(Pocket-lint) – As well as a new entry-level Ring Video doorbell, Ring announced two new versions of its premium smart doorbells earlier in 2020 – the Ring Video Doorbell 3 and Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus.

There’s also a new Ring Chime and Chime Pro, too, to alert you at other places inside your home. The Ring Chime Pro once again is a Wi-Fi extender, while it now has a night light. Both have been redesigned to be more aesthetically pleasing, with an Amazon Echo-style fabric panel.

Price and availability

Amazon has slashed the prices for Prime Day, so there are deals to be had on the Ring Video Doorbell 3 and Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus.

What’s different between the Ring Doorbell 3 and 3 Plus? 

The key new feature that’s only on the Plus is Pre-Roll. This captures video constantly, meaning that when you get a motion alert it enables you to see the four seconds before you get the alert. 

In other words, you can see what caused the alert in the first place. So as well as seeing the delivery driver by your door, you can now see them walk down your path, too. It’s also so you can see the whole of an incident rather than just the end of one. However, the video quality is not Full HD, while there’s also no audio for it. 

There’s a small $30/£20 price premium for this extra feature. 

• What is Ring Pre-Roll and will it come to all Video Doorbells?

What’s the same? 

Both of the doorbells offer improvements over the older Ring Doorbell 2, notably that addition of 5GHz Wi-Fi (in addition to 2.4Ghz) and Advanced Motion Detection, which we’ll come onto in a second.

Key specs

Both doorbells output 1080p Full HD video and, as we mentioned, have 5GHz in addition to 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi.

That will be useful in homes where there has been an issue getting connectivity between a doorbell and router. In our home, for example, we need to have a Chime Pro in place to bridge the gap otherwise our Ring Doorbell 2 drops the connection. 

Both of these doorbells are battery-powered like the original Ring Video Doorbell, Ring Video Doorbell 2 and Door View Cam (and unlike the Ring Video Doorbell Pro and Elite). You can also wire them in, but in reality, few will do that.

Again there’s a removable battery pack that you’ll need to charge up via USB every so often. We’ll let you know how often when we review these new doorbells. 

Advanced motion detection

This feature was only available on the wired Pro doorbell (in addition to the pro-grade Ring Video Doorbell Elite). 

Both doorbells include a new, adjustable motion zone, called Near Zone. This detects motion within 1.5 to 4.5m of the front door, but you really can fine-tune it. 

Both doorbells also have Privacy Zones. This feature enables you to exclude areas of the camera field of view from recording should you want to prevent something from being recorded. 

You can also turn off video or audio recording at any time.

• How to use Ring Modes home and away settings to improve your security and save battery life

Smart home compatibility

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