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Ring gave police a detailed map of area doorbell installations
Police departments partnered with Amazon's Ring security service had access to maps that revealed where Ring video doorbells were located, CNET reports. While Amazon has said police do not have access to the location of devices -- which they can request footage from -- the heat maps provided to police allowed them to zoom in on specific locations.
Amazon made big price cuts on its Echo and Fire TV devices for Black Friday
Ahead of Thanksgiving next week, Amazon has shared a preview of its Black Friday deals. This year, the company's Black Friday sale will run a full week starting on November 22nd. Amazon will have a lot of different products discounted, but for the purposes of this roundup, we've decided to highlight the company's own hardware.
Amazon confirms police can keep Ring doorbell videos forever
Video doorbell company Ring is facing heat from lawmakers and privacy advocates after it revealed authorities are able to keep homeowners' videos forever, and can share them with whomever they want.
The best gifts for the home
Maybe you already have a smart speaker or hub. (And if you don't, we have suggestions...) But your home, and kitchen, can benefit from more than just a voice assistant to offer timers and weather forecasts. Yes, everyone's favorite cooking gadget, the Instant Pot, made our nice list once again, but we've also got some more advanced tools like the Thermapen (so someone nails that holiday roast) and Anova's smallest sous vide gadget. We've also included picks for any coffee fanatics you might be buying for, including the Pearl Bluetooth coffee scaled, and the Stagg EKG kettle, which is far more attractive than a kettle needs to be. Speaking of coffee gear, we have a whole guide to that coming later this week -- stay tuned! If you're looking to make a relative's home a little smarter, we like the ecobee Smart Thermostat, while we believe devices with displays like the Amazon Echo Show 5 and Google's Nest Hub Max make for more useful assistants than standalone (but cheaper) smart speakers.
The best smart outdoor lighting for backyards, pathways and more
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to smart outdoor lighting for backyards, pathways, and more. Outdoor lighting isn't a splurge—it can save you from tripping on a dark pathway (again) or having to fumble for the right key. It enhances home security, and it can even light up a party. Smart outdoor lighting takes it to another level by adding automation, remote control, and other convenience features. We spent a month testing outdoor-rated smart bulbs, sconces, path lights, and spotlights, and found the best options for every outdoor scenario. The only smart outdoor bulb we tested with a built-in motion sensor, the floodlight-style Sengled Smart PAR38 LED Bulb can light up a driveway or backyard when you need it and not when you don't. It requires a Zigbee hub, but it also works directly with an Amazon Echo Plus. The motion sensor is especially useful if you want an outdoor bulb for security purposes, and you can adjust its settings so that it doesn't trigger too frequently or at the wrong time. The Ring Pathlight offers a near-instant option for providing helpful and elegant lighting to areas that may be tricky to navigate in the dark such as walkways or patios. It's powered by four D batteries, so you have no wires to deal with, and you can directly control it using an app or set it to turn on and off automatically through a built-in motion sensor. Because this model relies on non-rechargeable batteries, it's meant to light up for short periods of time—less than 15 minutes—so it may not be the best choice for anyone who needs constant lighting. The Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Calla Bollard is the best-looking smart outdoor light we tested—it's a perfect addition to any party. It has a slick design with a color-changing, dimmable LED at the top that can match outdoor decor or your mood. It does require a hub, such as the Hue Bridge, the Amazon Echo Plus, or the SmartThings Hub. It also requires a power supply (included in the base kit), which can accommodate up to five fixtures.
After Math: When your goose cooks
While many of us were channeling our inner jerks through a troublemaking goose avatar, companies throughout the tech industry were conducting dastardly shenanigans of their own. Here are a few of the week's highlights.
Get a free Echo Show when you buy a Ring Video Doorbell
If you've been thinking about adding a smart doorbell to your home, then Amazon's latest deal may tempt you. The company is currently offering a free Echo Show 5 smart display to people who buy a Ring Video Doorbell 2 or Video Doorbell Pro through Amazon.com. Prime subscribers can save an additional $40 off the Video Doorbell 2 and $50 off the Video Doorbell Pro, making them $159 and $199 respectively. Otherwise, the two devices will set you back $199 and $249. The Echo Show 5, meanwhile, currently costs $89.99.
