Philips Hue’s basic idea for the Hue Secure cameras was pretty simple: they started with a closed system to only transmit camera recordings in encrypted form and thus offer a high level of data protection. Things are now a little different. Since December 2024, it has also been possible to access the live feed of a Hue Secure camera via the three platforms Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Samsung SmartThings – but then explicitly without encryption from device to device.
The Hue Secure cameras were launched just over a year ago. A lot has happened since then, there have been numerous updates and Philips Hue has also lowered the prices of the various cameras. Until now, however, the Hue Secure cameras were trapped in the Hue app – this is now changing with the latest update to the application.
Philips Hue has been offering its Hue Secure cameras for just over a year. In the meantime, the story has really taken off, with numerous improvements via software updates in recent months. Support for Amazon Alexa and Google Home was also announced at the beginning of September. Now I can finally give you a concrete time frame.
That I can still experience something like this. After the prices of numerous Philips Hue products have continued to rise in recent years, they are now going down. Since 1 October, Philips Hue Secure cameras have been offered at significantly lower prices. The price adjustment is permanent and applies to all markets.
The Philips Hue software team really can’t be accused of being idle this year. After numerous app updates, there is now a new firmware for the Hue Secure cameras with numerous improvements and bug fixes. One new feature sounds very promising, but I haven’t been able to try it out myself yet.
The Hue Secure camera was officially launched in October and firmware updates were released in November and December. The third major update has been available for around a week and takes care of many small details that also have practical implications. For example, the firmware update to version 1.2.10 improves the start time of the live stream, which you can watch directly in the Hue app.
Fabian1 Comment on Community question of the week: All about the Hue Secure alarm function Arming the system and activating the alarm auf Deutsch lesen Arming the system and activating the alarm
The Hue Secure system, which was launched around two months ago and so far consists of three different camera models and contact sensors, still has many unresolved issues. Today I would like to answer two interesting questions from the community about Hue Secure and the connected smart home cameras from Philips Hue as soon as more than one bridge is involved.
In my review of the Philips Hue Secure camera, I realised that video clips lasting a maximum of 15 seconds are recorded as soon as movement is detected. This was not sufficient in many cases and meant that events remained unobserved. Afterwards, Philips Hue even contacted me directly – it was a bug that would be fixed.
I had mixed feelings when I tested the Hue Secure camera. The integration into an existing Hue installation and the Hue app is really well done. In contrast to other smart home cameras, however, some functions and extras are still missing. From 14 November, Philips Hue will at least expand its hardware selection somewhat.
Earlier this week I published my review of the Hue Secure camera for you. The new cameras are perfectly integrated into the Hue system, but there is still room for improvement in some areas. Among other things, I found out that clips with a maximum length of 15 seconds are recorded when movements are detected.