In a surprise move, Amazon is reported to be acquiring Ring, maker of smart doorbells, cameras, and home security products. The deal is expected to be officially announced later today.
GeekWire shared today that Amazon has come to an agreement to buy Ring. This will fast track Amazon in branching out its smart home products, but Ring has just confirmed that is will still be bringing HomeKit support to some of its products! Statements from Ring about incoming HomeKit support go back to 2016.
As for current HomeKit enabled smart cameras, options are pretty limited. Logitech’s Circle 2, D-Link’s Omni (review), and Netgear’s Arlo Baby Camera (review) are some of the top picks.
Amazon is expected to retain the Ring branding, but will be able to deeply integrate its Alexa digital assistant among other key services. Ring products already had Alexa support, but this acquisition will no doubt only increase that functionality.
HomeKit is definitely still in the works. As soon as testing is completed for the Ring Pro and Floodlight Cam, we'll partner with Apple to provide you with an updated release date.
— Ring (@ring) February 27, 2018
Last summer, Ring announced new external security cameras including solar-powered options. Last October it unveiled its Protect home security system (not yet available). These joined the highly popular Ring doorbell among other smart products.
Amazon already offers its own indoor Cloud Cam for $119 that works with its new Amazon Key service that allows keyless entry and in-home delivery. Amazon sells the Cloud Cam and Yale smart lock bundle for $250.
A spokesperson from Ring shared a statement on the news:
We’ll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon. We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods.
No financial details on the acquisition are available yet. However, Ring CEO James Siminoff recently shared the company is worth more than $1 billion with over 1,300 employees.
Funny enough, Siminoff was turned down when he pitched his business (then called DoorBot) on Shark Tank just five years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqQblsZgF8M
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