Thursday, July 23, 2026
Ring’s New Spotlight Camera Is Astoundingly Good, if You Turn Off Its AI Surveillance
Ring’s New Spotlight Camera Is Astoundingly Good, if You Turn Off Its AI Surveillance
Ring’s new Spotlight Camera is a solid choice for monitoring and illuminating dark areas, offering a 2K resolution, 6x zoom, and a 140-degree field of view. While the camera’s battery life can be improved with a second battery pack or solar panel, the real concern lies in Ring’s extensive AI features and data sharing practices, which may raise privacy concerns for some users. Despite these drawbacks, the camera’s customizable settings and affordability make it a compelling option for those seeking a spotlight security camera.
A spotlight security camera is an interesting hybrid device. In addition to a powerful cam, it includes LED panels for illumination, without the sometimes stringent requirements of a floodlight security camera. These spotlight cameras are something of a specialty for Amazon Ring, and its latest 2026 battery version ($170) is the best I’ve tested.
Ring's new spotlight camera is one of the best of its kind, if you don't mind making adjustments. / Tyler Lacoma/CNET
Pros & Cons
However, adopting this jack-of-all-trades security device also means signing up for Ring’s other services, not all of which are opt-in. Some services, like the way Ring uses the Neighbors section of its app to send info to the police or rope your camera into looking for pets, give people privacy and surveillance anxiety. Fortunately, you can turn these AI features off if they frustrate you, although you will still need a Ring plan if you want to use cloud video storage.
That said, this Ring camera is one of my top suggestions if you have a section of your yard or driveway that needs both monitoring and extra illumination for safety, like near a dark porch or deck steps. The batteries drain fast with those bright LEDs, but Ring has an answer for that, too. Here’s what I found in my tests.
Ring’s Spotlight design and battery packs
The newest Ring Spotlight Cam is bulkier than most modern security cameras, but it also does a lot more with its LED spotlights, so overall it’s quite compact for a cam with its capabilities.
The design is also very solid — Ring has been making strides in this area over the past couple of years — and the cam proved not only durable but easy to understand and install with the screw-in base, provided you have a surface you can drill into. Setup takes a bit of time (I’ll talk about the app below), but Ring’s walkthroughs have also improved.
The camera itself also got a boost, with a 2K resolution using Ring’s latest “Retinal” processing and 6x zoom, as well as about a 140-degree field of view, easily enough for my yard.
I’m always a fan of battery security cams, since you can set them up nearly anywhere on your property without worrying about wiring. However, that’s a trickier proposition with a spotlight camera because those LED panels can quickly drain the battery, especially when they’re frequently activated.
Ring helps a little with this by automatically keeping brightness lower when using battery power and letting you adjust overall brightness as well as when the lights trigger. But the real advantage here is the dual battery slots at the bottom of the camera. Those let you purchase an extra battery and slot it in. With two batteries, you can charge one up while the other is at work, or charge them both and pair them up so you won’t have to worry about the camera for an extended period of time.
Even in my relatively brief tests over a few days and a number of spotlight activations, the battery pack dropped to 70%, so I highly recommend adding the extra battery pack and preparing to charge them frequently. However, that also means this Ring cam is an excellent subject for the solar panel add-on to help keep batteries charged. Or, if you prefer, you can choose a wired version.
Camera and lighting performance
I’ve tested several Ring’s Retinal 2K and 4K devices, so I wasn’t surprised to see the resolution holds up well, with little latency and a clear live view whenever I needed it, along with clear captured videos using Ring’s cloud. The two-way audio also works well, although like many outdoor cameras, it’s a bit too eager to pick up on ambient noises, so clarity can suffer depending on your environment.
The spotlight panels also work well, even if they drain the battery quickly. At medium brightness, they filled the yard with light (and made it difficult to take a clear picture). I probably could have gotten away with a much lower brightness setting to save power while still retaining the luminous benefits.
You can turn the lights on at will or set them to turn on with motion detection. While they don’t cover as much ground as a full floodlight, their side angles do help spread the light out more than you would expect from a spotlight.
The Ring Spotlight Cam second-gen is rated at 550 lumens, but that’s at full power. With my tested, in-the-middle settings and the readings from my lux meter, I’m estimating brightness came around a third of that, and I wouldn’t want it much higher due to battery drain. At night, that’s plenty of light for the surrounding area.
The complicated, but comprehensive, Ring app
Ring’s app is chock full of features, which will mean a learning curve if this is your first security camera. I do like the navigation options, especially when the settings section offers tiles to find what you’re looking for, but it may take time to locate everything when starting out.
Ring will walk you through basic setup options, like which smart alerts you want to receive when setting up the camera, but much more awaits after installation is complete. You can visit the live screen, see a scrolling history of events, search for specific events, and control options like audio, lights and a siren.
