FabianThe launch of the Philips Hue smart home cameras is imminent. Two of the total of four models planned have now passed certification with the US regulatory authority FCC. This gives us a first rough look at the design and also provides further technical insights.
The first images of the black version of the camera have appeared in the approval documents, and there will also be white models. Philips Hue has opted for a cylinder-like shape for its cameras, whereby the camera with integrated battery seems to be about twice as long.
The Philips Hue camera without battery
The Philips Hue camera with battery
On a sticker there is also a hint that the cameras are equipped with a strong magnet. This is likely to be housed in the camera's casing for attachment to a bracket.
Likewise, the FCC approval reveals that the Philips Hue smart home camera has three wireless standards: WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee. But what could these three wireless standards be used for?
Philips Hue camera launches from 199.95 euros
My guess is this: Bluetooth is used for setup. Then WiFi is used to transmit the video signal with high bandwidth. In addition, a ZigBee module is built in, which could send the status of the motion detector to the Hue Bridge. In this way, other lamps could be switched on without detours as soon as movement is detected by the camera.
Philips Hue is expected to officially launch its first smart home camera next week or the week after. The model without battery is expected to start at 199.95 euros, while the camera with battery is slightly more expensive at 249.95 euros.
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It’s strange they had to include Zigbee since the Hue bridge can support accessories connected on the Ethernet/IP side as well. You can for example have a network device toggling a virtualized switch configured in the bridge with attached rules exactly like for a Zigbee switch.
Even more so with the coming Matter support, as a Matter accessory, such as a Thread switch for example, would have to be handled from the Ethernet/IP side in a similar fashion.
I would actually find it more interesting if those cameras were using Matter.
Also, supporting wired Ethernet and PoE for power would actually make them more flexible to install and easier to configure as they’d be low power devices.