With its new app store, Ring is betting on AI to transcend home security

Now that there are more than 100 million cameras in the industry, Amazon-owned Ring is poised to capitalize on its huge potential with the launch of a new app store that will expand the capabilities of its cameras. Focusing initially on areas such as senior care, workforce analytics, rental property management, and more, the store will allow developers of all sizes to tap into the Ring ecosystem to reach customers.

First announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the app store comes alongside Ring’s expansion beyond smart doorbells and cameras for homes to those aimed at businesses. But the new store is also powered by a leap into AI technology, which can use the Ring’s ability to see and hear things in the real world and translate that to users in specific situations.

For example, another launch partner, the SoftBank-backed company Density, has an app called Routes focused on elderly care, which can use Ring cameras to help families keep an eye on their loved ones, such as their elderly parents, and be notified of concerns such as falls or changes in habits.

An application from QueueFlow can help businesses better understand what wait times and congestion are like in any place where people need to wait for their turn, such as events, restaurants, service desks, waiting rooms, and more.

An app from Minut can help Airbnb hosts monitor their accommodations, connected to some of its camera-less sensors that track things like loud noise and temperature.

The idea, explains Ring founder and CEO Jamie Siminoff, is to expand the capabilities of Ring cameras beyond providing security for homeowners.

“With AI, there are an incredible number of long-tail use cases,” he told TechCrunch. “We’re unlocking the value our customers have invested in, in things…all of us collectively never thought we could do it.”

However, there will be restricted areas, given the growing consumer backlash against surveillance technology, which is also impacting Ring. After the company introduced features that could find lost pets or watch wildfires, customers realized how much these cameras could do – and how that could lead to a world where people wouldn’t go anywhere without being tracked, recorded, and possibly even recognized by AI-powered camera systems.

Recognizing the potential of the same PR as its app store, Siminoff notes that the terms will not allow apps that offer certain types of features that invade privacy, such as facial recognition tools or number plate readers.

“We’re trying to be careful to make sure it’s used for…apps that bring value to the customer,” he said of the Ring app store. “Of course, we have to listen to what’s happening in the market and the process.”

Following customer backlash, Ring canceled its partnership with Flock Safety, makers of AI-powered cameras that share images with law enforcement. The partnership would allow agencies using Flock to request video from Ring doorbell and camera owners. Ring itself has a long history of sharing data with police, and has drawn criticism from privacy advocates in recent months for new partnerships with law enforcement and companies like Axon.

The future of Ring’s app store

Ring’s new app store will be available within the Ring app for iOS and Android devices, and will initially be limited to US customers before being rolled out more widely. However, adding apps to your Ring setup won’t involve using in-app payment systems.

That means Ring won’t pay Apple or Google commissions when customers decide to extend their Ring experience with partner tools.

Siminoff says this is because Ring isn’t really an app distributor — users will still need to download a partner’s app from the app store to access the new functionality. Meanwhile, the Ring app itself doesn’t change to include new partner features.

Still, this represents an interesting way to build an app ecosystem outside of the phone app stores, while still benefiting from Ring’s distribution on iOS and Android.

“It’s not just that Ring does an app store. It’s because Ring has a lot of cameras out there, so it’s a big enough place that if [developers] write something, [they] they can get a satisfactory number of customers and hopefully have a successful business,” said Siminoff.

In terms of monetization, if Ring refers a customer to one of its partners, it will take a commission on that sale. Currently, that’s a 10% fee, but Ring says it’s open to apps that offer other business models beyond subscriptions, such as one-time payments or free apps supported by ads, if that’s something customers really want.

At launch, there are about 15 apps available, but more are on the way, the company said. Developers are able to submit their applications for consideration through the Ring developer site.

Other apps available now include the bird identification app, WhatsThatBird.AI; app for detecting hazards and security (for fire, smoke, collapse, leakage, etc.) memories.ai; an app for businesses that provide alerts and demographics, Lumeo; lawn health monitoring, LawnWatch; enterprise navigation discovery, ProxView; a traffic and queue monitoring application, StoreTraffic; track package delivery from Package Protect; and Amazon’s own app, Cheer Chime, which chimes when someone tips off at the checkout.

“I would say that the goal by the end of the year is to have hundreds of applications,” said Siminoff.