Siminoff, now Ring’s chief inventor, was tinkering in his Los Angeles garage when he realized he kept missing deliveries because he couldn’t hear the doorbell. Siminoff searched online for a doorbell that could connect to his smartphone. When he came up empty, he built one himself.
The result was the first prototype for what would become the Ring Video Doorbell—a smart doorbell with a motion-detecting video camera that could send real-time notifications to a mobile app. When Siminoff installed the prototype on his front door, his wife, Erin, immediately loved it—not just for its convenience, but for the security of being able to safely answer the door from anywhere. “It’s like caller ID for the front door,” she said.
On the front door—and beyond
A decade later and now part of Amazon, Ring offers 50 devices that include security cameras for homes, cars, and business, along with alarms, sensors, and smart lighting.
“The name Ring has a couple of meanings,” Siminoff said. “It’s the sound a doorbell makes, but it also comes from the ring of security we create around your home and, in time, your community.”
“We never add technology for technology’s sake,” added Jason Mitura, Ring’s chief product officer. “We’re constantly bringing more utility and flexibility to our customers.”
Ring now includes rings of security that give you “that ‘always home’ peace of mind,” Mitura said. From your home to your neighborhood to your business, Ring offers security with devices like Ring Alarm, Ring Security Cameras, Ring Floodlight Cam, and Ring Car Cam.
Ring will always be at your door
Ring also now offers eight different models of video doorbells—the most models on the market from a single company—including the new Battery Doorbell Plus.
The design remains sleek and simple, even though a decade of “under-the-hood improvements” have delivered innovative features, Mitura said. Improvements include value-adding accessories, like higher camera resolution, and end-to-end video encryption to provide more privacy options.
Still, Ring devices remain affordable—because value is a key component of delivering the Ring mission at scale.
“Our drive as an engineering and product team is to make our technology as accessible as possible, which entails both delivering the best possible features and keeping our products affordable so more people can buy them,” Mitura said. “Because everyone wants to live in a safe home and neighborhood.”
Here’s a quick look at the evolution of the Ring Video Doorbell.
