In recent years, Ikea’s Trådfri products have become a popular and, above all, affordable alternative to the originals from Philips Hue. Now the Swedish furniture store has launched a new light source. The new addition is a filament lamp with a globe form factor and a diameter of 95 millimetres. The colour temperature is fixed at a warm 2,200 Kelvin, and the maximum brightness of the dimmable lamp is stated at 470 lumens.
In social networks and also in comments here on the blog, I have stumbled across an issue again and again in recent months: Android smartphone users report that they can no longer find the Philips Hue app in the Google Play Store. Today I would like to explain to you what is causing this problem.
The Philips Hue development team seems to be working more in the background again at the moment, because the latest update to version 4.39 once again does not include any new functions. Instead, we can look forward to 10 new scenes. “As the weather starts to change, so does the Hue scene gallery,” reads the update description.
At the weekend I allowed myself a little fun on the German Hueblog website. Fittingly for April 1st, I published an announcement about the third generation Hue Bridge, which of course does not exist yet. I actually managed to fool many of you with this April Fool’s joke. Some of you were even deeply annoyed that I had led them around by the nose.
Even though there are apps and voice assistants, in my opinion there is no way around smart switches for Philips Hue. It is simply incredibly practical to be able to control the light directly from the sofa or in passing. There’s one question I keep stumbling over, the most recent of which was posed by Marian in our Community section: I intend to use a smart ceiling light with the Friends of Hue switches from Senic.
If you use an iPhone or iPad, the paid application iConnectHue (App Store link) is particularly useful for configuring switches and other accessory products. The industrious developer Stefan Göhler and his team constantly deliver new updates and functions. Since today, version 4.17 of the universal app for iPhone and iPad is available for download.
Since the launch of the new Hue app two years ago now, there has been one annoyance on iPhone and iPad: there are no more native widgets. The reason for this is the fact that Apple does not offer the homescreen widgets newly introduced with iOS 14 the possibility to perform an action without opening the associated app.
A fortnight ago, the Philips Hue Tap Dial was released with the new mini mount. While nothing has changed on the switch itself, you get to enjoy a new mount. While the previous mounting plate with its dimensions of just under 8 x 8 centimetres (in Europe) fit on common empty flush-mounted boxes, the new alternative is limited to a small mini mount with a diameter of only 4.8 centimetres.
FabianLeave a Comment on Philips Hue and Matter: No more concrete launch date Update was supposed to be available in the first quarter auf Deutsch lesen Update was supposed to be available in the first quarter
At the beginning of November 2022, the new smart home standard Matter is officially launched. Philips Hue is also one of the supporters of the new standard and announced at the launch: “The software update will be part of the regular updates for the Philips Hue Bridge and is expected to be available to all users in the first quarter of 2023.”
In summer 2018, Philips Hue launched its low-voltage outdoor series. Starting with Calla and Lily, the portfolio has now grown to dozens of different products, even the officially indoor-only Hue Festavia light chain uses the same cables and connectors. But it is precisely with these cables and connectors that Philips Hue seems to have at least minor problems with quality.