Echo Loop hands-on: Alexa on your knuckles and at your fingertips
Aside from a pair of glasses, Amazon also announced another interesting Alexa-powered wearable: a smart ring. The Echo Loop is a chunky piece of smart jewelry made out of titanium, with a tiny discreet button. In order to activate it, you have to press the button with your thumb, after which you can say the usual Alexa commands. It has a built-in microphone and speakers.
These are all of the Alexa devices Amazon unveiled today
Today, Amazon held its second-annual hardware deluge. Like last year, the company had a lot to unveil. It revealed a slew of Echo devices, Alexa-powered wearables, Ring's first indoor security cam and a smart oven. The company also shared Alexa updates -- like the voice assistant's ability to impersonate celebrities.
Amazon Sidewalk aims to connect outdoor tech beyond your WiFi range
As IoT technology spreads across our homes, keeping devices on our WiFi networks becomes more of an issue. Amazon thinks it has a solution with Sidewalk, which aims to keep low-power, low-bandwidth devices connected despite being far away from your router using, a 900 MHz spectrum.
Amazon's Echo Frames put Alexa on your face
Soon, it'll be impossible to avoid Alexa. Amazon unveiled a slew of new Echo devices today, but it also launched an array of unexpected products that also feature the digital assistant, like a new microwave (ahem, smart oven) and earbuds. Most surprising perhaps, are the Echo Frames and Echo Loop -- glasses and a ring respectively. These are the first of Amazon's new "Day One" edition products, where the company puts out new devices in limited volume to get feedback and will double down to mass-produce them if people respond well.
Ring's new home security gear includes its first indoor camera
Amazon's deluge of hardware launches isn't limited to Echo devices -- it's showing Ring some attention as well. To start, it's introducing its first indoor-focused camera, the (aptly-named) Ring Indoor Cam. As you can see above, it's considerably more compact than Ring's existing options and can tuck into just about any place in the home. It's also the most affordable Ring camera to date, going on sale today at a not-too-unreasonable $60.
The best Alexa-compatible smart-home devices for Amazon Echo
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to Alexa-compatible smart-home devices for Amazon Echo. Imagine walking into your home at night, arms overflowing with groceries. Even if you've installed smart lights, you'd need to put the bags down, pull out your phone, unlock it, open the app, find the control for the lights you want, and then tap the icon—might as well just stick with a plain old wired switch. But with an Alexa, you simply say, "Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights." And it's not just lights; Alexa is capable of controlling everything from basic smart plugs to garage doors. All three smart-speaker platforms (Alexa, Google Assistant, and to a lesser degree, Siri) can control a variety of smart-home devices and add an extra level of convenience to your smart-home system. We think Amazon's Alexa has a slight edge over the others because it works with more devices, and the wider family of Amazon Echo products makes it easier to fit them everyplace in your home. However, if you already have a Google Home speaker, the differences aren't large enough for you to need to switch platforms. We have guides for the best devices to use with Google Assistant and Siri/HomeKit. The Amazon Echo (or Echo Dot) offers a convenient interface for your smart home and provides functionality that an app on your phone can't. If you already have some Alexa-compatible devices or one of the three major smart-home hubs (SmartThings, Wink, or Insteon), adding an Echo can make accessing those devices more interesting and convenient. Taking advantage of its near-instantaneous response time and reliable voice-recognition processing is significantly faster than pulling out your phone and opening an app just to turn the lights on or off. Some products, such as Philips Hue lights and Nest thermostats, have native Alexa support, while others require you to enable a third-party skill. We tested plenty of both varieties to come up with the best-performing and most reliable recommendations, which we're continually testing to ensure that each new firmware and app update meets our high standards. Over the past several years, Wirecutter's editors and writers have tested just about every smart-home device of consequence. As more people end up buying smart speakers and platform support gets more and more important, we wanted to provide one place where you could access all of our picks that are compatible with the devices you already own, across all of our smart-home recommendations. Because these devices receive regular updates with additional compatibility and new features, we are continually testing and reevaluating our picks in our own homes to confirm that they still meet our recommendation standards. We'll update this guide as we learn new information, but be sure to read the full reviews if you'd like more details and test notes. If you don't yet have an Alexa-enabled device, or you want to learn more about what Alexa is and what you can do with these things, check out our full guide to Alexa and Amazon's Echo line of smart speakers.
