Philips Hue isn’t doing a very good job of keeping its new products under wraps this year either—products that are expected to be unveiled in early September at IFA in Berlin. Following the new Festavia string lights and outdoor wall lights, today I can show you a new camera for Hue Sync.
Hue Semeru might sound familiar to you. Under this name, Philips Hue has sold various models in the Asia-Pacific region over the past few years, including table, wall, and ceiling lights. Those models are likely a thing of the past now, but the name remains. Two affordable new outdoor wall lights are expected to be released in September.
We’d been waiting for this for so long, and in November 2022, the moment finally arrived: The Hue Festavia string lights hit the market. A year after the launch of the 20-meter-long string of lights with 250 LEDs, two additional versions followed, measuring 8 and 40 meters in length. In 2025, the Festavia Globe and the Festavia Permanent were introduced.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve already provided you with detailed information about the new Philips Hue Play table lamp for 79.99 euros and the Philips Hue Play floor lamp for 149.99 euros. Particularly interesting in this regard was a comparison with the Hue Play Gradient Signe, which features a very similar design and is also available as both a table lamp and a floor lamp.
When some Hue users discovered in June that their Hue Bridge Pro had stopped working after an update, it caused quite a stir. Philips Hue identified the issue relatively quickly and, according to its own statements, determined that fewer than 100 devices worldwide were affected. So the damage was limited, even though the situation was, of course, extremely frustrating for affected users.
There’s yet another new update for the official Philips Hue app. Version 5.71 has been available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store since yesterday evening. This update brings improvements not only for the Hue Secure camera but also for the MotionAware feature. But let’s take it one step at a time.
It’s been nearly 14 years since Philips Hue first saw the light of day. The vast majority of the bulbs sold back then with the first starter kits are still working today. It’s an impressive success story, now summarized once again in a detailed video podcast from The Verge. The video, which runs over an hour and features not only The Verge’s David Pierce and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy but also a smart home journalist and Hue inventor George Yianni, is available to watch in full for free on YouTube.
With the launch of the Hue Flux and the Hue Flux Ultra Bright, Philips Hue has definitely headed in the right direction. The light strips have become more affordable, can display color gradients, and—if desired—are even brighter than ever before. Plus, Philips Hue is one of the few manufacturers that offers accessories allowing the light strips to be connected to one another and laid out flexibly.
The Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell remains one of my favorite gadgets from the Hue ecosystem; in particular, the light alert triggered by the doorbell button is a real highlight. Philips Hue will soon be offering a new replacement part for the doorbell in its store—and there’s a good reason for that.
Earlier this week, the issue with the latest firmware update for the Hue Bridge Pro caused quite a stir. According to Philips Hue, however, fewer than 100 devices worldwide were ultimately affected. Was it really not that big of a deal after all? We can probably all agree that, after all these years, a backup feature for the Hue Bridge and Hue Bridge Pro is absolutely essential.
Fabian