It was the biggest launch in the history of Philips Hue. At the beginning of September, they set off a real fireworks display at the IFA in Berlin, well before New Year’s Eve. That same evening, the people in charge asked me what product I thought was still missing. “No idea,” was my spontaneous answer, after all, they had just presented me with 20 new things.
The Philips Hue Essential Flex was supposed to be released in December, but that’s not going to happen. Now that the simple Hue Essential Lightstrip has been launched in the US, at least, we’ll have to wait a little longer for its decorative sibling. The Hue Essential Flex is not yet available, but it will probably be ready in the first quarter of 2026.
At the end of the year, the developer of iConnectHue (App Store link) for iPhone and iPad has another surprise in store. There is a major update that adds support for the Hue Sync Box. However, there is one important point to note: the new feature is only available with a Pro membership.
Today is Sunday, which means it’s time for my little weekly review. However, since things were a little quiet around Christmas, there isn’t really any news that we can revisit here. Instead, I’d like to take a look at what we can hopefully expect in early 2026. Now that the new Hue Flux light strips have been on the market for a few weeks and are already being sold at really good prices, for example in Europe in the Christmas sale, we can expect additional accessories in the coming months.
I used the last few days for a short break before Christmas. With temperatures above 10 degrees, it wasn’t really wintery, but that’s set to change a little in the coming days, at least here in Germany. It’s already a little more wintery in the Philips Hue app. The eight Christmas scenes we’ve known for a while now are joined by eight more scenes in the new “Winter Whispers” section.
It’s hard to believe that the year is almost over. Only 10 days left until 2026. Before we get to that point and start speculating about what Philips Hue will bring to market in the new calendar year, I’d like to take a look back with you. Which new Philips Hue product did you like best this year?
The new light strips have been available in stores for a few weeks now, and I’ve already tried them out. Since day one, I’ve been getting questions about one topic in particular. What about accessories for the new light strips? Unfortunately, you’ll have to be patient a little longer. The accessories were originally supposed to be released in December, but that’s not going to happen.
Philips Hue has kept its word. When the Hue Bridge Pro was launched in September, the manufacturer announced that it would be possible to migrate more than one bridge before the end of the year. With the update to version 5.57.0 of the Hue app and an accompanying firmware update for the control centers, this very feature was delivered.
I’m using my time on the train home to bring you up to date on the latest software developments. Yesterday, we had our team meeting in Hanover, and on Thursday, we had the Philips Hue Christmas dinner in Hamburg. There, I actually picked up two previously announced items that are not yet available for purchase.
I currently have a few projects in the works involving Philips Hue. Among other things, I wanted to install a ten-meter-long Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip vertically across three floors in our stairwell. I also want to compare the image quality of the standard Hue Secure Camera with that of the Hue Secure Camera 2K.
Fabian