Though Ring has been making the news lately due to its recent acquisition by Amazon (a story worth reading up on), there is another announcement that I think is worth talking about.
At CES 2018, just weeks before the Amazon acquisition was announced, Ring took to the largest technology platform of the year to announce that it had acquired Mr Beams (no, there really isn’t supposed to be a period after “Mr” – trust me, I checked). While the announcement was made at the biggest technology event, it still went off fairly quietly – as did the acquisition itself (which is the total opposite of what is happening with the Amazon acquisition). One reason for this might be that the resulting merged products aren’t yet available, and aren’t expected until later in 2018; which also means that pricing isn’t available yet either.
What is Ring?
Ring is a smart home security company that sells Internet-connected video doorbells and security devices. The company’s overall mission is to make homes safer and reduce the amount of crime that happens in neighborhoods by offering affordable home security products. The company is young, but has already made a big splash in the smart home industry. Originally focused on just video doorbells, the company has expanded its line to include security cameras, and recently began announcing plans to release full alarm systems.
What is Mr Beams?
Mr Beams is a line of wireless indoor and outdoor LED lights that provide an energy efficient solution for homes and businesses. The lights are motion sensor and battery operated – which means they can be used as a lower-cost security feature that doesn’t require a grid or an electrician. The company, pre-Ring acquisition, produced over 50 varieties of their wireless motion sensor lights, from single units to sets, starting under $15 and extending to over $100.
What’s it all mean?
The big picture here is that Ring is taking steps to be able to provide a whole-home security system – from doorbells to lights to cameras. Though Mr Beams will continue to operate as a separate division, they will release Ring Beams – the co-branded product – from both Ring and Mr Beams. These lights will be easy to install, and will add lots of complementary skills that will fit in with the Ring Doorbell and other security products. I expect that the lights will have functionality that allows them to be triggered by the Ring Doorbell or by motion detected by security cameras, and also that the lights themselves – when triggered – can activate the Ring Doorbell and security cameras. Overall, it just means that people’s personal and professional properties can have more security and fend off would-be vandals and robbers. We imagine that they will also be added into the Ring app dashboard, so that the lights can be managed remotely from the same place that other Ring products are managed.
How will tie into Amazon?
Well, that is still to be announced. I’m sure there is some mega smart home security package from Amazon in all of our futures, though.
