Philips Hue and voice control with Alexa have been around for what feels like forever. Okay, except for those times when the Hue skill isn’t working properly again. As far as I know, the problems from the summer have now been resolved. And who knows, maybe you’re in the market for a new speaker?
In recent years, TP Vision and Signify, the two companies behind Ambilight televisions and Philips Hue, have not worked particularly well together. Since 2023, Philips TVs have no longer been equipped with Ambilight+Hue, and currently, the Hue Bridge Pro cannot be paired with older TVs. Now there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, even if not all the information is known yet: AmbiScape.
Another early launch in the Hue world. After the Flux Lightstrip was launched ahead of schedule, the Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip has now suffered the same fate. Unfortunately, not in Europe, but only in the US. Of course, I ordered one anyway. And at the end of the day, it’s better this way than if the light strip were to arrive late.
This week, it was that time again: Philips Hue launched a new product. The Hue Flux Lightstrip had already been announced, of course, but now it’s available to buy. It arrived in the Philips Hue online store on Tuesday – and a good 24 hours later, I had it in my hands.
The partnership between Sonos and Philips Hue was officially announced at the Hue event in Berlin. The focus is initially on Sonos Voice Control. With Sonos’ locally operating voice assistant, you can now also control Philips Hue lights. Sonos has now made the final preparations for the launch of the feature and released an app update announcing the control of Hue lights.
Until now, I have only published my personal weekly reviews of Philips Hue on the German-language Hueblog. But now there is so much going on here that I would also like to look back on the news of the last seven days on Hueblog.com. I hope you enjoy this additional content.
As part of the IFA, Philips Hue hosted a major media event at Café Moskau in Berlin on Wednesday evening. After an official press conference, at which Hue inventor George Yianni, among others, spoke, all the new products could be viewed and tried out in various demo areas. I have already provided a complete overview of all the new products, which will be released in 2025 and, in some cases, not until 2026 in the US, in a separate article.
Fabian3 Comments on Hue Secure cameras are finally integrated in Apple Home An overview of the software updates for Philips Hue auf Deutsch lesen An overview of the software updates for Philips Hue
In addition to the new hardware, Philips Hue has also announced numerous new software features today. In this article, I would like to give you an initial overview before going into more detail about the individual features at a later date. MotionAware in particular deserves its own article. Hue MotionAware comes exclusively with the Hue Bridge Pro There are two hurdles you need to overcome in order to use Hue MotionAware.
With the big Hue event coming up this Wednesday and the launch day on Thursday, there aren’t many questions left unanswered. Philips Hue has already briefly shown most of the new products on its own website, and I’ve now gathered lots more information for you. For example, about the Hue Bridge Pro, the Festavia Globe, the new Hue Essential bulbs, and one of several new light strips.
Just under a week before the launch of the new products, which you are now well informed about, Philips Hue has begun distributing a software update for the existing Hue Bridge. You should receive software version 1973038060 in the next few days. Normally, it will be installed automatically, or you will be notified when you open the Hue app that the update is necessary and now available.