Ring to release indoor home security drone (for real this time)

Amazon’s Ring Robotics announced two new security devices on Tuesday: the Ring Drone Cam for residential use and the Ring Rover Cam for commercial use. Amazon also announced the release of a new tool called AI Pilot, a cloud-based tool that will power the navigation for both devices.

Ring Robotics is a division of Amazon’s home security brand Ring, which makes a popular line of security cameras, video doorbells, and related products. The Ring Drone Cam is essentially a flying indoor security camera, and it’s priced at $249.99 and set to be released on Jan. 27. The Ring Rover Cam is priced at $999.99, will be released on Dec. 16, and is available to pre-order now.

This isn’t the first time Ring has announced a flying indoor security camera, yet this is set to be the first Ring drone that will actually ship to customers. Ring previously announced home security drones in 2021 and 2025, but at a press briefing, Ring founder and chief inventor Jamie Siminoff stated that the new Ring Drone camera is fully ready to ship to customers this time. He also said the assembled-in-the-USA product is fully compliant with the Trump administration’s recent ban on drones and robots made overseas.

Siminoff said that the new drone solves the problems the company faced with its earlier attempts to create drones.

The Ring Drone Cam packaging and charging dock.
Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

“As we tried to fix the edge cases that we were running into to make this work inside of a home, that would add a sensor or more processing,” Siminoff explained.

“More processing and sensors had more need for power. More power, more battery. More battery, more weight. More weight, you have to spin the rotors faster. The faster you spin the rotors, the more dangerous it is. The more dangerous it is, the more you have to shroud it. The more you shroud it, the less aerodynamics, and you get into this vicious cycle, where you basically keep fixing things, which then breaks things and makes them worse.”

Siminoff said the company decided at the last minute not to ship the drone announced in 2025 and ultimately redesigned the product.

Mashable attended a short demo of both products ahead of their launch, and spoke with Siminoff about the new products, how they work, and Ring customer privacy concerns.

The Ring Drone Cam

The Ring Drone Camera features built-in LED spotlights for deterrence and low-light conditions.
Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

• Price: $249.99

• Release date: Jan. 27, 2027

• Availability: Sign up at Amazon for email updates

The Ring Drone Cam is a new flying indoor security camera that navigates via a new custom-built system called AI Pilot. The vision-based system relies on an internet connection to operate, though the drone can land safely if the internet cuts out mid-flight.

When a Ring Drone Cam is installed in a customer’s home and connected to other Ring cameras, sensors, or alarms, it will automatically fly to investigate the potential disturbance. Siminoff explained that it can help provide an on-the-ground view of sensitive areas like bedrooms or bathrooms in case of emergency, without customers needing to install a permanent security camera.

The Ring Drone Cam ready for unboxing.
Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

The Ring Drone Cam has features such as:

• Programmable custom flight routes and patrol schedules

• Automatic response to Ring camera, sensor, and alarm alerts

• 2K video with a 148-degree field of view and the ability to rotate 360 degrees

• Five to eight-minute flight time

• Automatic take-off and landing

• Two built-in LED spotlights for low-light conditions

The Ring Drone Cam is unusually loud, particularly since it’s flown in indoor environments. However, Siminoff stated that Ring considers this a feature, not a bug, as the LED spotlights and loud noise can act as a deterrent for home intruders. The drone is meant to be used while customers are away from home, though it may surprise any pets in the household.

The drone operates with the new Alexa Home Map, an interactive 3D map showing all internet-connected devices in a user’s home. The new Alexa Home Map was announced at a recent October Amazon event, where the company introduced new Echo smart home products.

Ring Rover Cam

The Ring Rover Cam has a periscope camera.
Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

For those who’ve followed Amazon’s previous product announcements, the new Ring Rover Cam may look familiar. It shares a base with the Amazon Astro, a roving residential security robot released in 2021. Privacy experts sounded the alarm on the Astro robot at the time.

However, for the Ring Rover Cam, Siminoff said the company was specifically targeting enterprise customers with small- and medium-sized businesses.

The Rover Cam can patrol warehouses, offices, and other commercial environments after hours, through routine patrols, remote navigation, or emergency response. The Rover Cam features a periscope camera and records and streams 4K footage.

The Ring Rover Cam shoots 4K video.
Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

Unlike the Astro, the Rover Cam is a first-party Ring device that can integrate with other Ring cameras and security products.

In a press release shared with Mashable, Ring said the new roving robot is “like having a guard on patrol who never clocks out. Ring Rover can do a sweep of the floor after close and investigate when sensor trips at 2 a.m. — streaming it all to your phone, wherever you are. For a business with a lot of ground to cover, Ring Rover delivers security that moves.”

What potential customers should know about privacy

Ring founder and chief inventor Jamie Siminoff.
Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

Ring has a complicated history with privacy, to say the least.

Mashable has reported on Ring’s repeated privacy controversies in recent years, which included a settlement with the FTC; the agency accused Ring of allowing employees and contractors to view customer security footage without their consent. Progressive critics have also taken issue with the company’s work with law enforcement, although that’s not unusual for a security company.

Last year, the company announced new AI security features such as Familiar Faces, which would automatically recognize trusted visitors to a user’s home. However, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said at the time that the feature could potentially violate some states’ privacy laws, which require an active opt-in for facial scanning. The company later faced a class-action lawsuit over the controversial feature.

At a media event demoing the new devices, Mashable asked Ring’s founder about customer privacy concerns.

Credit: René Ramos / CNET Group

“I think we’ve been a leader in privacy,” Siminoff told Mashable, citing the company’s early use of two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. “You know, we’ve done a lot with privacy. Our customers have shown us that trust in continuing to buy our products and put them out there, and I think we’ve earned that trust.”

Mashable actually criticized Ring for waiting too long to employ two-factor authentication back in 2020.

Despite these privacy issues, Ring remains a popular home security brand. Tens of millions of American homes now use video doorbells, and Ring won a Mashable Reader’s Choice award in 2025 in the smart home security category.

The company also faces increased competition in the space, as Apple recently entered the smart home market with a new line of video doorbells and home security cameras.

When asked about Apple’s entry into the market, Siminoff didn’t seem worried.

“I have always focused on the mission to make neighborhoods safer and inventing the future,” Siminoff said. “And so if we keep building products that are the best for making neighborhoods safer, our customers and our neighbors will continue to reward us and buy our stuff, and that’s what we have to focus on.”

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