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The Philips Hue Bridge is a well-known gadget, and the current generation has been with us for around 10 years now. Many of us would like to see a more powerful model with more memory to finally eliminate the limit of around 60 lamps. We all know that the current Hue Bridge has three status LEDs.
In September 2024, Philips Hue announced that it would be launching specially adapted and optimized kitchen lighting in collaboration with German kitchen manufacturer Nobilia. In addition to spotlights, light strips have also been added to the range—and I had the opportunity to try them out in my kitchen. Unfortunately, I can already tell you that it won’t be that easy for you to get your hands on them.
If you’ve taken a close look at your Philips Hue app in the last few days, you may have noticed a new version in the software updates section. All Philips Hue bulbs, lights, and light strips have been updated to version 1.122.8/20250213. Unfortunately, the release notes from Philips Hue do not yet provide any specific details.
The new Philips Hue Smart Button has been available for around a month. It offers exactly the same functions as its predecessor, but has a significantly different shape. The new Philips Hue Smart Button is bigger – but does that make it better? I explored this question in detail and created a short video, which you can now watch on YouTube.
For many years, we had to make do with the Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus. With 1,700 lumens, it was quite bright, but the spacing between the individual LEDs was really very large at six centimeters. It was not until the Philips Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip that the spacing was significantly reduced, as can be seen in the following image.
I don’t want to get too involved in politics, but I would still like to report on the impact this has had on Philips Hue users. As announced last week, prices for Philips Hue products in the US have risen as a result of tariffs. As of 1 July, it is now clear by how much: almost all Hue products in the US have become around 10 percent more expensive.
Voice control of Philips Hue with Alexa has now become a whole lot easier, at least if you use more than one Hue Bridge in your household. After what felt like an eternity, Philips Hue has finally delivered a feature that many of us have been waiting for for years. “Now you can use Alexa to control multiple bridges in your home”, says the update description for version 5.45.1, which is now available for download in the Apple App Store and will soon be available in the Google Play Store.
There is bad news for the many Hue fans in the United States: from July 1, numerous Philips Hue products will become even more expensive than they already are. The manufacturer announced this in a marketing newsletter at the beginning of the month and has now officially confirmed it to the Hueblog.
Along with the launch of new products last week, Philips Hue has made a significant change. This is not something that is done lightly, but rather after careful consideration. Philips Hue has changed its logo. This is clearly visible when comparing the old and new packaging. On the right side of the image, you can see part of the packaging for the new Philips Hue Play Wall Washer, which was unveiled last week.
In addition to the new Philips Hue Play Wallwasher, a new Philips Hue Smart Button was also released this week. Whether this is the second or third generation is debatable. One thing is clear: the new Hue Smart Button is significantly larger and more angular than its predecessor. I have gathered my first impressions for you and will be happy to answer any questions in the comments.
Fabian