There are automations you can set for all these features, sensitivity adjustments you can make for motion detection, and alert controls you can set so Ring sends you notifications for only certain events, like seeing a human versus seeing an animal. You can also set up schedules and snoozes if you only want the motion detection on for certain times.
Since battery life is especially important for this spotlight camera, I’ll also note you can make adjustments to video capture, motion frequency and video recording length to help save power, among other options. There are tools to set a light schedule, too, but having the light on for an extended period of time isn’t a good idea when you’re running on battery power.
The latest version of Ring’s app also has a couple of welcome privacy features. There’s a Mode option, which is similar to scheduling but lets you control all Ring devices you have, disarming them or setting them to “Home” so they won’t activate around you. There are also camera motion zones, which you can set to help the Spotlight Cam focus on specific areas and ignore others, which helps target important areas and not alert you every time someone walks outside.
Those features are the beginning. You can also get involved in the Ring Neighbors section of the app, which connects you with a local neighborhood that can give updates on everything from lost pets and wildfires to rascally teenagers. You can shut off the more annoying alerts and adjust overall settings, but that takes a different set of menus and knowledge of where to go, creating another learning curve. And here you may find settings you’d prefer to be off.
Ring’s AI and settings you may want to disable
A Ring Protect plan starts at $5 per month for cloud video storage and smart alerts for people, packages and vehicles, which are very useful. But upgrade to a Ring Pro plan ($20) with professional monitoring or higher, and you get Ring’s extensive AI features, too.
For the Spotlight Cam, that includes video descriptions and event summaries, telling you what the camera sees so you don’t have to watch videos all the time. It doesn’t always get things right — this cam once hallucinated me playing with sofa cushions when I was shaking out some rugs — but it’s typically close enough to clue you in on what’s happening just by reading the alert.
Other features are more contentious. The Familiar Faces feature, if enabled, lets the camera save the faces of strangers for you to label later so it can recognize people, an AI application both Ring and Google Nest are currently facing privacy lawsuits over.
If you don’t care for Neighbors at all, you can turn off the whole platform, but I find some features very useful.
Tyler Lacoma/CNETIn the Neighbors section of the app, other problems may await. Ring tends to automatically enroll cameras in services like Search Party and Fire Watch, which turn on the cameras to search for signs of specific pets or nearby fires. People worry that those detection features could be used for human surveillance as well, which is one reason Ring canceled its in-progress Flock Safety partnership last year, although users can still offer police their videosusing the Neighbors app.
The good news is you can turn all of these AI settings off, based on what makes you uncomfortable. But you need to know where to get into the various settings menus. If you’re interested in this camera, I highly recommend heading to my guide on the Ring settings you may want to shut down, where I explain exactly how to do it.
Final thoughts on the second-gen Ring Spotlight Cam
Ring’s spotlight camera is in better shape than ever, and remains one of my favorite options for dark areas where a floodlight isn’t a great solution. It’s also cheaper than many floodlights at $170, which is a high price for a single camera, but helped by the extra features. Yes, the batteries will drain fast when the spotlight is activated repeatedly, but the extensive customization options and ability to add a second battery pack help alleviate that issue. Plus, you can always add a Ring solar panel.
However, there is some give-and-take I’m less enthused about. Starting at $20, Ring’s professional monitoring and AI package is pricey, and while video descriptions and summaries certainly save time, they’re rarely worth such a high price. Then there are features like Search Party and Familiar Faces that users may not want at all for privacy reasons, and may need to double-check or opt out of when they’re paying a subscription.
But if you’re willing to take the many (and I mean many) customization options into your own hands, this is one of the best spotlight cams currently available, especially in the 2K resolution range.
Tyler has worked on, lived with and tested all types of smart home and security technology for over a dozen years, explaining the latest features, privacy tricks, and top recommendations. With degrees in Business Management, Literature and Technical Writing, Tyler takes every opportunity to play with the latest AI technology, push smart devices to their limits and occasionally throw cameras off his roof, all to find the best devices to trust in your life. He always checks with the renters (and pets) in his life to see what smart products can work for everyone, in every living situation. Living in beautiful Bend, Oregon gives Tyler plenty of opportunities to test the latest tech in every kind of weather and temperature. But when not at work, he can be found hiking the trails, trying out a new food recipe for his loved ones, keeping up on his favorite reading, or gaming with good friends.“
Space datacenters proposed by Musk and Bezos ‘catastrophic’ for planet, experts warn
Space datacenters proposed by Musk and Bezos ‘catastrophic’ for planet, experts warn
“A new petition, filed by environmental groups, calls for a review of the environmental impact of proposed space datacenters by SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others. The petition argues that the pollution from satellites and rockets, including black soot, rare metals, and aluminum oxides, could be catastrophic for the planet, potentially damaging the ozone layer and contributing to climate change. The petition also highlights the risk of light pollution and the strain on resources required for these projects.
