Ring’s new $180 Battery Doorbell Plus brings wider, sharper video to your front door | CNN Underscored

Ring’s got a new battery-powered video doorbell camera that promises some major upgrades, including an improved field-of-view and the highest resolution video available in any wireless Ring doorbell. The $180 Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is available to preorder today, with deliveries scheduled to kick off in about a month, on April 5.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus promises the widest field of view and sharpest video resolution of any wireless Ring doorbell camera.

Arguably the most noticeable improvement Ring made to the new Battery Doorbell Plus is the new 150 x 150 degree field-of-view that provides a 1:1 aspect ratio feed of who or what’s near your front door. That’s a big upgrade from the existing battery doorbell’s 155 x 90 degree field of view.

Ring refers to this as a head-to-toe view because it provides an expanded look that now includes your porch or front steps immediately in front of the camera, whereas in the past that may have been an area that was cut off.

And because the camera can now see immediately below it, you’ll be able to use Ring’s package alerts (Ring Protect subscription required) to mark the area where deliveries are usually left, allowing the camera to monitor for packages and alert you through the mobile app.

Alongside the larger field of view, Ring also bumped up the video resolution from 1080p on the current crop of battery doorbells to 1536p. The increase in resolution should lead to clearer, cleaner video clips both in the live stream view and with recorded clips.

The Battery Doorbell Plus will be sold alongside Ring’s Video Doorbell 3 while supplies last, after which the Battery Doorbell Plus will take its spot in Ring’s video doorbell lineup.

A video doorbell that relies on a battery is ideal for those who can’t permanently install or alter their entryway, be it because it’s a rental, or because the proper wiring isn’t in place. Battery life for Ring’s video doorbells varies based on a number of factors, including the amount of traffic that goes by your door, and your settings for things like motion alerts and package detection. However, like Ring’s previous battery-powered doorbells, the Battery Doorbell Plus can also be hardwired, replacing a standard doorbell or even upgrading from an older model, whether it be from Ring or a competitor like Wemo.

You can preorder the $180 Battery Doorbell Plus right now, directly from Ring or Amazon, with deliveries kicking off April 5.