Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 vs. Ring Video Doorbell Pro: What's the difference?

Ring Video Doorbell Pro

Ring Video Doorbell Pro has been the best Ring Video Doorbell for years for a reason. Inside its tiny form-factor, it packs a 1080p camera that's always recording, giving you the best look at what's happening (or happened) on your doorstep. It also features Alexa Greetings, which lets it answer itself when you're not around.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 retains the original tiny form-factor and improves everything else about the product, including a new higher-resolution camera with a more useful aspect ratio. 3D motion is new to the Pro 2 and delivers pinpoint-accurate motion detection, complete with an overhead map of where movement was detected.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is the very best Ring Video Doorbell you can buy if you have the ability to connect it to your home's hardwired power. While Ring didn't add the ability for the Pro 2 to run on battery power, it did add some significant hardware upgrades that make a meaningful difference when compared to the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro. But the price difference is likely going to sway most people over the new technological prowess and, thus, lies one of the biggest differences between the two.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro vs. Pro 2: It's all in the motions

While Ring Video Doorbell Pro offers crisp 1080p video and that signature thermal detection from most Ring video doorbells, Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ditches the thermal camera in favor of a new radar-guided method. This method allows the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 to detect exactly where movement occurred on your porch, in your yard, or wherever you place the video doorbell.

Until this point, Ring has always used a secondary thermal camera to help its main camera detect movement that only comes from living things. That helped cut down on erroneous notifications caused by the wind blowing or other similar things, but Ring's new 3D motion detection powered by radar — can perform more advanced motion detection that lets it pinpoint exactly how far away from the camera the movement came from.

Ring then takes that motion and translates it to an overhead satellite view of your home — something you'll set up when you first connect your Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 — and shows it to you in a picture-in-picture view when you get a motion notification. Ring calls this the Birds-Eye View, and it helps make it easier to understand where movement came from and where it's going. It could also help identify movement around groups of shrubbery or other obstacles that might otherwise obstruct your view.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro vs. Pro 2: Seeing differently

Ring Video Doorbell Pro delivered some of the best-looking video when it debuted several years ago but has since been eclipsed by several other products. While the 1080p resolution is good enough, Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2's 1536p resolution camera enables 50% better zoom resolution, which could help to better identify something that's happening further away from the camera.

Aside from a resolution boost, Ring changed the aspect ratio of the camera on the Pro 2. Unlike the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro — which features a standard 16:9 aspect ratio like a TV — Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 sports a 1:1 aspect ratio that evenly displays a 150-degree field of view in both vertical and horizontal directions. To put it plainly, that means you'll be able to see someone at your door from head-to-toe with Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, whereas a 16:9 aspect ratio generally only shows someone at the door from the waist-up.

You'll also find that Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 sports some of the finest HDR video on the market, improving over what even the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro offered. During the day, you'll find the Pro 2 showcases more accurate colors, brighter shadows, and fewer overly bright spots when the sun is bright. At night, too, you'll find the infrared black & white video is superbly balanced, delivering a picture that looks more like a daylight shot than some of the hazy low-light video offered by other video doorbells.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro vs. Pro 2: A matter of price

While Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 offers a clearly better experience overall, including some impressive technological upgrades, there's no denying the $250 price tag is going to be a deterrent, especially when the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro only costs $170. While the tech upgrades that the Pro 2 brings to the table are certainly impressive, some may not find them worth the additional price over the generally excellent original Ring Video Doorbell Pro.

On top of the initial price tag, it should be noted that most of the best Ring Video Doorbell features are only available when using a Ring Protect Plan. Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2's advanced 3D motion and birds-eye view features are always available regardless if you have a Ring Protect Plan, but you'll only be able to see these features when viewing live video. All historical recorded video is only available in Ring's cloud storage, which is only accessible with a Ring Protect Plan.

Both Pro and Pro 2 support quick replies and Alexa Greetings when paired with a Ring Protect Plan too, which is probably one of the coolest features of any video doorbell on the market. Alexa Greetings allow the doorbell to answer itself by using Alexa's cloud-powered smarts to initiate a conversation. This can be helpful when you can't — or don't want to — answer the door. Folks at the door can leave you a message or receive specific instructions that you set up beforehand, like a specific place that you'd like a delivery driver to leave a package.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro: The best overall value

While newer is most certainly better, there's no denying the value of the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro. At $170, it's quite a bit less than what it launched at a few years back and, yet, still offers some of the best functionality on the market. If you've got an Alexa-powered household or are just starting on your smart home journey, Ring Video Doorbell Pro is a phenomenal choice that'll give you brilliant always-on recording with a handy timeline view to scrub through, as well as Alexa Greetings and quick replies. Just remember, you'll need a Ring Protect Plan to get access to these features.

If you want the most accurate motion detection on the market, or are just looking for a great upgrade from the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro and don't mind the price, Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 offers an incredibly compelling set of features to marvel at. Either way, you decide to go, these are both great options, but the value offered by the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro is pretty hard to beat.