New US petition demands review of plans from tech companies amid fears of environmental destruction
Space datacenters proposed by SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and others would release staggering levels of pollution that would probably alter the Earth’s atmosphere and be “catastrophic” for the planet, space industry experts and environmental groups warn in a new petition demanding a review of their impacts.
Tech companies have collectively proposed millions of “orbital datacenters” and are pressing forward with plans, which require Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval. Among other issues, pollution from satellites and rockets burning up upon re-entry appears to be accumulating in the stratosphere at alarming levels. The spacecraft release black soot, rare metals, aluminum oxides and other pollutants with unknown effects.
Some scientists fear the pollution could destroy the ozone layer, potentially expose some people to higher levels of ultraviolet radiation, or help further destabilize the planet during the climate crisis. The pollution could also end up back on Earth, and millions of satellites would create a major source of light pollution.
The petition submitted to the FCC calls for a pause on new licenses for space data center projects, arguing that the plans “violate federal law”.
The datacenter companies “describe their plans in grandiose, civilization-changing terms”, the petition states. “But these same proponents have refused to embrace any inquiry into the impacts of their self-claimed epochal technology on the environment, science, economy, or other values.”
The petition was filed by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) non-profit, the Earthjustice legal non-profit, and the DarkSky International non-profit, which works to protect the sky from light pollution.
Several former federal US space officials told the Guardian they doubt the orbital datacenters are feasible. But putting millions of additional satellites into orbit would create a significant environmental risk, said Steve Volz, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) satellite office.
“There is a lot of complex material in these things, and even if they do burn up, you do not want to be filling up the atmosphere with refuse from these any more than you would want it coming from a smoke stack,” Volz said. Volz was with the agency until he was put on leave and eventually fired under the Trump administration.
Facing fierce public opposition from across the political spectrum to its datacenters on Earth, big tech last year began floating the idea of launching satellite datacenters into space. Some have begun seeking permits.
The number of active satellites in orbit has grown exponentially from about 1,400 in 2015 to about 15,000 currently. As many as 100,000 are expected to be in orbit within the decade, not including the datacenter networks. As of now, the bulk of the satellites’ pollution is thought to come from Starlink and Amazon’s “mega constellations” that provide broadband internet made up of about 10,000 satellites.
Spacecraft can cause problems on their way up and down. Launches emit a range of emissions like black carbon, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, aluminum oxide, chlorine gases and, once in orbit, mercury. When satellites are decommissioned five to 15 years later, they release metals as they vaporize. That’s injecting pollutants into previously pristine parts of the stratosphere, a highly sensitive system, and there’s very little understanding of the consequences.
Scientists only began to discover some of the impact in late 2023, when a Noaa-sponsored stratospheric measurement flight found metals in sulfuric acid aerosols that make up much of the stratosphere. These aerosols are thought to play an outsize role in regulating the Earth’s temperature, and may partly function as a planetary “sunscreen” by creating high-level clouds that reflect solar radiation, and they simultaneously keep greenhouse gases and pollution from entering the ozone layer from below.
But how the spacecraft metals, naturally occurring metals and sulfuric acid aerosols interact is “largely unknown”, scientists behind the study said. Further research has not been conducted under Trump.
Meanwhile, advocates say plants and animals rely on the darkness, and light pollution is contributing to firefly and other insect die-offs.
“These projects could permanently alter the night sky as we know it,” said Ruskin Hartley, executive director of DarkSky International. “The FCC needs to take seriously its obligation to ensure these projects do not cause unnecessary harm to naturally dark skies.”
Cole Donovan, a former Noaa space policy expert now with the Stand Up for Science non-profit, noted that the space datacenters would demand a huge amount of rare metals and other resources that are already in short supply, creating another environmental challenge on the ground.
The proliferation of satellites raises a raft of new legal and environmental questions. The petition claims Congress requires the FCC to determine “whether the public interest, convenience, and necessity will be served by the granting” of an application to operate a satellite.
The groups say the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa), which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of their proposed projects, covers the satellites. Nepa would provide mechanisms to “assess impacts, propose alternatives, examine mitigation, and disclose risks that would help inform whether such proposals are in the public interest,” the petition states.
Among those requesting permits is the Cowboy Space Corporation, which was founded by the billionaire co-CEO of Robinhood, who aspires “to build an American power grid in space”. It wants to establish a 20,000-satellite system, with its first launch in 2028. The petition states that Cowboy Space’s only reference to environmental mitigation in its FCC application is a promise that the constellation “will be designed and operated to minimize potential impact on the astronomy community”.
