You no longer have to live in an Amazon-focused household for Arlo’s Video Doorbell to make the most sense. Arlo has introduced Google Assistant support to deliver notifications and send commands. If you’re worried about the ruckus outside, you can ask Google to “show me the front door” and get a video feed sent to a smart display like the Nest Hub Max.

The Video Doorbell normally sells for $150. That’s more than rivals like Ring’s new starter doorbell, but it gives you the choice of both Alexa and Google Assistant. Whether or not you like Arlo perks like the square aspect ratio or HDR video, it could be worth the premium if you don’t want to be locked into a single ecosystem for your smart home.

Ring founder, Jamie Siminoff, explains in a blog post that the company had to engineer a product that was constantly recording video footage without draining the battery. The solution is a three-camera array, two of which capture Pre-Roll footage at a low resolution and low framerate — and in black and white. The main camera still captures color footage at 1080p, though. By using a rolling buffer, the Pre-Roll footage constantly rewrites itself, as not to take up too much of the camera’s memory. The new feature will give homeowners a better idea of what’s happening at their front door, whether it’s a trespasser or just an animal. Pre-Roll will only be available on the Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus, so the upgrade from the standard edition may be worth the $30 difference.

To cut down on false alarms, Ring also adjusted the way its cameras detect motion. A “near motion zone” allows the Video Doorbell 3 and 3 Plus to detect motion only from five to fifteen feet in front of the camera. This means that users will be less likely to get motion alarms when dog walkers or neighbors stroll by.

The Ring Video Doorbell 3 will cost $200 and the 3 Plus will be $230. Both are available for pre-order and will ship out on April 8th. The company has been in hot water recently, after sharing footage with police. Ring says that by sharing footage, police can more effectively track down burglars, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. The company also shares data with third parties, which is a turnoff for privacy-minded consumers. Ring says that it will soon allow users to opt out of some information sharing.

Both the Plus and the base model will also support a new “near” motion zone that prevents false events beyond 15 feet, support for 5GHz WiFi network, an easier-to-remove faceplate and automatic chime connection to streamline the setup process. What you won’t, see, however, are any major cosmetic changes — the Video Doorbell 3 appears to be just as chunky and utilitarian as ever.

The page only listed the doorbells as “coming soon,” but the presence of the page suggests Ring could unveil them very shortly. The regular model is expected to sell for about $199, while the Plus might go for $229. With that said, Ring may face a tougher time than usual attracting interest. Since the Video Doorbell 2 arrived, investigators and critics have pointed to concerns about Ring’s police partnerships’ effects on privacy, not to mention device security issues. The Amazon-owned firm might have to show that its worst days are in the past if it wants a smoother launch.

Crucially, none of the departments gathered data to gauge the usefulness of the Ring alliance, whether it was for pinpointing suspects or deterring crimes. Just a quarter of the police forces said they believed the cameras deterred crooks.

Ring has previously boasted that its technology led to a 55 percent drop in burglaries in one Los Angeles neighborhood based on LAPD data, but it’s not certain to what degree the cameras are responsible or that this performance translates to other areas. Reported property crimes dropped by almost half between 2008 and 2018, according to the FBI. Some of that may be due to online shoppers reporting porch piracy to sellers or shippers rather than the police. The companies involved aren’t sharing much. Amazon declined to provide stats to NBC, while UPS said it doesn’t routinely record package thefts. Ring also said it doesn’t track these incidents.

Part of the problem may be the sheer glut of information. While it’s easy to share footage with police when there’s a partnership, a lot of it isn’t useful — think minor incidents with neighbors or curious raccoons. Police already tend to have tight resources, and officers might not have much time to comb through footage to find enough evidence to launch an investigation.

The study isn’t a comprehensive view of the US’ 17,985 police agencies, although it does include large cities like Miami and Phoenix. And while 13 agencies out of 40 making confirmed arrests is a small number, it’s still something. However, the data suggests that Ring and its law enforcement partners may be overselling the effectiveness of their footage sharing programs despite hundreds of partnerships. It also indicates that these smart home cameras may be more useful to scare off burglars than they are to put thieves behind bars.

CNET reviewed public documents from the Rolling Meadows Police Department in Illinois. Those revealed that police had access to heat maps of Ring video doorbell concentrations, and when zoomed in, the map would show light circles around individual locations. Police could also search for specific addresses to see nearby camera concentrations. The Rolling Meadows Police Department told CNET that it didn’t use the heat map feature but that it could have shown them where Ring cameras were in certain areas.

The feature was removed in July, but CNET believes some departments may have had access for more than a year. In August, Ring revealed that 405 law enforcement partners use its Neighbors Portal, and according to CNET, Ring now partners with 631 law enforcement agencies in the US. It’s unclear how many police departments may have had access to the map.

In a statement to CNET, a Ring spokesperson said:

“As previously stated, our video request feature does not give police access to the locations of devices. Ring is constantly working to improve our products and services and, earlier this year, we updated the video request process to no longer include any device density information. Previous iterations of the video request feature included approximate device density, and locations were obfuscated to protect user privacy. Zooming into areas would not provide actual device locations.”

Amazon’s close relationship with law enforcement has already been criticized. Last month, we learned that police can keep Ring video doorbell footage indefinitely once doorbell owners provide access to it, and Amazon has asked police to advertise Ring cameras.

Privacy advocates worry Amazon’s relationship with police could encourage people to compromise their privacy or lead to a state of constant surveillance. While Ring doorbell owners have to choose to share footage with police, if police know who has a video doorbell, they may pressure those individuals to come forward.

Engadget has reached out to Ring for comment.

Once you enabled the feature through the Nest app, instead of a standard ringtone, visitors will hear a rotating cast of characters that includes a “cackling witch,” a ghost, a vampire and a scary monster anytime they ring your doorbell. The feature also works inside on Nest smart displays if you enable the visitor announcements functionality. In either case, it’s a fun way to make Halloween more fun and memorable for trick-or-treaters.

Google says it plans to add more seasonal ringtones in late November ahead of the holidays, so you’ll get more use out of the feature than just once per year. If you don’t own any Nest products, you can still get in on the fun if you have access to Google Assistant. Just ask the digital assistant to “get spooky,” and it’ll start playing an hour-long “spooktacular” playlist.

It might also be easier to talk to a visitor. Arlo’s model pushes a live video call to your phone the moment someone presses the doorbell, so your guest is less likely to leave while you’re fumbling around with an app. You’ll have other modern creature comforts, including HDR video (to spot details in bright or dark scenes), night vision and personalized alerts for everything from people to pets.

The Video Doorbell is available to pre-order now for $150 ahead of a release before the end of 2019. As is often the case with connected security devices, though, you might need to pay more. If you want access to your last 30 days of clips through cloud storage, you’ll need to shell out at least $3 per month for an Arlo Smart subscription once your three-month trial is up. If you don’t mind that, Arlo’s doorbell could be a viable option if you’re uncomfortable with the alternatives.