Already with the launch of the new Philips Hue app, Signify has announced to deliver an exciting new feature this summer: Dynamic Scenes. After I already gave you the first key data around the new feature quite a while ago, there is now news. As I was told by several readers, the dynamic scenes are probably about to be launched and are to be officially introduced with the update to version 4.4 of the Hue app.
Next week it's finally that time again: Philips Hue will present new products. And what we already know from various leaks is more than promising: brighter bulbs, some gradient products, filament lamps with White Ambiance technology or E14 bases and, in all likelihood, a batch of new ceiling lights. Conversely, this also means that some Hue installations will grow in the coming weeks.
As announced by me last week, Philips Hue has now released version 4.3 of its app. And even though we still have to wait for proper widgets for iPhone and iPad – if anything will happen here at all – there are some new features. The first innovation listed by Philips Hue in the update description, however, is not new at all.
After version 4.2 of the Philips Hue app was released earlier this month and, among other things, the timers returned, work is now already underway on the next update. Version 4.3 should make it to the App Store in the coming weeks and brings some improvements. The Hue Light Scene Gallery, the area where you can select the predefined scenes, receives a visual makeover and is supplemented by two new groups with new scenes for Entertainment and Outdoor.
According to my information, it will be possible to buy numerous new Philips Hue products from September 1st. In the past few weeks, numerous products have already been leaked and it is already clear that a real spectacle will be set off. Because I can also assure you at this point: What I have listed in this article is not all.
If you opened the Software Update section in the Hue app this week, you may have wondered about the large amount of updates available. Signify has not yet commented on the details of the new firmware in the release notes, but I can provide you with more information. Philips Hue is laying the foundation for dynamic scenes with the current firmware update for virtually all light bulbs and sockets.
Philips Hue has released app version 4.2 for iOS and Android. And as of now, the timers are back. They are well hidden: You can find them in the “Automations” section and have to scroll down quite a bit – the timers have made it into the app as the penultimate function.
I could tell you stories now that would make you lose your faith. But now I'm not quite sure how serious Philips Hue is about keeping its new products secret. After all, they have just put some of the new products online in their own American shop. To be more precise, it's about the new generation of lamps that are supposed to offer a brightness of up to 1,100 lumens, which is almost 40 per cent brighter than the previous Hue lamps with a brightness of 806 lumens.
A normal Philips Hue lamp achieves 806 lumens. We have become used to this in recent years. We already know that this will soon change, because a month ago I was able to reveal new Hue bulbs that also manage up to 1,100 and 1,600 lumens. But that's not the only change we can look forward to.
Actually, it sounds pretty great: you can easily expand the Ambilight of your Philips TV with Philips Hue light sources. You don't even need the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box to do this, instead you just click through the TV menu a bit and you're ready to go. What sounds so simple, however, currently seems to be causing big problems again.
Fabian
Frederick