On Wednesday, Philips Hue announced a brand-new feature that will be used for the first time during the upcoming World Cup. During each match, you’ll be able to make your Hue lights in the living room (or any other room in your home) light up in sync with the game. Today, I’d like to share a few more details about the new Hue Sports Live with you.
From June 11 to July 19, it’s that time of year again: the World Cup is just around the corner. Due to the time difference—the tournament is taking place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as you know—most matches will be held late at night for us in Europe. The perfect opportunity to pair the sporting event of the year with Philips Hue smart lighting.
In early January, Philips Hue announced a new feature: SpatialAware. This feature uses a smartphone to scan the lights in a room, recording their exact positions. Based on this data, selected lighting scenes can be perfectly tailored to the room. Above all, this ensures that ceiling lights no longer emit a hodgepodge of colors but instead focus on the white spectrum.
For several weeks now, the Matter integration between Philips Hue and Apple Home has been causing major issues. Following updates to the respective Apple platforms—such as the Apple TV or HomePod, which act as Matter border routers—all Hue devices become inaccessible. This primarily affects the Hue Bridge Pro, which simply isn’t designed for a traditional HomeKit connection.
Over the past few months, Philips Hue has significantly revamped the Room View in its app. Among other things, switches, sensors, timers, and automations are now visible alongside lights and scenes. Additionally, the order of the individual segments can now be customized. But that’s not enough for me personally. To make Hue Secure even more exciting in the future, Philips Hue should also integrate the camera preview into the Room View.
Since July 2024, Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, has been sponsoring the Mercedes team in Formula 1. This isn’t its only involvement in the premier class, as Signify lighting is even used during the night races on the street circuits in Las Vegas and Singapore—though without smart Hue features. Until now, only the Signify logo was visible on the Mercedes race cars.
Following the launch of MotionAware and the announcement of SpatialAware, Philips Hue is now moving forward with its next new product. The Dutch company announced the new PartyAware series today. Two new products will be available at launch in the summer of 2026. Just like MotionAware and SpatialAware, you’ll need the new Hue Bridge Pro for these as well—because they’re about much more than just light.
If you also use the Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell or another Philips Hue smart camera, you can now enjoy a small but handy new feature. In the event history, you can now switch to the next or previous clip even faster. Instead of always jumping back to the overview and then selecting the next video, you can now simply swipe left and right to go to the previous or next video.
Philips Hue continues to be active in terms of software development. Just over a week after the last firmware update for the Hue Bridge and Hue Bridge Pro, the next update is already here. For the Hue Bridge, the update is from version 1976081000 to version 1976124000. For the Hue Bridge Pro, the update is from version 2071258020 to version 2071280000.
Fabian6 Comments on AmbiScape: All the details on the successor of Ambilight+Hue Available in select Philips TVs starting in 2026 auf Deutsch lesen Available in select Philips TVs starting in 2026
With its new TVs for the 2026 model year, Philips TV is turning a new page. Instead of Ambilight+Hue, the company will now focus on AmbiScape—a feature that, for the first time, combines the familiar Ambilight with Matter-compatible lighting from various manufacturers. The approach sounds exciting, but it’s also a direct result of old conflicts.