Ring's First Smart Lock Bets on the One Feature Every Owner Actually Wants
Ring's first smart lock, announced for early 2027 at $249, answers the dead-battery nightmare with a hand crank. Here's how it stacks up against today's best.
At its fall hardware event, Ring announced its first smart lock — a notable move, because Ring (owned by Amazon) has spent years on doorbells and cameras while leaving the lock itself to Schlage, Yale, and Aqara. The new lock is $249 and ships early next year, and the feature Ring is leading with is not fingerprint entry or Alexa control. It is a hand crank. For a category defined by the fear of a dead battery stranding you at your own door, that is the most interesting idea in the announcement. Here is where it would land on our Best Smart Locks list.
What Ring Announced
The Ring Smart Lock pairs a fingerprint reader and a keypad with app and Alexa control, so you can unlock by touch, code, phone, or voice. Its standout is a built-in hand crank that Ring says can generate enough power to unlock the door if the battery dies. Pricing is $249, with availability early next year. There are no independent reviews yet — this is an announcement, not a tested product — so treat the specifics as Ring's claims until reviewers get hands on it.
The Hand Crank Is the Point
Every smart-lock owner has run the same worst-case scenario in their head: the battery dies, and the thing that was supposed to make entry effortless locks you out instead. The usual answers are a backup physical key or awkwardly holding a nine-volt battery to external contacts. Ring's hand crank folds that backup into the lock itself — no key to lose, no spare battery to find. If it works as described, it is a legitimately clever answer to the category's most common anxiety, and the kind of feature rivals will copy.
How It Stacks Up
On price, $249 lands Ring squarely in the middle of the market — above budget picks like the Aqara Smart Lock U100 and well under camera-equipped locks like the Lockly Vision Elite. The real question is ecosystem. Our current number one, the Aqara Smart Lock U200, wins on flexibility with Matter and Thread. The Schlage Encode Plus is the Apple Home pick with Home Key tap-to-unlock. Ring's lock instead bets on the Alexa and Ring household — the same app that already runs your doorbell and cameras. For those buyers, it could be the most cohesive option on the board. For Apple or Matter homes, the existing leaders still look like the stronger buy.
The Catch
Two things temper the enthusiasm. First, timing: the lock will not ship until early 2027, so it does nothing for anyone who needs a lock now. Second, ecosystem gravity — a Ring lock is most compelling if you are already inside Amazon's world, and buyers who care about Apple Home, Matter interoperability, or keeping their smart home vendor-neutral should weigh that before waiting. As always with a connected lock on your front door, the privacy and account-security track record of the company behind it is part of the purchase, not a footnote.
The Call
Ring's first smart lock is a smart entry with one genuinely fresh idea, but it is a 2027 product with no reviews yet. If your door needs a lock today, buy one of the proven picks at the top of our Best Smart Locks list and cast your vote there. If you live in the Alexa and Ring ecosystem and the dead-battery crank speaks to you, keep this one bookmarked — and wait for the first independent tests before you commit.
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Common Questions
Ring announced the lock at $249, with availability early next year. That makes it an announcement to watch, not a product you can install today. It slots right into the middle of the smart-lock market on price — above budget picks like the Aqara U100 and well under video locks like the Lockly Vision Elite. If you need a smart lock now, the proven options on our Best Smart Locks list are the safer bet; if you are an Alexa and Ring household and can wait until 2027, it is worth keeping on your radar.
It solves the one failure every smart-lock owner dreads: a dead battery leaving you stuck at your own door. Ring says the built-in hand crank can generate enough power to unlock the door even when the battery is flat. Most smart locks fall back to a physical key or a nine-volt battery jump against the terminals; a self-contained crank is a cleaner, no-extra-gear answer to the same problem. On paper it is the most genuinely useful idea in the whole announcement.
It is hard to say for certain before reviews, but the positioning is clear. The Aqara U200, our current number one, leads on ecosystem flexibility with Matter and Thread support. The Schlage Encode Plus is the pick for Apple households thanks to Home Key tap-to-unlock. Ring's lock instead leans into the Alexa and Ring world, pairing a fingerprint reader and keypad with that hand-crank backup. If your home already runs on Alexa cameras and doorbells, it could be the most cohesive option; if you are invested in Apple Home or Matter, the existing leaders still look stronger.
Yes. Ring's lock combines a fingerprint reader and a keypad, so you can enter by touch or code in addition to app and Alexa control. Fingerprint entry is increasingly the feature buyers want most day to day — it is faster than a code and means nobody has to pull out a phone. Several locks on our list already offer it, so Ring is matching the category here rather than leading it; the differentiator remains the dead-battery crank.
If your door needs a smart lock in the next few months, buy now — the Ring lock will not ship until early 2027, and a lock you cannot install is not a solution. The top of our Best Smart Locks list is full of proven, well-reviewed options across every ecosystem and budget. Wait for the Ring lock only if you are deep in the Alexa and Ring ecosystem, value the hand-crank backup specifically, and can hold out until next year — and even then, wait for the first independent reviews before committing.
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