoff, Ring's founder and chief inventor, said in a statement that customers wanted more than additional cameras and that such invention "takes time."

What happens next

The Rover Cam is scheduled to ship Dec. 16, and the Drone Cam is slated for Jan. 27, 2027. Whether the drone keeps that date depends in part on the FCC authorization noted in Ring's fine print, according to GeekWire.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by GeekWire, The Shortcut | Matt Swider, NBC News