Ring announces its first smart lock, solving a major pain point for smart home users

Michael Burkhardt | Oct 7 2026 - 7:00 am PT

Today, Amazon’s Ring subsidiary is announcing its first ever smart lock. It solves a key problem that looms over many smart lock owners: dead batteries. Ring has a clever solution to negate that problem, and it’ll be available in Q1 2027. Additionally, the company is announcing a few new security cameras with improved low-light performance.

Ring Smart Lock

The idea of a smart lock is far from new, but Ring wants to solve the dead battery problem of smart locks. To prevent you from accidentally being locked out of your home at an inopportune time, the Ring Smart Lock lets you crank the thumbturn a few times to produce the energy needed to power the lock for a few moments. Then, you can let yourself back in.

The Ring Smart Lock supports everything you’d expect out of a smart lock. You can use your fingerprint to unlock it, a touchscreen keypad, or your phone with the Ring app.

There’s a few features the Ring app enables as well, including checking and locking the door remotely, or creating scheduled or time-limited unlocks for family members or other visitors. It also integrates with Amazon Echo and other Ring doorbells and cameras you may own.

It comes in three finishes: black, silver, and brass – and requires no additional wiring. It’ll be available early next year for $249. You can learn more about it here.

New 4K cameras

Beyond its first ever smart lock, Ring also has some new 4K cameras that support the new Retinal Vision 4K standard. This means you’ll have great low-light performance with accurate colors. All of these are available to preorder or purchase starting today:

Outdoor Cam 4K Plus: 140° wide-angle view, multiple power options including battery, plug-in, hardwired, and power-over-ethernet – $149.99 on Amazon, learn more here
Floodlight Cam 4K Plus: Powerful floodlight, 24/7 recording and smart detection with a hardwired connection – $219.99 on Amazon, learn more here
Spotlight Cam 4K Plus: 550-lumen spotlight, 140° wide-angle view, comes with battery, plug-in, and solar configs – $199.99 on Amazon, learn more here
Indoor Cam 4K: First ever 4K indoor video camera from Ring, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, 115° field of view – $99.99 on Amazon, learn more here

Ring also has a new Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam 2K for $69.99, which brings its 360° pan coverage to a lower price point. It can follow motion, and also has a privacy shutter. You can learn more about it here.

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Michael Burkhardt mbrkhrdt

Michael is a 9to5Mac Reporter, leading all of our Apple news coverage on weekends and reviewing the newest Apple products and accessories. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer, and started the weekly Indie App Spotlight series, which has covered hundreds of blooming new apps since it launched. In his free time, he enjoys shooting street photography around New York City on his Sony A7RV.

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