Ring Indoor Review

The defining characteristics of the Ring Indoor are its bulky-looking exterior, limited functionality, and relatively high price. In comparison to the better-performing, less expensive models in the class, we struggle to find anything positive to say about this camera.

Performance Comparison

Recorded Video Quality

The Ring Indoor earned a below-average score in the recorded video assessment. The recorded video had poor colors and facial features that were hard to make out. The frame rate is lower than average, too, producing a slight jittering in the video. While the camera does have color night vision, it's dark, blurry, and grainy, making it hard to see much of anything except the glowing eyes of whoever looks directly into the lens. Lastly, the camera's field of view is 140º, which works fine for most situations, but it will capture a lot of unwanted motion if you have motion alerts set up.

Monitoring Performance

The Ring Indoor did a little better in the monitoring performance evaluation than the recorded video metric, but it was still below the class average. The camera had limited latency (~1 second) between actual events and those seen on screen — that's a good result. The video was a bit jittery at times, but overall it is good quality. Unfortunately, the audio isn't always in sync with the video (there's a slight delay), and there is a 'ghosting' effect where fast-moving objects become transparent.

The sound picked up by the camera's microphone comes with a decent amount of background noise that is distracting. At times there is an echoey quality to the sounds as well. Additionally, sounds produced by the camera are quite muffled, and words sound like the speaker has their lips pressed against the microphone. However, the camera produces a decently loud alarm — 75.4 dB at 10 feet.

Ease of Use

The Ring Indoor did not do too well in our ease of use assessment. While its app is well organized and intuitive, the camera has few settings and notification options. Add to this the lack of local data storage and a paid subscription to use the cloud, and it shouldn't be a surprise that the camera received yet another below-average score in this evaluation.

The notifications available on the Ring Inside are limited to motion and people. A setting on the device allows you to receive a preview of the video clip associated with the notifications that we find to be convenient. The mounting system on the Ring Indoor is also convenient with a simple base that serves as a wall mount. The necessary hardware is included, too.

Value

We evaluate value as a comparison of price and performance. Ideally, a product will be competitively priced when it outperforms its peers. While the Ring Indoor camera isn't terribly expensive, its poor performance in our practical assessment doesn't warrant the cost. In our expert opinion, you can get a lot more bang for your buck with other models in the class.

Conclusion

The Ring Indoor is a low-quality camera. The video is poor, the audio is poor, and the features, settings, and notifications are limited. Moreover, the camera is only suited for indoor use. All in all, we do not recommend this product.