Ring unveils Always Home Cam, an autonomous drone that can fly around inside a house, expected to cost $249.99 when it starts shipping next year

The Always Home Cam is an ambitious new home security device — Ring latest home security camera is taking flight, literally.

The Verge 2020-09-25 Dan Seifert

Context & Ripple Effects

Ring's hardware arc runs from the fixed, room-by-room kit of the $199 Protect security system and the peephole-oriented Door View Cam to this: a camera that isn't bolted anywhere, but flies to whichever room a user wants to check. At $249.99, it prices in line with Ring's premium fixed cameras while promising whole-home coverage from one device.

The rollout proved harder than the announcement — Amazon only opened an invite-only program for the drone a year later at the same $250 price — but the concept it seeded now anchors Ring's software push, from Smart Video Search in the Ring Home Premium plan to the Search Party pet-finder in the 2025 camera refresh.

First-order effects

Ring gains a mobile indoor camera that can fly to any room on demand, letting a single $249.99 device substitute for several fixed cameras in a security setup.
Buyers get footage of interior spaces on demand, but the product ships 'next year' from announcement, so Ring is selling a promise ahead of inventory.

Second-order effects

A flying camera generates far more varied footage than fixed ones, feeding the subscription business Ring later built around AI-powered search and 24/7 recording in Ring Home Premium.
Rivals in DIY home security are pushed to answer with mobility or automation of their own rather than competing camera-by-camera on price, since one roaming unit undercuts the multi-camera bundles that anchored the category.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, home security shifts from static sensor grids to autonomous capture that moves through the house — with the durable value migrating from hardware to the AI services that index what the drone sees, as Ring's later Smart Video Search and Search Party features indicate.
Indoor autonomous flight also raises the privacy stakes for regulators and buyers alike: a camera that can enter any room makes always-on surveillance a design question, not just a placement one, and acceptance of this product line is a real-world test of that boundary.

The trend: Home security is moving from fixed-position cameras to autonomous roaming capture, with vendors monetizing the resulting footage through AI-powered subscription services rather than the devices themselves.

