In my case, I was able to very directly compare the output of the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation to its predecessor, because I did a direct swap of the older Ring Video Doorbell 2 for the newer model. Battery swap annoyances aside, the other swap consideration, if you were thinking of upgrading, is that the mounting points for the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation are very different to those of the older model. This meant I had to abandon the angular wedge mount I'd used for the older doorbell in favour of the more angled presentation of the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation. You're not likely to shoot the next Hollywood epic with your Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation, so that angle might not be too much of an issue. If you want a wedge and a newer Ring doorbell, you'll have to pony up for the more expensive Ring Video Doorbell 3 instead.
The other big difference between the 2nd Generation and the more expensive 3 is in-network compatibility. The Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation only works on 2.4Ghz networks, and that does bring with it the prospect of some network congestion, because 2.4Ghz is used by a wide swathe of consumer gear, not just Wi-Fi. I didn't have many issues getting the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation detected on my Wi-Fi network, but again, if you want 5Ghz, you'll have to pay more for the Video Doorbell 3 instead.
While the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation is a perfectly serviceable front doorbell, you really don't have to spend a lot of cash for something like that. The reason you would invest in Ring's product the first place is for remote alerts and the ability to "answer" your front door even if you're not actually at home. During a pandemic, that might seem like a less compelling prospect than it used to be, although it can be handy if you do have to make a supermarket run and a delivery happens to arrive, for example.
What you need is to ensure that your broadband speeds are up to snuff, and specifically, that you've got decent upload speeds. If you're on a basic 12/1 NBN plan, you'll really struggle to get any kind of connection at all. Even on a faster connection – I tested it with a 250/20 HFC NBN Aussie Broadband connection – there can sometimes be a delay in connecting to your doorbell if it rings, although it's hard to say if it's the upload speed or a mobile network data issue at play.

The basics of Ring's offering haven't really changed all that much with the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation. You can still set it to detect motion within zones, or set schedules or an away/disarmed/home status depending on your needs. What has changed is the video quality. The Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation supports up to 1080p as its predecessors did, but the video quality seems much sharper than its predecessor could manage, especially in low light. There's a highly evident fish eye effect in place, so again, you're not going to get film-quality shooting. But for dealing with couriers or recording suspicious movement, it's clear enough.
The Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation also supports two-way chat, which makes perfect sense for answering your door remotely. The quality of this can vary quite a lot. Testing it while I was home and on the same network generally gave good, clear results, but remote testing did sometimes involve a bit of broken audio. That's not ideal if you want to give the impression that you are home, but again, it could be down to mobile network issues rather than an inherent Ring problem.
You can still get the odd false positive with passing birds and the like, but it's generally very good at both monitoring and supplying you with alerts when it detects movement. In line with its Amazon ownership, if you do own an Alexa-compatible smart display like the Echo Show or Echo Show 5, you can pair it to your Ring camera to work with Alexa as an effective front doorbell video camera solution.
The non-removable battery's endurance will depend on how much motion it's detecting and of course how heavily you load it up with other features. Over a week's testing, I saw the battery drop by around 20%, which suggests that you'd need to charge it about every month. Recharging is not fast, and my least favourite part of the new Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation is its sealed battery, because getting it back up to speed is a slow process. It's particularly unappealing if you do have other Ring products. In the past, I'd just grab the battery out of another Ring product to keep the doorbell going while its battery got more power, but you can't do that with the Ring Video Doorbell 2nd Generation at all.