The smart video doorbell market has been getting increasingly competitive in the past year. Ring may dominate the market, but we have seen impressive launches from Arlo and Eufy that are just as good if not better than some of the Ring products (depending on your requirements).

Ring has not been resting on their laurels, though. Over the past year, they have refreshed the majority of their product lineup. In particular, the two new Doorbell 3 models offered features their competitors lacked, such as 5Ghz WiFi and pre-roll footage.

More recently, they launched the new Ring Wired Doorbell, their smallest and cheapest doorbell yet, undercutting the competing brands.

Today, they launch the refreshed Pro model with the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2. This claims to be the most advanced wired video doorbell yet and looks to be a fantastic option if you have access to wiring for your doorbell.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 Features

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2’s new advanced features give homeowners more control and context about what is happening at their front door, making it the perfect device for those looking to upgrade their current doorbell, as well as those looking for a premium wired home security device. Key features include:

• 3D Motion Detection uses radar to better detect objects and homeowners can customise which areas of their property they want to monitor by selecting distance thresholds. The radar sensor determines when an object crosses the distance threshold by measuring its specific distance from the camera. The camera is activated once that threshold is crossed, and sends homeowners a motion alert.
• Bird’s Eye View provides an aerial map view of the homeowner’s property, showing where a motion event starts to give you historical context to the nature of the event. Unique to Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, 3D Motion Detection is the newest way for homeowners to get more control of the motion alerts they receive.
• 1536p HD video with Colour Night Vision
• Two-way audio with noise cancellation and an array microphone to limit sound distortion
• It also comes with a free 30-day trial of Ring Protect so you can explore additional features such as Advanced Pre-Roll, People Only Mode, and Rich Notifications

Colour Night Vision

Colour night vision, in my opinion,  is one of the best advancements in surveillance in recent years (AI object detection is amazing too). It has been used on a growing number of cameras following the introduction of Sony Starvis sensors. Reolink introduced it on some of their Argus cameras, and Hikvision has pioneered low light and colour night recording with their DarkSense technology.

I think Ring will be the first company to integrate this technology on a doorbell, and the performance difference should be huge.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 vs Ring Video Doorbell Pro vs Doorbell 3 Plus

I don’t have the full data sheet yet to compare the spec exactly but will update this as soon as possible.

The Video Doorbell Pro and Doorbell 3 Plus offer similar features with 1080P HD Video and pre-roll. However, the Pro offers more advanced pre-roll features due to its always-on power. Both cameras offer 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz

Price and Availability

The Ring Doorbell Pro 2 will be available for purchase on 31st March 2021 for £219.

You can pre-order it today from Amazon or sign up to Ring.com to be notified when it is available.

Overall

The Ring Doorbell Pro 2 introduces some big improvements compared to the older model. Colour night vision will likely be the most significant change users see. How good this is depending on the sensor, you generally need a bit of light, but it will make the night recordings considerably better.

While it is probably not worth replacing an existing Ring Video Doorbell Pro, if I was looking to buy a wired doorbell right now, the Pro 2 would be at the top of my list of options.

Posted by Mighty Gadget Blog: UK Technology News and Reviews