A brief history of the Ring Video Doorbell and its evolution over the last 10 years

Like many entrepreneurs, Jamie Siminoff has spent his life looking for problems to solve. But his biggest idea—the Ring Video Doorbell—knocked on his front door.

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.

Ring Chief Inventor Jamie Siminoff shows off Doorbot, the first prototype for what would become the Ring Video Doorbell.

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 Car Cam officially launched in February, 2023.

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.

Page overview

2014

The Ring Video Doorbell was introduced in 2014. It took a familiar device—the doorbell—and turned it on its head to be more useful and practical.

2016

The Ring Video Doorbell Pro offers hardwired users Advanced Motion Detection so they can customize alerts to their home environment. The device also introduced Live View, a highly requested feature that lets users see and speak with visitors at their front door from anywhere, anytime.

An image of a hand holding a phone that shows three people standing outside a house waving to the Ring doorbell camera.

2017

The Ring Video Doorbell 2 featured 1080 HD video, Adjustable Motion Zones, and a rechargeable battery pack that made it easy to change and recharge the device’s battery. Built-in Night Vision provided crisp video at any time of day, and Adjustable Motion Zones—a new capability within Advanced Motion Detection—let users program the ideal setting for their homes and cut down on false alarms.

2019

The Ring Peephole Cam enables apartment dwellers to convert their peephole into a motion-detecting HD video doorbell with Two-Way Talk, and the device requires no permanent modifications to a door. The product was discontinued in 2021, but it returned to the market in 2023 thanks to popular demand.

2020

The Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus introduced Pre-Roll. The feature shows customers four seconds of video footage, captured before the motion sensor was triggered, as a "picture-in-picture" experience when they answer a motion notification with Live View.

2020

The Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen) delivers improved image quality in day and night modes, adjustable motion zones, and enhanced audio quality. The Snapshot Capture feature, available with a Ring Protect subscription, takes still images at certain intervals throughout the day, allowing customers to review what happens in front of their doorbell between recorded events and Live View.

2021

The Ring Video Doorbell Wired packs all signature Ring features into a small, compact design with nonstop reliable power. The easy-to-install device includes features like Advanced Pre-Roll, which offered up to six seconds of HD video from before motion is detected, along with People Only Mode, a Ring Protect subscription feature that limits alerts to when motion caused by a person was detected. The device also offers Rich Notifications, which sends a still image from the doorbell camera as a preview in the mobile pop-up notification.

2021

The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 offers the highest HD resolution (1536p) of any Ring doorbell yet, plus upgrades like an expanded 150x150-degree field of view and color Night Vision. New features include Head-to-Toe Video and radar-powered 3D Motion Detection with Bird’s Eye View, which shows an aerial map view of the path a visitor took to the customer’s front door.

2021

The Ring Video Doorbell 4 provides additional security and makes answering the door more convenient. An upgraded camera renders Pre-Roll footage in color, and the Ring Quick Replies feature allows customers to choose from six preset responses to play when the doorbell button is pressed.

2023

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is the first battery doorbell with 1536p HD video resolution. Head-to-Toe Video makes features like Package Alerts, with a Ring Protect subscription, even more useful by enabling customers to easily check for and see deliveries on their doorstep. Customers can also receive real-time notifications when a package is detected within a zone specified during setup.

Learn more about the Ring Video Doorbell and how it works.