Hueblog: Philips Hue and security: What is next after Mimic Presence?

Philips Hue and security: What is next after Mimic Presence?

From Smart Lightning to Smart Home

It is now almost exactly ten years since Philips Hue was launched. What started with simple E27 light bulbs has now really grown up. Year after year, the Philips Hue product portfolio has grown, and now you can easily equip your whole house and garden with Philips Hue.

But is that the end of the line? Will Philips Hue continue to focus entirely on smart lighting in the future? Certainly, this will remain the focus – but much more is possible around light than just the simple illumination of rooms.


The best example of this is the brand new function “Mimic Presence“, which was added to the Hue app last week. With this automation it is possible to simulate presence in the house, in which the lights in different rooms turn on and off randomly and in a “natural” way.

Philips Hue already has security hardware in its portfolio

I am convinced that the topic of security can play a very important role for Philips Hue in the coming months and years. And this is not even specifically about new hardware, but above all about software.

Philips Hue has already laid the foundation for monitoring one's own home. After all, motion detectors for indoors and outdoors have been available for years. So far, however, they have only fulfilled one simple task: switching on the light when movement is detected.

But it is not difficult to think one step further here: Why don't you get a notification via the Hue app that a motion sensor in the house has detected a movement, especially when Mimic Presence Automation is active and no one is in the house? From a technical point of view, such a notification would not be a big hurdle; something like this is already possible without any problems via systems connected to Hue, such as HomeKit.

For me, even new hardware is conceivable. With a view to the topic of security, for example, a door and window sensor would be a suitable addition to the existing motion detectors. Moreover, such a sensor could not only be used for security features, but also for normal lighting.

What do you think of these ideas? Should Philips Hue remain a pure lighting system? Or are there useful options for linking the lighting with other functions? I am looking forward to your comments on this topic.

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In den letzten Jahren habe ich mich zu einem echten Experten in Sachen Hue & HomeKit entwickelt. Mittlerweile habe ich über 50 Lampen und zahlreiche Schalter im Einsatz. In meinem kleinen Blog teile ich meine Erfahrungen gerne mit euch.

Comments 2 replies

  1. I agree. I recently bought a Bosch Smart Home security system. The system is modular so you can add products to the system or take them away as necessary. However, it requires the Bosch Smart Home Controller and at least one Bosch Smart Home Motion Detector, which are equivalent to the Philips Hue Bridge and the Philips Hue Motion Sensor respectively. Philips Hue only needs to produce software to create a security system that can notify users of motion when activated.

  2. PS: A security system should have an outdoor siren. Bosch have recently released the Bosch Smart Home Outdoor Siren. Philips Hue could add a siren to the centre of the Daylo outdoor wall light, which would be beautiful with its 360-degree ring of light.

    I would also like Philips Hue to produce an indoor wedge-shaped motion sensor that looks exactly like the SimpliSafe Motion Sensor, which is beautiful. The current Philips Hue Motion Sensor is also beautiful but its square shape isn’t practical nor discrete in a top corner of a room, which is the ideal location for a motion sensor in a security system.

    I would also like Philips to produce a contact sensor that can be embedded inside a wooden door like the Abode Recessed Door Sensor.

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