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Amazon's Sidewalk neighborhood WiFi will work with Echo and Tile devices
Amazon's Sidewalk neighborhood WiFi should arrive later this year.
Ring devices will soon work with Lutron's smart lighting systems
You can set your lights to turn on for a while when Ring devices detect movement.
Microsoft simplifies its Windows Insider testing program
Windows Insiders can now choose between Channels instead of rings.
Ring's new entry-level doorbell offers 1080p video and custom motion zones
Ring;s original video doorbell has been given an update.
Ring adds 'panic' buttons to its home security alarm
A single press of a button and Ring Alarm will instantly put you in touch with first responders.
Recommended Reading: What happens when bands don't tour
How coronavirus is destroying the livelihood of music's behind-the-scenes workforce Samantha Hissong, Rolling Stone By now, you've watched, or at least heard about, a musician who's cooped up at home turning to livestreams to connect with fans. While that does give the masses some form of entertainment to replace live events and tours, it doesn't help the behind-the-scenes crew who are out of work for the foreseeable future. Rolling Stone explains how stage crew, venue employees and more have been struggling since the all events came to a halt earlier this month.
Ring temporarily pauses most third-party data collection
Ring promised to give users more control over their privacy -- and the company seems to be making an honest effort. After The Electronic Frontier Foundation discovered that Ring's apps were sharing data with third parties, Ring allowed users to opt out of certain data sharing practices -- as well as police video requests. Now, the company is pausing its use of "most third-party analytics services" for the Ring apps and website while it works on a better solution.
Ring's latest doorbells feature a three-camera array
Over the weekend, a leak revealed the latest smart doorbells from Ring. The product pages -- which were quickly taken down from Ring's website -- highlighted the addition of a 5GHz wireless connection and a "Pre-Roll" feature that shows users the four seconds of video that happened before an alarm was tripped. Today, the company officially revealed the Video Doorbell 3 and Video Doorbell 3 Plus, and elaborated on the technology behind the Pre-Roll feature. While the Video Doorbell 3 seems to be an incremental upgrade, the 3 Plus may pique the interest of existing Ring users as well as new customers.
Ring's next Video Doorbell will show what happened before an alert
You don't have to wonder how Ring will build on the Video Doorbell 2 -- the company has already spoiled its plans in advance. Zatz Not Funny spotted a briefly available product page (you're looking at the cached version) for a Video Doorbell 3 series that promises a few noteworthy upgrades. If you get the higher-end Plus model, you'll get a "Pre-Roll" feature that shows four seconds of video from before a motion alert -- it'll be in black and white, but still helpful if you want to identify a would-be burglar or rambunctious animal. While the concept isn't completely novel (Arlo's Foresight does the same), Ring's model will supposedly be the first battery-powered doorbell to ship with the feature.
‘Frontline’ documentary tackles Jeff Bezos and the ‘Amazon Empire’
Amazon is the subject of the latest Frontline documentary, which airs on PBS today at 9PM ET and is probably worth checking out if you have any interest in the tech giant. From the same team that was behind a 2018 Frontline examination of Facebook, Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos charts the rise of Bezos and his company from shipping books from a Washington garage in the mid-'90s through to its current status as a trillion-dollar colossus.
Ring now requires two-factor sign-ins for its home security devices
Ring is continuing its bid to improve privacy and security after facing criticism. As of today, the Amazon brand will start requiring two-factor authentication for all users when they sign into their Ring accounts. When the feature reaches you this week, you'll always get a six-digit code sent to either your email or (less recommended) SMS in order to complete the login process. This move will seem more than a little familiar when Nest announced a similar requirement just a week earlier, but it's still good news when it promises to raise the baseline security for Ring's smart home devices.
Ring footage might not be very useful for catching criminals
Ring has said that camera footage sent to police can help reduce burglaries and catch criminals, but how effective is it, really? It might not be as helpful as you might think. NBC News has conducted an investigation suggesting that Ring's video doorbells and security cameras haven't been of much use to at least some police forces. Of the 40 law enforcement agencies the news outlet reached, just 13 said they'd made arrests after reviewing Ring footage, while two offered rough estimates. The remainder either made zero arrests (13 agencies) or didn't know how effective Ring had been despite partnerships that had lasted more than a year.
