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.
After the update to version 4.40, it wasn’t worth writing a separate article because the new features weren’t visible at all. Only with the update to version 4.41 does Philips Hue show the latest products from the in-house portfolio in the Discover section of the Hue app. A change in the Hue app that can hardly be surpassed in terms of excitement.
The Lightguide collection from Philips Hue, which was officially launched in September 2022, has not exactly gone according to plan so far. After the first models had just gone on sale, sales were stopped again a short time later. Our own experience and numerous reader reports showed that the light sources fogged up inside.
From my point of view, it was already a big step forward when Philips Hue added White Ambiance models to its filament collection in late summer 2021. The different shades of white are a real added value, because previously you had to rely on 2,100 Kelvin with the Hue White Filaments and thus on a very warm light setting.
Approval documents already suggested it at the beginning of the year, then yesterday the first product photos surfaced. Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, will launch a smart home camera. However, not in the Hue cosmos, but for the independently operating WiFi system of the WiZ brand. Works with Nest has since been discontinued However, the topic of Philips Hue and camera is not entirely new.
Approval documents have already suggested it earlier this year, now we can deliver the first pictures. The French manufacturer WiZ, which was taken over by Signify a few years ago, will probably soon bring a surveillance camera onto the market. The first product photo shows the packaging of the “Home Monitoring Starter Kit”.
Fabian