FabianIn October, Philips Hue will not only launch its first video doorbell, but also deliver an improved version of the Hue Secure camera for the first time in two years. While the design remains unchanged, the resolution has been tweaked.
Until now, all Hue Secure cameras have unfortunately only offered a resolution of 1080p. That’s 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The new generation, which will be launched in October, will offer 2K resolution. This unofficial standard is often referred to as QHD and usually has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels.
I have tried to visualize what this means in practice in the following image. Incidentally, 1080p has 2,073,600 pixels, while 2K has 3,686,400 pixels. That is an increase of more than 75 percent, not quite double the resolution.
It wasn’t enough for 4K, which would be 3,840 x 2,160 pixels – a total of 8,294,400 pixels.
The Hue Secure camera is becoming more expensive again
With the improved resolution, the price is also rising again. After the Hue Secure Camera with stand was launched in fall 2023 for €229.99, the list price for this model has been reduced to €169.99 this year. The new model with improved resolution and stand, on the other hand, has a recommended retail price of €199.99. Unfortunately, the new 2K model has only been announced for mainland Europe so far, with no information available on its market launch in the US or UK.
Apart from the resolution, however, nothing else has changed; all other details remain the same. The new software features, such as the detection of beeping smoke alarms, will also be available on the old camera models.
There does not appear to be a 2K upgrade for the floodlight camera; at least, nothing has been announced and there is no information to that effect on the Hue website. This is a little surprising, because all that would be needed to bring the floodlight camera up to date would be to replace the camera module.
Hue Secure Camera 2K
from €179.99
