Philips Hue continues to refine its software and is rolling out updates in two categories. Let’s start with a quick look at the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 4K. The new model is receiving a firmware update to version 3.5.2, which is intended to improve stability during long-term operation.
Over the past few days, I’ve received a noticeable number of emails and comments on one topic: Philips Hue devices are no longer accessible in Apple Home. Many users are also unable to establish a new connection to the Hue Bridge Pro via Matter. Unfortunately, I have not yet received an official statement from Philips Hue on this issue.
Philips Hue introduced its first Hue Secure cameras just over two years ago. Since then, there has been a first hardware upgrade with 2K resolution and a brand new product in the form of the Hue Secure Video Doorbell. However, Apple Home is still not supported as a smart home platform.
With the big Hue event coming up this Wednesday and the launch day on Thursday, there aren’t many questions left unanswered. Philips Hue has already briefly shown most of the new products on its own website, and I’ve now gathered lots more information for you. For example, about the Hue Bridge Pro, the Festavia Globe, the new Hue Essential bulbs, and one of several new light strips.
Philips Hue was one of the first partners to offer official Matter integration. Since November 2022, it has been possible to connect the Hue Bridge to the Matter smart home standard, at that time still as a beta. The official launch followed in September 2023. Now it seems that something is happening again with Philips Hue and Matter.
The Hueblog readership also experienced the problem that I had to report on at the beginning of the week: dimmed Philips Hue lamps can suddenly light up with 100 per cent brightness. Signify, the manufacturer of Philips Hue, had pointed out an error in the communication with the smart home standard Matter.
Last week, I already received the first letters on the subject, but was not yet able to understand the whole thing. A report from The Verge now gives us more information. But what is it all about? Apparently, in some cases Philips Hue lamps suddenly switch to full brightness, even when they are dimmed.
The negative reports started piling up back in September, and there are already around 30 comments under one of my articles on the subject – and more are being added all the time. It’s about the link between Philips Hue and Amazon Alexa, which hasn’t been working properly for months.
Actually, it was supposed to be ready in spring, in the end we had to be patient a bit longer. But now it is here: Matter support for Philips Hue. As of now, it can be activated in the settings of the Hue app – but there are some details to keep in mind.
Actually, it was supposed to be ready in spring, but in the end it took a little longer than planned. In the context of the IFA announcement, Philips Hue has now announced that the Matter update for the Hue Bridge, which was promised last year, will be rolled out in September.
Fabian