Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue and WiZ, does much more than just smart lighting for our homes. Some time ago, I already reported on smart lighting in supermarkets and Signify is also quite active in sports. In addition to sponsoring the Mercedes team, the company is also responsible for lighting the temporary racetracks in Las Vegas and Singapore.
After around ten years as CEO of Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, Eric Rondolat is stepping down from his position. He will remain CEO until the Annual General Meeting on April 25, 2025, after which he will also step down from the Management Board. This was announced by the company this week.
There is one thing that always bothers me about Philips Hue, and that is the really thick power supply units. This may not be a problem when used alone on a wall socket, but with power strips at the latest, the space problems really start. Especially if you want to place several Lightstrips or table lamps such as the Hue Play Lightbar or Hue Gradient Signe in a corner of the room.
I came across Auro through a letter from a reader. It’s a new E27 bulb that can also be linked to the Philips Hue Bridge thanks to the Zigbee standard. The makers promise: “Auro brings light into your home that corresponds to your natural biorhythm.” Particularly impressive is the very high color rendering index of 95, which puts everything from Philips Hue in the shade.
Last week I was already able to tell you that Philips Hue Secure has received a (promised) new function: Schedules for the security system. With the update to version 5.34 of the Philips Hue app, the feature has now been officially announced once again. The manufacturer provides us with the following information in the update description.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance is not only responsible for the Matter smart home standard, but also takes care of the Zigbee protocol. This technology is used by numerous smart home devices to communicate with each other, including the Philips Hue Bridge and the numerous Philips Hue lamps. A new Zigbee function has now been officially announced: Ambient Sensing.
Philips Hue Secure was launched over a year ago with several camera models and contact sensors. Since then, we have been waiting for an essential function, as the system always had to be activated or deactivated manually. This has now changed – there is now a schedule function. This had already been announced in the past few days, as the update to version 5.33 of the Philips Hue app has already integrated the corresponding menu items into the official application.
Philips Hue only offers its own smart plug in a white version and most other smart plugs for Philips Hue and other smart home applications are equipped with a light-colored housing. Now the Dutch manufacturer Innr is going against the flow and offering its popular SP240 in black. The new smart plug is already listed on Amazon (just search for Innr SP240 in your country), the double pack is sold for a list price of 39.99 euros in Germany.
Last week, Philips Hue released the first update of the year for its app. Version 5.33 officially brings a small improvement for Gradient lamps. Under the hood, however, a little more seems to have happened with this update, especially with regard to Hue Secure. If you tap on the small plus symbol at the top right of the Automations section of the Philips Hue app, you will find a new type of automation at the bottom of the list: “Arming schedule – Automate your Secure system to arm and disarm at specific times.”
In September, Philips Hue launched the second generation of its Sync Box. The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K costs over 300 euros and, unlike most other Hue products, I have not yet tested it myself. Not only do I lack a suitable TV, but also a suitable HDMI device to really get to grips with the new Sync Box.
Fabian