The petition notes that SpaceX claims in its FCC application that its orbital datacenters will “ensur[e] humanity’s multi-planetary future amongst the stars”, but its only reference to environmental risk is a claim that it would “develop industry-leading brightness mitigations”, though it offers no other detail.
Ultimately, the tech companies’ FCC applications provide no meaningful consideration of environmental consequences, the petition states.
“No proponent has provided satisfactory detail to explain how it will mitigate the cumulative environmental harms flowing from the foreseeable operation of more than a million satellites, orbiting our planet, colliding and disintegrating and plummeting back to Earth,” the petition states.“
Google Hit With $1 Billion Fine for Abusing Its Power in Europe
Google Hit With $1 Billion Fine for Abusing Its Power in Europe
“The European Union fined Google $1 billion for anti-competitive practices, accusing the company of unfairly promoting its own services in search results and restricting app developers on its Google Play store. This decision, which aligns with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, could escalate trade tensions with the US, as President Trump has previously threatened retaliation against the EU for targeting American tech companies. Google plans to appeal the decision, arguing that it will negatively impact its services for European users.
At a tense moment for trans-Atlantic trade, the European Union accused Google of anti-competitive business practices.
In a decision likely to intensify trans-Atlantic trade tensions, European Union regulators on Thursday hit Google with a $1 billion fine for illegally undercutting competition through its dominance as a search engine.
President Trump has previously threatened to retaliate against the European Union for what he views as the unfair targeting of American technology companies. The Google decision comes when he is weighing a new batch of tariffs on the European Union and other major trading partners.
In explaining Thursday’s fine of 890 million euros, regulators in Brussels said Google had used its position as the world’s largest search engine to unfairly boost its services in areas like shopping, travel, games and language translation. Google displayed its own services more prominently at the top of search results, while relegating competing services farther down the page, according to regulators.
The European Commission, which conducted the investigation, also concluded that the tech giant used unfair restrictions on its Google Play app store that prevent app developers from communicating with users, or conducting transactions that could reduce the fees Google can collect.
The commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said Google violated the Digital Markets Act, known as the D.M.A., a law passed in 2022 to stop the largest tech platforms from using their interlocking services to box in users and squeeze out rivals. Authorities have argued the biggest tech companies have become so dominant in areas like internet search, smartphones, e-commerce and social media that they serve as gatekeepers and determine the fate of other businesses and can harm competition.
“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” Teresa Ribera, the executive vice president of the European Commission overseeing competition policy, said in a statement on Thursday. “This is the promise of the D.M.A., protecting fairness, choice and innovation in digital markets for the benefit of all European citizens.”
Google has 60 days to comply with the decision, including increasing the prominence of rival online services, or risks further penalties of up to 5 percent of its worldwide revenue.
The company has been a frequent target of European Union regulators over the past decade, having been fined more than €10 billion since 2017. Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, said Thursday’s decision would require product design changes that will harm services for European users.
“This isn’t fair competition; it’s product degradation,” he said. “Regulation should improve products, not make them worse.”
The fine is small in comparison with Google’s overall business. On Wednesday, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported a quarterly profit of $112.1 billion, boosted by investments made in SpaceX and Anthropic.
Officials in Brussels will be waiting to see how Mr. Trump responds to Thursday’s decision. On Friday, the White House is expected to announce new tariffs on trade with the European Union and other countries.
A European Union official said that the fine was announced on Thursday because it was ready — without an eye on American trade developments — and that it would not come as a surprise to the Trump administration.
Since the earliest days returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has warned it would take “responsive actions” against regulation of American tech firms.
Last month, Mr. Trump threatened tariffs against countries for digital services taxes against American firms. In December, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said European companies including the Swedish music service Spotify, the German industrial giant Siemens and the French artificial intelligence developer Mistral could be targeted with fees or new restrictions.
American regulators have also targeted Google. Last year, the company was ordered to share search results and some data with rival companies as part of a landmark monopoly case that has some similarities to Thursday’s ruling in Brussels.
The European Union has long been the world’s most aggressive regulator of the tech industry in areas like data privacy, competition and harmful online content. Even as leaders in the region have taken steps to ease rules for artificial intelligence and other technology to boost economic growth, the bloc has pushed forward with investigations and penalties of some of the industry’s biggest companies.
Google was ordered this month by European Union regulators to lift restrictions that limit how rival A.I. companies can reach users of Android smartphones. Meta was told this month to make major design changes to Instagram and Facebook to make the services less addictive.
European regulators have also targeted Chinese companies. Alibaba’s AliExpress was fined the equivalent of $629 million last week for the sale of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform. In February, TikTok, owned by ByteDance, was told to make changes to make its service less addictive.
The European Union is also considering a law to bar young people from social media.
Adam Satariano is a technology correspondent for The Times, based in London.
Jeanna Smialek is the Brussels bureau chief for The Times.“
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