What is Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, actually doing with all our money? We keep asking ourselves this (not entirely serious) question when it comes to prices. Today I have the answer for you: you become a sponsor of a Formula 1 team. Okay, it wasn’t enough to become the main sponsor, but such a co-operation won’t be completely free either.
In the past, when it came to recessed spotlights, Philips Hue required two things in particular: Money and a decent installation depth. Up to now, a cavity of 10 centimetres was required if you wanted to install spotlights directly into the ceiling. The new Philips Hue Slim recessed light changes all that – now all you need is money.
Hue Labs, the former beta environment within the Philips Hue app, is now history. Almost all the functions that were previously only available exclusively there have already been integrated into the Hue app. Since the last update, motion sensors can also be grouped directly in the Hue app. I explain exactly how this works in this article.
I’m currently staying near Eindhoven, but for once not to visit Philips Hue’s headquarters. Instead, I’ve moved my home office to a holiday home for a few days. For this reason, I can’t give you a “real” impression of the new GU10 spots yet, but at least we can take a look at the technical data together.
With the update to version 5.19 of its app, Philips Hue has introduced several new functions, including the ability to combine several motion sensors into a group. For another new feature, however, I had to do some more research: “Start a ‘Go to sleep’ automation not only in the app, but also by pressing a button on a Hue switch or an iOS widget.”
Have you already complained about the price of the Hue Aurelle? You thought that the Hue Surimu was the end of the line? Then you were wrong. This week, Philips Hue has introduced another ceiling light that goes one better. The reder is the Philips Hue Datura. While you can get the largest and most expensive Hue Aurelle with White Ambiance technology including Hue dimmer switch for “only” 239.99 euros, the Hue Surimu in the same size, but with coloured light and without a switch, costs 329.99 euros.
I would like to draw your attention to a small price promotion. For readers from German-speaking countries, where there are often quite attractive offers, this may not be quite as exciting, but there are other countries too. In the USA or the UK in particular, Philips Hue is rarely available at heavily reduced prices, at least online.
The Philips Hue Lightguide is not entirely new, it has been with us for around a year and a half. However, the new releases from Philips Hue in June include a total of four new shapes. The previously available Lightguide Ellipse is joined by Edison, Triangle and a large and small Globe.
On Tuesday, Philips Hue not only launched new products on the market, but also a new software version. Version 5.19 of the Hue app is now available to download and offers several new features. One of these is Smart Scene Mapping, which is explained as follows in the update description: Every time you set a scene from the scene gallery, it’s now mapped to the lights in the space and what they’re used for.
Even before the official launch on Tuesday, I was able to tell you that Philips Hue will be launching another light strip. The Hue Solo Lightstrip is now available – in three versions. The 3 metre long light strip is available exclusively from the Philips Hue online shop, while the 5 and 10 metre lengths will also be available from independent retailers.
Fabian