Ring plans to fix the single most annoying failure point in home security hardware: coming home to an empty cell. The Amazon subsidiary revealed its upcoming Smart Lock, a $249 single-cylinder deadbolt that relies on physical elbow grease whenever the primary battery dies.
Built into the front latch wheel, an integrated manual crank gives users a physical override without needing an external jump port or a physical keyhole. Winding the wheel three to four times in alternate directions spins an internal miniature generator. That current charges a supercapacitor up to roughly three volts, yielding approximately 30 seconds of active uptime.
Those thirty seconds do not shove the hardware into an emergency stripped-down mode. Ring keeps the device running at its full operational state. That leaves enough time to gain entry using the built-in numeric keypad, the fingerprint scanner, the mobile application, or an Alexa voice prompt.
Solving the Dead Battery Problem
Most buyers will likely rarely spin the wheel. The internal battery is expected to last roughly twelve months between charges under typical conditions. Yet Ring founder Jamie Siminoff explained to Engadget that lingering consumer anxiety over flat batteries remains the greatest obstacle preventing wider adoption of digital entry systems. The fail-safe also targets properties left unattended for months at an interval, such as rural holiday homes where batteries drain unnoticed between visits.
Installing the lock requires no auxiliary electrical work, fitting standard single-cylinder deadbolt cutouts. Ring plans to offer the hardware in Silver, Brass, and Black exterior finishes.
While potential buyers can already join a waiting list, shipping will not start immediately. Ring plans an early 2027 release window in the United States, with Siminoff targeting a launch date closer to January rather than March. Pricing outside the US has not been finalised, though rough currency conversions suggest a UK price tag around £185.
Five New Ring Cameras
To complement the lock reveal, Ring expanded its visual surveillance catalogue with five updated units. Four devices expand the Retinal 4K portfolio launched last year: the Indoor Cam 4K, Outdoor Cam 4K Plus, Spotlight Cam 4K Plus, and Floodlight Cam 4K Plus.
Joining them is the Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam 2K, which mounts atop a motorised turntable capable of rotating through 360 degrees horizontally alongside 175 degrees of vertical pitch. The indoor unit automatically tracks detected motion across a room.
All five updated Ring camera units are available to pre-order immediately, with regional pricing varying across storefronts, ahead of the deadbolt's planned 2027 rollout.
HTFiled by The Home Tech Desk
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