The best home security system
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to home security systems. Peace of mind doesn't have to be pricey. Home security systems often require long contracts and pro installation, but there are smart systems you can install yourself that include a monitoring plan to keep tabs on it—and only when you want that. We found Ring Alarm to be the most affordable, comprehensive, and easy-to-use DIY home security system that has both self-monitoring and professional-monitoring options and doesn't lock you into a contract. Ring Alarm is the most comprehensive system we tested, with the most affordable monitoring plan we found. You can expand it with a variety of Ring security cameras, including indoor, outdoor, and video doorbell cameras. It also integrates with several third-party devices via the Works With Ring program, which includes brands such as First Alert, GE, Kwikset, Leviton, Schlage, Yale, and others, giving you more customization choices than other systems offer. It's also one of the few systems to provide both arming and disarming via Alexa voice commands with a four-digit PIN. Plus, you get 24/7 live customer service. SimpliSafe has a better-looking system than Ring, with voice prompts and support for Google Assistant as well as Amazon Alexa (but not Apple HomeKit). It also has add-ons such as a video camera, a doorbell camera, smoke alarms, and additional sensors. Unlike the Ring Alarm system, however, it doesn't offer outdoor cameras or self-monitoring options; you also can't add any non-SimpliSafe devices, and live customer service is available only from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Eastern.
Senate demands answers from Amazon over Ring surveillance
Ring's controversial "Neighbors" surveillance network and cozy relationship with police departments has drawn the eye US lawmakers. In a letter to CEO Jeff Bezos, Senator Edward Markey expressed concern that the system "could easily create a surveillance network that places dangerous burdens on people of color and [feed] racial anxieties in local communities."
Recommended Reading: Behind the scenes of Netflix's 'Dark Crystal' prequel
The creators of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' just loved throwing puppets Liz Shannon Miller, The Verge Netflix's Dark Crystal prequel series debuted this week, offering fans another look at the world created by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. The Verge caught up with executive producers Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews for a behind-the-scenes interview ahead of the streaming debut. There's plenty of detail on the cast, the crew, the tech and "Olympic-level puppet-throwing."
Amazon's Ring reveals where it's partnering with law enforcement
Amazon's Ring security service now works with 405 law enforcement agencies across the US. Today, Ring released a map showing every police department it's partnered with, as well as details on when each partnership began. The hundreds of departments listed have access to Ring's Neighbors Portal, which allows them to request footage from Ring's video doorbells.
Ring rewarded users for reporting 'suspicious activities'
Ring encouraged users to narc on their neighbors in exchange for swag bags and discounts, according to Motherboard. The publication found an internal company slide presentation that shows the instructions the controversial Amazon-owned home security service gave communities on how to form "Digital Neighborhood Watch" groups.
Amazon is reportedly teaching police how to get Ring footage without a warrant (updated)
Amazon's home security division Ring is not only working with law enforcement and trying to collect 911 call data. It's also reportedly coaching police on how to get people to hand over their surveillance footage without a warrant, according to Motherboard.
Amazon’s Ring wants to collect information from 911 calls
Amazon's smart doorbell division Ring is angling for access to 911 caller data, a report by Gizmodo reveals. As part of its Neighbors app, which provides information about crimes in users' local areas, Ring is seeking to access data from the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) feeds used by emergency call responders.
