Ring, the connected doorbell with built-in video and two-way talking features, now has a partner in crime: Ring Chime, a Wi-Fi speaker that activates when a visitor presses your Ring, and which can use custom tones you can upload yourself through the Ring mobile app.
The Ring Chime is available at a discounted price of $19.95 when it launches for pre-order at the start of June, and will cost that much when purchased in a bundle with Ring, too. Final pricing for additional standalone units hasn’t been revealed yet, but Ring will work with an infinite number of Chimes on the same Wi-Fi network, so that you can get audio alerts of visitors throughout your house.
The Ring Chime plugs directly into standard outlets, and ships with adapters suitable for all worldwide socket standards. Setup is as easy as connecting it to your Wi-Fi network via the mobile app, and you can individually disable Chimes to select where you do and don’t hear visitor alerts. You can also change volume, and set schedules for no-hassle quiet times.
I reviewed the Ring earlier this year, and found it extremely competent, and a very welcome addition to a household that expects a lot of deliveries and visitors. My one issue has been that when my phone is set to silent while at home, sometimes visitor alerts go unnoticed. The Chime could easily remedy that (though my Apple Watch has helped immensely), and also makes it a lot easier to use Ring with other household members and guests.
Ring is also making its video doorbell available in retail stores for the first time, with a partnership that brings it to 434 Best Buy locations across 50 states. The company has also launched its motion detection and cloud video recording solutions since its initial launch, indicating it’s moving quickly to solidify a position as a leader in the space.