It is only through the numerous applications from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store that Philips Hue has become what it is today. Here you’ll find the best apps for your smart light.
For years I have been using iConnectHue (App Store-Link) to configure my Hue system. From my point of view, the universal app for iPhone and iPad has only one major shortcoming: it doesn't really look that great. The look just doesn't appeal to me to use the app for the daily control of the Hue system.
A few years ago, Apple completely overhauled the notification centre and thus also buried the widgets previously available there. With iOS 15, the widgets moved to the homescreen, but had a big problem there until now: they did not allow any interactions without opening the associated app. Since then, there has been no Philips Hue widget for iPhone and iPad.
The update to version 4.43 of the Philips Hue app is now available for download. The update description reads quite interestingly, because it says: “You can now invite users to your Philips Hue Home with an invitation link. In your Philips Hue account, go to Manage members > Add new member to send a link.”
Yesterday evening, Philips Hue released another update for its app, version 4.42 is now available for download. There don't seem to be any obvious innovations, because the update description only says: “Various bug fixes and stability improvements.” However, it is possible that more has been done in the background. When I started the app for the first time after the update, it didn't immediately want to connect to two of my three bridges and instead installed the first firmware update.
After the update to version 4.40, it wasn't worth writing a separate article because the new features weren't visible at all. Only with the update to version 4.41 does Philips Hue show the latest products from the in-house portfolio in the Discover section of the Hue app. A change in the Hue app that can hardly be surpassed in terms of excitement.
It is now more than a month since Philips Hue announced on 10 March within its in-house app that you can now manage access to your luminaires. Member management was activated. But this new function has no real function so far. In the settings for the respective home, you can find the corresponding area for management, but there is no indication of how you can add a new member.
The Philips Hue development team seems to be working more in the background again at the moment, because the latest update to version 4.39 once again does not include any new functions. Instead, we can look forward to 10 new scenes. “As the weather starts to change, so does the Hue scene gallery,” reads the update description.
If you use an iPhone or iPad, the paid application iConnectHue (App Store link) is particularly useful for configuring switches and other accessory products. The industrious developer Stefan Göhler and his team constantly deliver new updates and functions. Since today, version 4.17 of the universal app for iPhone and iPad is available for download.
About a month ago I was able to report that Philips Hue is planning a member management for its Hue app. In future, a distinction is to be made between members and admins. Now the function has officially arrived in the Hue app. At least that's what the manufacturer writes in the Discover section of the app: Manage access to your lights: Want to share access to your lights with other people?
Yesterday evening, Philips Hue released another update of its in-house application in the App Store. Version 4.37 is now available and it includes another feature for the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box. “You can now set up Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice commands for the Philips Hue Play HDMI sync box in the Philips Hue app”, the update description for version 4.37 reads.
Fabian
Frederick