We've spent some time with the smart Ring Video Doorbell 2 to see if it's worth paying £179 for a doorbell (Spoiler: it is).
Our Verdict
- The Ring Video Doorbell 2 does a great job. It does require a monthly subscription for storing videos but it's more affordable than most, and it works out quite a bit cheaper than the Nest Hello overall.
Price When Reviewed
- $199
The original Ring Video Doorbell proved extremely popular, providing you with an easy way to see who is at the door – even if you aren’t at home. The Ring Video Doorbell 2 is more expensive but boasts improvements including an improved design and 1080p streaming, but is it enough to pay the extra?
Price & Availability
The Ring Video Doorbell 2 costs £179 from Amazon, along with retailers like Argos for the same price.
In the US you can buy it from Amazon for $199.
It’s also worth mentioning that access to Ring’s cloud services will cost an additional £2.50 / $3 per month.
Ring is one of the best-known providers of video doorbells, and this is its cheapest option. We've also rounded up other video doorbells.
Design And Build
In terms of design, the second-generation Ring doorbell unsurprisingly looks much like its predecessor (it is a doorbell after all!). That’s not to say there’s no difference in the design of the two devices though: the Ring 2 is thicker and taller than the original, but this isn’t apparent at a glance. Thanks to smart design and some magic with curves, the Ring 2 looks sleek and thin despite measuring in at 128.3 x 63.5 x 24.7mm.
While that may not sound amazing, the introduction of swappable faceplates should excite. Why? With the first-generation Ring, you could choose between two colours – silver or grey/black – to better suit its surroundings.
But what happens if you paint the door, or move to a new house? Granted, it’s not an everyday situation but that no longer matters, as the Ring 2 comes with two faceplates (black and silver) and the freedom to switch between them whenever you like. They’re easy to switch and doesn’t force you to make a choice on colour option. It’s not exactly a gamechanger, but it’s a very nice touch from Ring.
Along with the removable faceplates, the Ring 2 offers another big design change: the way you charge it. You had to physically unscrew the first-generation Ring and bring it inside to charge it, which was a lot of effort. However, the Ring 2 comes with a swappable battery just beneath the faceplate, meaning you only need to remove the battery – and not the whole unit – when it needs recharging.
It’s so much quicker and easier, and can be made even simpler if you purchase an additional battery. That way, when one dies, simply switch it with the other! The charging system was one of the biggest complaints of the original Ring, so we, along with other Ring users, welcome this change with open arms.
Another change isn’t with the Ring 2 itself, but the accessories provided with the system. Unlike with the original Ring, the Ring 2 comes with Wedge and Corner install kits, two accessories that allow those with unusual door setups to use the smart doorbell. It means that the Ring doorbell doesn’t have to look straight forward, ideal for those with steps leading to the front door, or those that get unwanted motion alert triggers from nearby roads.
Features And Spec
So, what makes the Ring 2 one of the best smart doorbells on the market? First up, the Ring 2 is a smart doorbell that notifies you whenever somebody rings the bell, and provides a livestream so you can see who’s there before opening the door. The accompanying Ring app is available not only for iOS and Android but macOS and Windows 10 too, allowing you to access the doorbell from essentially any device you’re using.
The Ring 2 features 1080p streaming, up from 720p on the original doorbell. Along with 1080p streaming, the it features a 160-degree wide-angle lens, allowing you to see what’s going on above, below and to the sides, as well as directly in front of you. There’s no distortion at the edges either, a sign of a good-quality lens.
And, like many other smart cameras, the Ring 2 features night vision. As the name suggests, it provides you with the ability to see who’s at the door at night, the time of day when security cameras are most valuable.
But what does this mean to potential consumers? You’ll get access to high-quality, vibrant and clear footage of everybody that approaches or rings your doorbell, no matter the time of day. The jump from 720- to 1080p is noticeable at a glance, especially when using the pinch-to-zoom feature of the ring app.
The Ring 2 also features two-way audio with noise cancellation, meaning you can quickly tell the delivery driver to leave your parcel in a safe place when you’re out, or communicate with anybody you’re unsure of without having to open the door. If nothing else, it brings peace of mind to the more vulnerable amongst us that are concerned about opening the door to strangers.
You can also access a live stream of the Ring 2 whenever you want via the app, much like you’d be able to with a standard security camera. It’s not the main use for the Ring 2, but it’s handy if you’d like to check in on the outside of your house for whatever reason.
There’s no built-in storage with the Ring 2, and it relies completely on the cloud for the recording and storage of video clips. While this means that your footage is essentially safe as soon as it’s recorded, it also means you’ve got to pay out a monthly fee (from £2.50pcm per camera) if you want to gain access to features like the ability to view previous motion events/rings.
If you don’t want to pay the monthly subscription, you’ll be limited to being able to answer the door and view the livestream with no access to previous events.
The Ring 2 can be wired into the mains for power, but many decide to use the built-in battery as it simplifies the installation process. According to Ring, the Ring 2 can last for 6-12 months on a single charge, although it’ll depend on use. It’ll apparently last around 1,000 notification events – rings and motion detection – on a single charge, so those that live on city streets may see reduced battery life.
We’ve been using the Ring 2 for around 3 weeks and it has barely lost any battery life, so while we can’t give a precise number on battery life at the moment, it should last for a while. Besides, it’s much easier to swap out the battery now, so that should negate battery issues somewhat.
App
The app can be the make-or-break for any smart home accessory, but in the case of Ring there’s not much to worry about. The app is well designed, fast and responsive, and provides a range of customisation options both in terms of motion zones and how your doorbell performs. Options include adjusting the sound of the chime that the Ring 2 plays when pressed to the frequency of notifications and battery optimisation (speed vs battery life).
The app is most useful when subscribed to the Ring Video Recording service, as you can tap to view any motion activity/missed rings in the past 60 days from the app to see what you’ve missed. You can export and share these videos if necessary, too.
However, the app experience isn’t perfect. There were several occasions where we replayed a motion alert, only to find that the camera was ‘frozen’ for the first 10-15 seconds of the video. Granted, it didn’t happen very often, but it could potentially miss out on video footage of burglars and other wrong-doers at your front door.
We’ve also noticed a slight delay in notification delivery (on iOS, at least). When the doorbell is pressed, it can take up to 10 seconds for the notification to pop up. It’s not a long delay, but it’s long enough for the Amazon delivery driver to decide you’re not home and leave with the package you’ve been waiting at home all day for.
It’s not something we noticed with the Chime Pro however, which we come to in more detail below.
Chime Pro
The Chime Pro is the upgrade of the Chime, and brings with it an extremely handy feature. As with the original, the £49 Chime Pro (Ring/Amazon) is an optional accessory for the Ring 2 (and other Ring products) that plays a chime whenever the doorbell is activated, or when motion is detected.
It’s incredibly loud, and functions much in the way that a standard door chime would, with a range of melodies available in the Ring app.
Of course, the Ring 2 doesn’t automatically know to connect to the Chime Pro, but the in-app setup doesn’t take too long, and can really make the difference to the performance of the doorbell. If you find your Ring products slow and unresponsive, the Chime Pro could be the key.
It’s not perfect, though. Those looking to generally improve home Wi-Fi should look elsewhere, as even though the Chime Pro is a Wi-Fi extender, it’s exclusive to Ring devices. Searching for the Wi-Fi network on any other device will be unsuccessful.
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