The Ring Car Cam is a relatively compact box that houses a camera, microphone, speaker, and motion detector on an extender that attaches to the dashboard. It’s unclear if the Ring Car Cam can also be flipped up and attached to the windshield.
Ring Car Cam has a range of useful, if not groundbreaking, safety features. It detects movement inside and outside the car and sends notifications and video, and as soon as it detects motion it starts recording and sends it to the same Ring app you use for other Ring devices. If an intruder gets into your car and you’re alerted, you can even start talking (or yelling) to them through the Ring Car Cam.
Amazon owns Ring, so it’s no surprise that the Ring Car camera can also do some on-demand recording (up to a few minutes), which you can activate with the phrase “Alexa, record.” This comes in handy if you spot some motorists acting oddly and want to capture and share them in your next TikTok.
Almost all of these features, including two-way audio and voice-activated recording, are found in the original Owl Car Cam, another dashboard-based security camera that can monitor both the interior and exterior of a car, sending motion-activated video to A dedicated app can even record video on voice command. The product disappeared in 2020, and it doesn’t look like it’s making a comeback anytime soon.
Ring told us that pre-orders for the Ring Car Cam have begun. The list price is $249.99, but it’s on sale for $199.99 for a limited time. While you don’t need a subscription for all the features listed above, you won’t be able to locate your car when you’re away from your home Wi-Fi unless you pay $6 a month ($60 a year) for Ring Protect to allow Subscription for connecting devices to LTE networks. The subscription also enhances the Traffic Stop utility to automatically upload some recordings to the cloud, while some files are stored locally on the device.
Like the Owl Car Cam, the Ring Car Cam connects via an OBD II adapter that plugs into your car’s OBD port (which is what mechanics use to diagnose modern vehicles). While we wish there was a wireless adapter, the Ring Car Cam is a wired device. This means you have to run a thin wire around the dash (it can usually be tucked into the space between the windshield and the dash) and then connect to the port under the dash. Still, with nearly three quarters of 1 million cars stolen in the US and more than 100,000 in the UK each year, there’s no doubt that a watchful pair of digital eyes could be a welcome addition to your beloved car’s dashboard. Replenish.
