Ring Outdoor Cam Plus promises to deliver 2K resolution

After making the surprise announcement that several Ring security cameras need only firmware updates to deliver 2K video resolution, Ring has unveiled a new indoor/outdoor model that delivers that capacity on day one. The familiar-looking Ring Outdoor Cam Plus ($99.99) is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship to customers on March 26.

The Ring Outdoor Cam Plus’s signature feature is its 2K resolution (which Ring defines as 2560 x 1440 pixels), but it arrives with a few other new specifications as well. This camera is not in the Ring Spotlight Cam family, so it doesn’t have an onboard light source. Instead, a new feature that Ring calls Low-Light Sight technology uses image-processing techniques to deliver color night vision even in near-dark conditions. Low-Light Sight depends on the presence of at least some ambient light, such as might be cast by a nearby streetlight.

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras.

The new camera has a 160-degree (diagonal) field of view (140 degrees horizontal and 80 degrees vertical). It measures 5.0 x 2.6 x 2.6 inches (HxWxD, including its stand). Ring tells us the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus is not a replacement for any of its existing cameras, including the Ring Outdoor Cam (formerly known as the Ring Stick Up Cam 3^rd generation).

Ring has taken to branding the combination of its internal expertise with the quality of its cameras’ software and hardware—ranging from their lenses to their image sensors—as Ring Vision. “Ring Vision begins with a high-quality lens,” Ring director of product Elaine Smith wrote in a blog post today, “which is perfectly matched with premium imaging sensors for crisp video definition.” Smith also said the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus will use dynamic image processing and high-efficiency video compression to deliver “life-like color and clarity” in both live and recorded video.

Two features the new camera does not have are 3D Motion Detection and Bird’s Eye View. Our enthusiasm for those features has waxed and waned over time. If you want them, they’re available in the Ring Stick Up Cam Pro and some of Ring’s floodlight cameras and video doorbells.

Despite its name, Ring says it designed the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus to operate both indoors and outdoors. The new camera can be mounted to a ceiling as well on a wall or on a tabletop. It will be available in either a battery or plug-in configuration (both priced at $99.99). If you choose battery power, you can plug in one of Ring’s USB-C solar panels to keep the battery topped off.

Buyers will get real-time alerts from the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus based on motion detection, and they’ll be able to view a live stream from the camera and engage in conversations with people on the other side of the lens in real time. But you’ll need to sign up for one of Ring’s subscription plans if you want anything more. Ring Home Basic ($5/mo or $50/year) enables up to 180 days of video event history along with person and package alerts and video previews of the motion that triggered an alert, but that plan only covers a single camera.

Ring Home Standard ($10/mo or $100/year) covers all the Ring devices in a single location and extends the live viewing time up to 30 minutes. At that level, you also get a live picture-in-picture view, a multi-camera view, and some other features related to Ring video doorbells and Ring Alarm home security systems.

A Ring Home Premium subscription ($20/mo or $200/year) adds 24/7 recording as well as a continuous video stream from Ring cameras that support those features (not all do). You also get AI-powered video search that lets you use natural-language queries to find recorded video events. Ring Alarm and Ring Alarm Pro users who want professional monitoring of their security systems will need to pay an additional $10 per month on top of either a Ring Home Standard or Premium subscription.

Stay tuned for our in-depth review of the new Ring Outdoor Cam Plus as soon as we can get our hands on one, which we expect to happen some time around the product’s March 26 ship date.