Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery review: another top-tier, well-priced home security camera from Ring

The latest in the long line of Ring camera vying for a place on our best security cameras list is the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery. As that name will tell you, you can put it anywhere indoors or outdoors, free from wires, thanks to the built-in rechargeable battery.

I've spent several days testing out the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery in all the key areas that matter, including how easy it is to set up, the sort of video quality you can expect from it, and the extra features you'll need to pay a subscription fee to access.

There is a mains powered version of the camera available for the same price, if you prefer, as well as a solar-powered version that will cost you a little more - and give you more time between battery recharges, assuming you live in a relatively sunny part of the world.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery: price and availability

The Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery is out and available to buy now, and the widgets embedded around this review should direct you to the best prices for the camera currently available on the web.

At the time of writing, the camera will cost you somewhere around £100 / $100, and if you're in the UK you can pick it up from retailers including Argos and Amazon, as well as from the Ring website.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery: design and setup

There are no surprises here when it comes to the design of the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery, and it follows the established look of previous Ring cameras: a solid cylinder (available in white or black) with no spectacular design flourishes. But a home security camera doesn't need to be eye-catching, does it?

The stand connected to the camera feels a bit on the cheap side, but it does the job - and it's good to see you can manipulate it so the camera can either stand flat on a surface, or be mounted to a wall using screws (and you get these included in the box). It certainly gives you plenty of flexibility when it comes to where you can put this.

If you're measuring out space at home, the camera dimensions are 6.7 cm x 6.7 cm x 12.8 cm, including the stand (it's a little bit smaller than a soft drink can). It's compact enough that it's not obtrusive, but you're definitely going to notice it's there - which is sort of the point if you want to deter would-be burglars.

When it comes to setting the camera up, the first job is to take out the battery and charge it up. Frustratingly it uses micro USB rather than USB-C, but you do at least get a micro USB cable in the box if (like me) you've long since thrown away all the cables with this connector on the end.

From there, as usual, the process of getting the camera up and running is handled through the Ring app for Android or iOS. All you need to do is point your phone at the QR code included in the camera's packaging, give it your Wi-Fi code, and you're more or less up and running (you'll also need to create a Ring account, if you don't already have one).

There are multiple tutorial pop-ups that will try and get your attention as setup continues, but they can all be dismissed with a tap if you just want to get up and running quickly. They're useful if you've never used a Ring camera before, but most people are going to be able to figure out how everything works just by diving into the app.

Your purchase of the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery gets you a 30-day trial of Ring Home, so you can check out the extra features that come with the subscription - like 180 days of video alert history, person alerts (to tell the difference between strangers and family members), and device modes linked to your location (so you can arm the camera automatically when you leave). After the free trial period, Ring Home will set you back from £4.99 / $4.99 a month.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery: video and features

The Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery is equipped with 2K-resolution video (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), matching the best models in the current Ring line-up. It's sharp and crisp, and you can tap into a live view of the feed any time you want: I couldn't really fault the quality, day or night at night the camera emits a dim infrared glow).

The field of view is 160 degrees diagonal, 140 degrees horizontal, and 80 degrees vertical, which means you can see a lot (that's more than you'll often get with a camera like this): the camera can easily take in an entire medium-sized or small-sized room without any problems, and you can make out what's happening without any trouble.

Ring describes the camera as "weather resistant", and capable of operating between -20°C to 50°C in terms of temperature. The northwest of England was unusually dry across the period that I was testing this device for, but I was able to put it outside during a light rain shower, with no issues in terms of operation.

A lot of the standard features we've come to expect from home security cameras are included here, such as two-way audio (so you can chat to delivery drivers or unwelcome visitors), and a built-in siren that reaches a pretty impressive level of volume - at least enough to alert your neighbours on either side, I'd say.

You've also got motion zone settings, so you can limit the alerts triggered by motion detection to a certain part of the video camera frame. It's an essential feature if you have a swaying tree in one corner of the shot, or there's part of the view where your pet tends to appear. These zones are simple to manage and very useful.

In terms of the general software experience, there are no surprises here: we already know how polished and capable the Ring app is, and it makes operating the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery very straightforward. There are handy features scattered throughout, including the option to snooze alerts for a specific period of time.

As usual, some features require the aforementioned Ring Home subscription (from £4.99 / $4.99 a month). The main benefit of signing up is to be able to see an archive of alerts and captured events - otherwise if you miss an alert when it's triggered, you can't get back to it. More advanced AI detection and alerts are also included. It would be nice to see Ring offer a local video storage option, but it's unlikely at this point.

This being a battery-powered camera, you need to be careful about power usage. Ring doesn't offer any estimates about battery life, but based on the couple of weeks I've used it for, you should be good for several months at a time - depending, of course, on how often you're accessing the video feed and how many alerts are being triggered.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery: verdict

There's much to like about the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery, including the high-resolution 2K video, which gives you a top-quality feed during the day and during the night. It ticks all the boxes you need ticking on a device like this, is easy to set up, and does everything it promises to when operating.

The flexibility of the stand and the flexibility of the app are worth emphasising again. You've got a lot of leeway in terms of both the positioning of the camera and how it's configured, which is to the device's credit. It works indoors and outdoors too, so you could kit out your whole home with them, if you wanted to.

There isn't much to talk about when it comes to negative points. Obviously putting some of the most useful features behind a subscription paywall isn't ideal, but that's where we are now with most devices and apps - and Ring isn't alone in wanting a steady income stream. It's also fair to say the camera isn't a huge upgrade over the current models, even with the jump from 1080p to 2K video.

The price of this camera is certainly competitive, considering everything you get included, and it puts the extra subscription fee in a better light. You get plenty back in return for your money, and the usual Ring polish and prowess is evident throughout. If you're already invested in the Ring ecosystem, it's an even more appealing buy.

Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery: alternatives to consider

If you're not quite taken with the Ring Outdoor Camera Plus Battery, the eufyCam S3 Pro is definitely worth a look: it'll cost you a lot more money, but it's much more comprehensive, and justifies its high price by giving you two cameras and a base station, a local storage option (so no need for subscription fees), up to a year between battery recharges (plus a solar power option), and 4K video.

Then there's the Yale Smart Outdoor Camera, which costs slightly more than the Ring camera reviewed here, but does come with a spotlight built in to ward off would-be intruders. Again, there's a subscription on top for more advanced features, including being able to save recordings to the cloud, and more advanced AI detection for people and objects appearing in the video feed.