A few weeks ago I was able to tell you which new Hue products would be launched in June. Now it seems that the release is imminent, because all of the new products are already listed on Amazon in Spain. In this article I will tell you which new products we can look forward to in the near future.
A few years ago, Apple completely overhauled the notification centre and thus also buried the widgets previously available there. With iOS 15, the widgets moved to the homescreen, but had a big problem there until now: they did not allow any interactions without opening the associated app. Since then, there has been no Philips Hue widget for iPhone and iPad.
The update to version 4.43 of the Philips Hue app is now available for download. The update description reads quite interestingly, because it says: “You can now invite users to your Philips Hue Home with an invitation link. In your Philips Hue account, go to Manage members > Add new member to send a link.”
The E14 luster lamp, which is only available here in Germany and the rest of the world as Hue White, has also been available in Japan for over a year as White Ambiance with a marginally larger E17 base. This will change in the coming weeks, as models with White Ambiance and White and Color Ambiance are about to be launched.
It’s time again to show you a small Hue installation from my own four walls. Nothing spectacular, but maybe something to stimulate your thoughts and reflections. The focus is on the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip for the PC. This has been on the market since last September and is available in three different configurations: for monitors from 24 to 27 and 32 to 34 inches or triple setups with three 24 to 27 inch screens.
Yesterday evening, Philips Hue released another update for its app, version 4.42 is now available for download. There don’t seem to be any obvious innovations, because the update description only says: “Various bug fixes and stability improvements.” However, it is possible that more has been done in the background. When I started the app for the first time after the update, it didn’t immediately want to connect to two of my three bridges and instead installed the first firmware update.
It wasn’t really a secret anymore, now the final details have been revealed. Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, has presented the first indoor camera of its budget brand WiZ. Just like the WiZ lights, the camera relies on a WLAN connection and is not directly compatible with Philips Hue. Compatibility is a good keyword.
Before I get back to more exciting topics tomorrow, I would like to share a little side note with you today. On Amazon, the Hue White E27 bulb is now sold with an alternative packaging. Functionally, however, nothing should have changed. While there are two smaller logos for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on normal Philips Hue packaging, we see a large “Works with Alexa” logo on this variation.
Regardless of whether it’s a large or small provider: When things don’t run smoothly, the most important thing is good support. Those who offer fast and good solutions can gain points with their customers. I tried the Philips Hue support this week and would like to tell you about my experience.
“Never change a running system” – this is a more than well-known wisdom from the IT world. The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, for example, has not received a single firmware update in the past year, with the last update dating back to 29 October 2021. If you have encountered one problem or another during this time, you might be helped with an update now.
Fabian