To round off the week, I would like to present you with some pretty tough news. It’s a press release from Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, which you can read here. In a nutshell, it’s about restructuring and planned savings of 200 million euros per year. The good news from our point of view is that the four business areas that Signify wants to focus on in future also include the consumer business area with the Philips Hue and WiZ brands.
I actually wanted to wait a few more days to make this little announcement, but there’s not much else going on today when it comes to Philips Hue. So let’s get this little announcement out of the way: Hueblog is back on Instagram. You can already find the first stylish pictures on the channel and of course there will be many more in the future.
There are already a number of ways to control the smart lamps from Philips Hue. Via app, automation, voice control or with smart accessories such as the Hue dimmer switch or the Hue motion sensor. There could soon be a magical new alternative to the motion sensor – and Philips Hue smart lamps will be at the centre of this.
The negative reports started piling up back in September, and there are already around 30 comments under one of my articles on the subject – and more are being added all the time. It’s about the link between Philips Hue and Amazon Alexa, which hasn’t been working properly for months.
There is one thing that really bothers me about Philips Hue: I have not been able to manage with one Hue Bridge in my house for a long time. The first problems can occur with 50 or more connected lamps, the hard limit is 63 lamps. And with several rooms and the outdoor area, this limit is reached more quickly than you might think.
Today I would like to address you with a few words on my own behalf. As you have probably already realised, I come from Germany and originally started Hueblog as a German blog. For a few years now, there has also been an English-language version on Hueblog.com, which I hope you enjoy visiting just as much.
A few weeks ago, I took a closer look at the WiZ Portrait desk lamp on our german Apple blog. For 99.99 euros, you get a desk lamp that you can use not only to illuminate your workspace, but also as a ring light during video conferences. In addition to the direct Matter integration, there is another particularly exciting detail about the WiZ Portrait: the desk lamp is powered via a USB-C port.
I had mixed feelings when I tested the Hue Secure camera. The integration into an existing Hue installation and the Hue app is really well done. In contrast to other smart home cameras, however, some functions and extras are still missing. From 14 November, Philips Hue will at least expand its hardware selection somewhat.
If you have lost a power cable of a light strip or need new mounts for your Lightbars, Philips Hue now has the right spare parts on offer. After the announcement in September, the official spare parts can now be ordered in the Hue online shop. For example, you can get mounts for the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Strip including new adhesive strips or a charging station for the Hue Go.
I actually didn’t think it would be such a big deal: Philips Hue wants to make registration with an account for the in-house system mandatory. I have always used Philips Hue with an account, but many of you actually don’t want to. In a small survey, more than 60 percent of the participating readers said they would prefer to use the Hue system without an account.
Fabian