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New Tech
Ring Goes Pro
Ring has become one of the most recognized
brands in the smart home business since
launching its app-controlled, camera-assisted
smart doorbell in 2014. Since then, Jamie
Siminoff ’s company has expanded its alarm and
camera offerings to fulfill a mission of making
neighborhoods safer.
Very few smart home brands cut across
different channels – retail, pro installation, and
online – as well as Ring. Now, the company is
introducing an X Line of products that promises
to further solidify its support of the professional
installers and their customers (called
“neighbors” in the parlance of Ring).
Prior to the X Line, Ring’s more upscale
offerings were its sleeker (thanks to the lack of
battery pack) Pro and Elite models. The X Line
takes those models (and other products) and
24 Residential Tech Today | Jan/Feb 2020
Smart Home Doorbell Leader Embraces Pro
Installer Network with Exclusive X Line
adds in a lifetime basic subscription (usually
$2.99/month per device for video recording
and viewing) and three-year extended warranty.
The line also includes a Stick-Up Cam Elite X,
with a Spotlight Cam Wired X, Spotlight Cam
Mount X, and Floodlight Cam X coming soon.
The Ring Video Doorbell Elite X takes its “X”
status further by bundling the Ring Video
Doorbell or Ring Access Controller Pro with
one of 10 high-end custom faceplates from
Rocky Mountain Hardware to add a more
luxury finish to the doorbell.
The added benefits to the X Line are made
possible by the skills of pro installers, according
to Andrew Vloyanetes, Ring’s general manager
of installed solutions.
“We know that our installers provide
tremendous value to the customer and one of
those things is making sure the product is
installed correctly,” Vloyanetes said. “We feel
that offering an extended warranty through our
X Line is the right thing to do for installers and
neighbors, too.”
The X Line will not be available via amazon.
com or ring.com. Ring.com, however, will have
informational pages that talk about installers
and the benefits of the installer.
“For the first time, we’re stepping out and
opening talking about the installer community
and the value add of the X Line,” Vloyanetes
said. “We’re really excited to become a better
partner with the channel.”
The X Line joins other recent additions to the
Ring family of products, such as the Ring Access
Controller Pro. It enables users to remotely
operate their electronically controlled access
gate right from Live View in the Ring app when
paired with a Ring Video Doorbell or Cam (sold
separately), as well as receive secure Amazon
deliveries inside their gate via Key by Amazon.
The Ring Access Controller Pro is hardwired
into users’ electronic gate systems and requires
professional installation.
Also new is the Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit, which
is geared toward homeowners with an existing
alarm system in their home who would rather
pay $199 upfront for the kit and $10 a month
for monitoring and access to the Ring
ecosystem, rather than the $40-50 monthly
contracts required by traditional security
brands.
“The feedback from installers has been really
strong where they can go into an existing home
with wired sensors all around it and easily
update it newer technology or Wi-Fi control or
app-based interaction by simply installing a
Retrofit Alarm Kit,” Vloyanetes said. “It takes
over the existing panel and you wire your zone
sensors into the Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit and it
works in conjunction wirelessly to our Ring
Base Station, which then gives the Ring
ecosystem complete access to all of those
sensors inside the home.” x
By Jeremy Glowacki
Ring’s new X Line will be available only
through professional installers.
/ring.com
/Ring.com