This $30 Ring Sensor Could Be Amazon's Best Product Today

Amazon announced a number of new products today, including a redesigned Echo Dot smart speaker, Echo Show 10 smart display, its new Luna cloud gaming service, and more. One of the products that didn't get a mention during its event is a mailbox sensor called, you guessed it, the Ring Mailbox Sensor. The product targets the budget smart home market with its $30 price tag, offering a bit of niche functionality to help keep your mail safe.

The Ring Mailbox Sensor is listed on the Ring.com website amid its newly announced products, though the company doesn't provide any details on the website. We reached out to Amazon for clarification on the product and were told that this device is a sensor intended to improve one's mailbox security by sending homeowners can alert whenever their mailbox is opened.

The Mailbox Sensor can be used with Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo Dot, as well as with the Ring app. Likewise, the Ring Mailbox Sensor slots into the overall Ring ecosystem, working as part of recipes to control over Ring devices like smart lights, doorbells, and security cameras to turn them on when the mailbox is opened.

With this sensor, one could, for example, set up their home automation system to automatically turn on the porch lights when the mailbox is opened; this would be useful for people who check their mail when they get home from work. Alternatively, someone worried about mail theft could set the sensor up to trigger security cameras when the mailbox is opened, ensuring the potential thief is caught on camera.

Amazon plans to launch the Ring Mailbox Sensor for preorders on October 8 for $30, making it one of the cheaper Ring products on the market. It's unclear when the sensor will actually ship to customers, however.