- Ring cameras can now alert you of unusual activity
- New tool uses AI to ‘learn’ what’s normal for your home
- There are also new sensors to detect safety and security issues
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It’s CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where Ring just announced a set of new AI-powered upgrades that should make your video doorbell and security cameras even more effective at keeping your home and family safe.
One of the coolest additions, AI Unusual Event Alerts, sends you a notification when your camera or doorbell detects something that seems out of the ordinary. It uses Video Descriptions technology launched in June last year, which analyzes the event that triggered your camera to start recording and sends a text description to your phone so you can decide if it’s something that needs your attention.
What is ordinary for one person’s home may be unusual for another, so it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, AI unusual event alerts “learn” what’s normal for your home by monitoring daily activity, then notify you when something that doesn’t fit the usual pattern occurs.
If you currently find that you are receiving too many alerts, you can choose to only be notified when something abnormal happens.
Active Warnings are another new AI-powered tool for your Ring cameras and are intended to deter potential threats to your property as soon as they are spotted.
This feature, available if you’re currently enrolled in Ring’s Virtual Security Guard program, will immediately send warnings to potential burglars or other threats through your camera’s speaker, while a trained security expert takes a closer look at what happened to see if additional actions are needed (like initiating a two-way conversation or contacting emergency services).
Sensors and switches
Ring also used its CES booth to unveil a new set of sensors and other devices that are based on Amazon Sidewalk (a low-power network that can transfer small amounts of data much further than your home’s Wi-F) and don’t need a separate hub.
Until now, Sidewalk was only available in the US, but it’s now also rolling out to Canada and Mexico, with the EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan all expected to follow later this year.
New Sidewalk compatible hardware includes:
- Contact sensors for doors and windows
- Motion detectors
- A panic button
- Glass break sensors
- Exterior door sensor
- Smoke and carbon monoxide sensors
- Flood and freeze sensors
- Temperature and humidity sensors
- Air quality sensors
- A sump pump sensor
There’s also a set of new controllers that make it easier to operate your Ring smart home devices manually, including a fan control, smart plug, single light switch, and smart light remote control.
Take a few apps
Finally, Ring has opened the doors to a new app store, where you will be able to download many third-party tools to help you get the most out of your Ring devices. It’s currently only available in the United States, but we hope it will roll out to other countries soon.
You’ll need a compatible Ring subscription to use these apps, and depending on which tool you want to use, you may need to sign up with a third-party service and connect it to your Ring account.
The selection of apps is expected to expand in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on what’s available through the Ring app or on Ring.com.
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