Yesterday evening, Philips Hue released an update for its application. After the announcement at the beginning of September, we are waiting for some exciting features, but unfortunately I have to disappoint you here. It’s only a small update – but I don’t want to leave it unmentioned for the sake of completeness.
At the beginning of September, Philips Hue not only presented several new products at the Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin, but also numerous new software features. For example, the multi-bridge support was explained in detail and an impressive augmented reality function was shown. Unfortunately, I didn’t actually think to enquire about the possible backup function, which I reported on earlier this year.
One question has been asked again and again over the past few days, perhaps because of the announcement of the new Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K: When is the Hue Sync app finally coming to other TVs? A year and a half after its launch, the €129 application is still only available on Samsung televisions.
Exactly 20 years ago, the first Philips TV with integrated Ambilight was presented at IFA 2004. Since then, 35 million TVs have been sold and 80 percent of buyers do not want to do without the backlight on their next TV. I feel the same way, so today I would like to take a look back and ahead.
On Thursday, Philips Hue presented its new products for the autumn. The launch of the new multi-bridge support is certainly particularly exciting for many power users, but what really impressed me at the demo event in Berlin was the new augmented reality for virtually trying out Hue products. At the IFA 2024 event in Berlin, Philips Hue did not provide any specific details about these two functions or the launch of the new effects.
At the beginning of July, Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, announced its partnership with the Mercedes Formula 1 team. At least in sporting terms, things have been going more than brilliantly since then, with two victories after a long dry spell. But what exactly does Signify want to achieve with the partnership?
The Hueblog readership also experienced the problem that I had to report on at the beginning of the week: dimmed Philips Hue lamps can suddenly light up with 100 per cent brightness. Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, had pointed out an error in the communication with the smart home standard Matter.
Last week, I already received the first letters on the subject, but was not yet able to understand the whole thing. A report from The Verge now gives us more information. But what is it all about? Apparently, in some cases Philips Hue lamps suddenly switch to full brightness, even when they are dimmed.
What is Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, actually doing with all our money? We keep asking ourselves this (not entirely serious) question when it comes to prices. Today I have the answer for you: you become a sponsor of a Formula 1 team. Okay, it wasn’t enough to become the main sponsor, but such a co-operation won’t be completely free either.
With the update to version 5.19 of its app, Philips Hue has introduced several new functions, including the ability to combine several motion sensors into a group. For another new feature, however, I had to do some more research: “Start a ‘Go to sleep’ automation not only in the app, but also by pressing a button on a Hue switch or an iOS widget.”
Fabian