I'm not sure who the Amazon Ring Drone Cam is for…
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- Amazon just launched the Ring drone cam for home security.
- The drone is meant for indoor security checks and the potential to scare off burglars.
- It's nifty, but do you really need this?
I love a wacky gadget as much as the next person — especially if it can fly — but I'm a little stumped by Amazon's new Ring drone cam.
The new video drone, which will ship in January and starts at $249, is meant to fly around your home while you're not there. It only has 8 minutes of flight time (after which it goes to recharge in a dock with the camera off) and flies in preset patrol paths inside your home.
I can admit there's something kind of cool about the idea of remotely operating a video drone around my house from afar, sure! But I really am having trouble wrapping my head around who this is for and why a regular home-dweller would want it.
The chief purpose is for home security. Amazon's demo video for the device shows the drone's light scaring off would-be burglars (in a gender inclusive touch, one of the beanie-clad burglars is a woman) lurking in the bushes or trying to enter a door.
I suppose I think it's probably a net positive if the idea here is that the drone cam replaces the need for a broader set of cameras inside your home. But presumably the Ring drone cam works in conjunction with Ring cameras or doorbells facing the outside of your home. It also seems like someone who the Ring drone cam would appeal to is probably also someone who is already very concerned with home security and has a security system in place (the drone takes flight when a security alarm or alert goes off).
So I guess my answer is that this is for people who are very, very concerned with home security. Which, ok, I mean, home burglaries and invasions are a real and horrible thing that happens. And sure, some homes might be more of a target — super lavish mansions or not-lavish homes in a high-crime area. And some people — public figures, judges, women with stalkers — may want more security than the average person.
Although having your own personal drone sounds excessive, at $249 this isn't even close to the high end of security systems. And I'd guess that people with real significant security needs (those mansion dwellers or celebs) have something even more robust than this.
So who is this for?
The Ring Drone Cam lifts off from its base.Amazon
Amazon says it's for people who want to stay on top of what's going on inside their home when they're away without having to install a bunch of cameras inside the house. So … the security-curious, those without the elaborate set-ups. Fair enough!
According to the FBI's report on 2025 national crime statistics, burglary is down 15.8% from the previous year. Improvements in home security over the last few decades — electronic home security systems and video surveillance like Ring cameras and doorbells — have been a big factor, according to studies.
This is great news for people who don't want to be burgled. This a continued trend from 2006, when the burglary rate was around 732 for every 100,000 inhabitants to a new low of 194. Great!
I don't want to give myself some sort of jinx by saying I don't really care too much about home security (please don't rob me!). I'm personally not opposed to video security — I have a Ring video doorbell which I find pretty nifty just so I can see people or deliveries that came to the door when I wasn't home.
Another outdoor camera over my garage really paid out handsomely when I caught footage of a black bear down my driveway at night (honestly, very exciting!).
Checking in on pets while you're not home might be a good use for this, although I suspect most cats or dogs would be peeved by a loud buzzing object flying in the house.
As a hamster owner with a moderate attitude towards home security, I just can't see the appeal.
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