Eric Ravenscraft
Amazon isn’t messing around when it comes to the smart home. The company recently introduced a smart lock and camera system that would let delivery drivers enter your home. Now, Amazon is buying Ring, the company that makes video-enabled smart doorbells to add to its repertoire.
Video doorbells aren’t exactly a common household appliance just yet, but among the doorbells available, Ring’s stands out as one of the best. In addition, Ring also makes smart security cameras and security system kits. So, it makes sense that Amazon would purchase the company for $1 billion. With a simple purchase, Amazon takes its place as a market leader in one more category of smart home gadgets, which it can place alongside its Echo line, smart cameras, and smart lock.
This gives Amazon a solid position against Google. In addition to the Google Home line of smart speakers, Google also owns Nest, which makes smart thermostats, security cameras, smoke alarms, and coincidentally, video doorbells. Amazon and Google aren’t the only companies making smart home products to replace all the dumb gadgets in your house, but they sure want to be. If you’re buying new gadgets today, you might want to consider which (if any) ecosystem you want to be locked into in the future.
Source: Reuters via Ars Technica