Discussion

Vox Rebecca Heilweil on x
Amazon's surveillance cameras fly now — which is unsettling
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Uhh, Ring just announced a security drone for INSIDE your home. Yes, it flies around your house recording things. IN. YOUR. HOME. https://twitter.com/...
@geoffreyfowler Geoffrey A. Fowler on x
WHAT. Ring made a drone. The new Always Home Cam is a tiny drone that flies around your home and films. $250 https://twitter.com/...
@brianroemmele Brian Roemmele on x
BOOOOOM! Meet the Amazon Ring In Home Drone! Yes your own security drone in your home and Alexa controlled. We wanted flying robots and we got talking flying robots! https://twitter.com/...
@geoffreyfowler Geoffrey A. Fowler on x
Amazon's new flying Always Home Cam raises a whole bunch of thorny questions: What's to stop it from spying on family or neighbors? Becoming a tool for police? Or being used against its owner? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@verge @verge on x
Amazon's new Ring drone stops the world's most hapless thief in bass-slapping ad https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jason @jason on x
This is brilliant... and i know folks have done it before, but a home security drone is a breakthrough for when you're not home. Imagine this thing doing an hourly patrol of your home when you're away.... just amazing. https://twitter.com/...
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
Ok this is one of these ideas that's either absolutely brilliant or really stupid: Ring's new indoor drone security camera Instead of getting multiple security cameras... get 1 that flies around your house 🤔 (Gif from @backlon) https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@geoffreyfowler Geoffrey A. Fowler on x
New @washingtonpost: Amazon appears undeterred by its emerging reputation in consumer tech: creep. My 1st impressions of Amazon's new security drone, car camera and swiveling speaker, which push the boundaries of surveillance — again https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://tw…
@waltmossberg Walt Mossberg on x
In a country with no laws regulating digital privacy, anyone who buys this from a company with a history of privacy problems is insane. https://twitter.com/...
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@fightfortheftr @fightfortheftr on x
People hacked Ring cameras and used them to spy on children in their bedrooms. Do not, under any circumstances, put an Amazon surveillance drone in your house. https://twitter.com/...
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
unlimited treats for life to the first cat or dog that takes down an indoor Amazon security camera drone 🐶🐱 https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
I keep reading that Amazon has released an indoor home surveillance drone and it seems to be real and yet I absolutely refuse to believe it
@tsimonite Tom Simonite on x
My only question is can it be ceiling-mounted so it roosts like a bat? https://twitter.com/...
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Genuine question here: What are the legitimate use cases for an indoor camera drone? Why would someone feel they need this? https://twitter.com/...
@jbillinson Josh Billinson on x
Ring announces new short-lived and expensive dog toy https://twitter.com/...
@webster Tony Webster on x
I'll say my usual “creepy!” to Jeff Bezos recording me, but *if* one wanted to see inside their home while away, I guess I'd prefer this over permanent installation of cameras in living rooms: you'll at least know when you're being recorded. https://www.theverge.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Tweets like this, while not technically inaccurate, normalize a trillion dollar company's capitalization on fear. What suspicious activity inside your house? Your pet knocked over a plant. It wasn't a burglar. https://twitter.com/...
@pt Parker on x
Privacy Twitter when Amazon customers start frantically preordering literal surveillance drones for their homes... https://twitter.com/...
@jake_hanrahan Jake Hanrahan on x
Acclimating everyone to the surveillance dystopia one product at a time. https://twitter.com/...
@briannawu Brianna Wu on x
Why not just put a Nest cam in every room of your house and tweet the password? It will be just about as secure. https://twitter.com/...
@seamushughes Seamus Hughes on x
For that moment when you want to make sure the FBI gets every angle of your federal crime with their search warrant. https://twitter.com/...
@jennyenicholson Jenny Nicholson on x
If they're already inside the house literally what is the drone doing for me. Just going to tattle that my ring doorbell didn't do its job right as I'm being robbed https://twitter.com/...
@levie Aaron Levie on x
Before indoor flying drones: “Hey come on over to my place and let's hang out!” After indoor flying drones: “Hey if you don't mind just please sign this terms of service and privacy policy and then let's hang out!”
@tbarribeau Tim Haribo on x
can't wait for amazon to have a detailed map of the inside of my house and recommend me products for each available surface
@scobleizer Robert Scoble on x
This is a way to get a 3D scan of your house. Will be very important for augmented reality glasses and shopping apps. This will be able to make an inventory of everything you own, too. I can just see the promotions from Amazon now. https://twitter.com/...
@zachfb Zachary Fryer-Biggs on x
This is going to be a hard no from me. https://twitter.com/...
@airlineflyer Jason Rabinowitz on x
FAA rules don't apply inside your house, so Amazon can fly an autonomous drone around to spy on you or whatever. Who asked for this!? https://twitter.com/...
@joebaguley Joe Baguley on x
OK - so now Ring are doing a drone for your house. It flies around indoors filming! Ooooohhh... https://www.engadget.com/...
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
If this had a powerful laser death beam as an option I'd totally be a buyer. https://www.theverge.com/...
@evanselinger Evan Selinger on x
Ring is a pernicious surveillance system & widespread adoption is going to cause tremendous collective harm to privacy & civil liberties. I've been trying to anticipate the next step in the function creep + normalization slippery slope shuffle. Beyond my dystopian fears! https://…
@brianroemmele Brian Roemmele on x
Consider 2 million Alexa customers have registered for Alexa Guard thus far. Guard+ expands capabilities to a new level with a flying in-home Alexa security drone. The subscription basis of Alexa is just starting. You are subscribing to AI power. Amazon is first to know this. htt…
@berthacoombs Bertha Coombs on x
Given people are staying home... this seems like a recipe for your kids who know how to program devices to drive you crazy, especially if they can order the drone around from those cute kiddie echo dots. https://twitter.com/...
@tprstly Theo Priestley on x
They call it “security” and that's how they get you hooked. Amazon is a surveillance network company now. You are the enabler. https://twitter.com/...
@brianroemmele Brian Roemmele on x
Amazon was one of the first companies to understand the subscription to computer power on a mass scale. What most of Silicon Valley missed while listening to the wrong folks is that the #VoiceFirst revolution is about the subscription of AI power and thus far Amazon owns it. http…
@siracusa John Siracusa on x
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry... https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Ring's latest security camera is a drone that flies around inside your house https://www.theverge.com/... via @Verge // Trying to imagine testing this in a household with a cat.
@artemr Artem Russakovskii on x
I've seen this home drone camera idea floating around for years, but @ring just up and did it. 2020 is wild, man. https://twitter.com/...
@internetofshit @internetofshit on x
it's telling that amazon announces products like this without addressing the harms it could cause. people have been abused via thermostats and smart lights.... but please, buy our flying internet camera. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kevinroose Kevin Roose on x
Honestly thought this was a cyberpunk dystopian performance art prank for a second. https://www.theverge.com/...
@evanselinger Evan Selinger on x
To decipher the significance of this drone, we need to look beyond its functionality. If lots of people buy it that risks further normalizing domestic drone surveillance. And if Ring can travel around the house today, future products might be designed to travel elsewhere.
@kimzetter Kim Zetter on x
Hacker's paradise https://twitter.com/...
@ow @ow on x
the latest season of black mirror was not what i expected https://www.theverge.com/...
@panzer Matthew Panzarino on x
The scale shot makes it worse https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Hello, this is insane and I love it more than I should https://www.theverge.com/...
@a_webster Andrew Webster on x
a cute new pet that feeds off your private data https://www.theverge.com/...
@rschooley Schooley on x
This would have felt a little over the top in Minority Report. https://twitter.com/...
@panzer Matthew Panzarino on x
Hellll no, to the no no no https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
This'll make a great (but expensive) cat toy. https://twitter.com/...
@jeremybowers Jeremy Bowers on x
what, and I cannot stress this enough, the hell https://twitter.com/...
@geoffreyfowler Geoffrey A. Fowler on x
As we wait for todays' Amazon product launch event to begin ... Riddle me this: If Amazon has so much amazing data about what its customers want, why are some of its product launches consistently weird — or never really make it to market?
@metaljesusrocks Metal Jesus Rocks on x
Today Amazon announced they will be developing car security cameras w/ Ring. As somebody who's had their car broken into a few times, that's pretty brilliant... and about time! https://www.theverge.com/...
@artemr Artem Russakovskii on x
Want. Unclear if it's Tesla's LTE or its own though. The first compatible vehicles for Ring Car Connect are @Tesla models 3, X, S, & Y. Watch Tesla Sentry Mode and recorded driving footage in the Ring app over wifi or from anywhere via LTE (with an optional connectivity plan). ht…
@thekenyeung Ken Yeung on x
Ring is moving beyond home security to now protect your vehicles. https://www.theverge.com/...
@jaysonsrage @jaysonsrage on x
You know That thing that you'd naturally assume they had from the start https://twitter.com/...

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