Ring says its app will allow more control over data shared with Google, Facebook
A couple of weeks ago, the Electronic Frontier Foundation published the results of its investigation into data the Ring app is sharing with third parties. While the Amazon-owned company has faced criticism over its links to law enforcement and the security of user's accounts, this particular issue was all about tracks information from the mobile devices users install its apps on, and who it shares it with. Those that get the infor include names you know like Google and Facebook, but also other data companies like MixPanel and AppsFlyer. On Friday afternoon a company spokesperson told CBS that soon, users will be able to opt-out of information sharing agreements "where applicable." There's no real detail on what exactly that means, although apparently some information will still be shared. Apps and services frequently ask users (or don't even ask) about sharing information to various trackers, usually stating it's for diagnostic reasons. But as we've seen, data collected by apps on your phone can include far more pervasive and personal location tracking than you'd probably expect, or they do things like record your entire screen while you use them. Once the toggles are available, we'll see what Ring says about the information it's sharing and how much control you have over it.
Ring update gives you more control over police video requests
Ring is acting on its promises to improve privacy and security in 2020. The Amazon brand has introduced a Control Center in the Ring mobile app that aims to deliver more control over access and sharing. Most notably, there's a toggle to opt out of law enforcement video requests -- you don't have to wait to receive one before making a decision. Ring is unsurprisingly encouraging customers to leave it on (it has police partnerships to maintain) in the name of neighborhood security, but it's at least acknowledging that some users are uncomfortable with serving as de facto eyes for police officers.
After Math: All the stuff that happened while we were at CES
Oh man, what a week it's been. Over the course of seven days (and nearly 80,000 steps by this reporter alone), the Engadget staff descended upon CES 2020 to bring you the biggest, best, weirdest and wildest trends in consumer electronics. But the rest of the world doesn't revolve around CES and plenty of news happened while we were scouring the show floor. Here are some of the top stories of the week from everywhere that isn't Las Vegas.
Ring pledges to beef up security in 2020
Once you've put a camera on your doorbell, peep hole and in your garden, there's not many more smart devices you need, right? Not so, according to Ring, which has turned up at CES with six products in tow, the most notable of which is the Access Controller Pro. The wall-mounted box will let you pair any electronically controlled access gate with your Ring camera over Ethernet or a cellular connection, letting you control both from inside the Ring app. In addition, being an Amazon-owned company, the system will allow Key by Amazon couriers to drop packages securely inside your yard rather than waiting for you to come and greet them.
Ring's Chime Pro may get a facelift and Alexa support
A crucial part of many Ring security systems appears to be on the cusp of a major update. Dave Zatz has shared an image of what appears to be a redesigned Chime Pro, Ring's plug-in WiFi extender and speaker hybrid. It's far more elegant, with what looks like a fabric speaker cover and no conspicuous antennas -- in other words, it no longer resembles an old baby monitor. There's also a conspicuous blue light that suggests it might include Alexa, too. While the Amazon voice assistant's presence is far from guaranteed, it'd make sense if you wanted to control your doorbell or camera without having to buy a smart speaker or use your phone.
Amazon, Ring face lawsuit over alleged security camera hacks
Concerns over the security and privacy of Ring cameras are coming to a boil. Alabama resident John Orange has filed a class action lawsuit accusing Amazon and Ring of failing to do enough to secure their security systems against hacks, including Orange's. He alleged that a stranger compromised his Ring outdoor camera and spooked his kids as a "direct and proximate" result of the company's inability to protect its devices "against cyber-attack." He pointed to other incidents to support the argument for a class action, including a highly publicized event in December where a remote intruder harassed a Mississippi girl.
Amazon-owned Ring is preparing its first smart light bulb
Ring is branching out from its usual doorbells and security cameras to produce truly connected lighting, although it's probably not going to replace your corner table lamps any time soon. An FCC filing has revealed that the Amazon-owned firm is prepping a Bluetooth-capable light bulb. It appears to be a floodlight that would complement Ring's existing security systems, but it's still a significant step for a company whose dedicated lighting has so far been limited to self-contained systems rather than screw-in bulbs.
Recommended Reading: A year later, the CRISPR babies are still a mystery
Why the paper on the CRISPR babies stayed secret for so long Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review A year has passed since Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui presented work on editing the DNA of two girls while they were still embryos. Ethical issues with his actions abound, and even after all this time, there's still missing details on exactly what did/didn't happen. MIT Technology Review has several pieces on the story this week. Those include unpublished portions of the research manuscript and an explanation of why it hasn't been published by either of the two influential scientific journals He sent it to.
