I already had to announce it, but now the time has come: Philips Hue has increased the prices of almost all outdoor products and numerous ceiling lights. It will probably take a few more weeks until the changes reach the market. However, the new prices are already active in the official Philips Hue online shop.
In the smart lighting market, Philips Hue is an absolute premium product. The manufacturer also underlines this with the next price increase, which will affect almost all outdoor products and ceiling lights from February. I don’t necessarily have a problem with high prices – but then the quality should be right down to the last detail.
I already announced it last December, now I finally have more details: Numerous Philips Hue products will become significantly more expensive from 1 February. Most affected are ceiling lights and outdoor products. The biggest price increase will be for ceiling lights. Here, the increases amount to up to 40 euros. The list price of the large Hue Enrave, for example, will rise from 259.99 to 299.99 euros.
Back in February 2020, I wrote an article about how Philips Hue desperately needed multi-user support. But even three years later, there is still no way to limit the rights of individuals. The basic framework of Philips Hue has always made it so that control is only from one “account”.
More than a year after the original announcement, Philips Hue unlocked the new Natural Light feature yesterday. A 24-hour scene that provides the optimal white light throughout the different times of the day. Cool, activating white tones in the morning and relaxed warm white in the evening. The first big problem: Natural Light can so far only be activated manually in the app.
Last year, Philips Hue already announced the new “Natural Light” feature. After a bit of a false start in the summer, the new feature is finally available with the release of version 4.32 of the Philips Hue app. I would like to briefly introduce you to what you can expect. This is how Philips Hue explains its new feature Natural light uses different shades of warm-to-cool white light that are designed to help you stay productive and feel supported in your overall wellbeing.
Just before Christmas, Philips Hue probably didn’t dare to release the big new feature “Natural Light”. Nevertheless, there is an update – and there are actually some useful functions. If you have a Gradient Lightstrip or another Gradient light source, such as the Signe, in use, you can now also use the mirrored mode known from the Festavia light chain.
We really don’t need to discuss that Philips Hue is expensive fun. But apparently expensive is not yet expensive enough. After the prices were already increased in January 2021 for outdoor products and then in May for almost all other Hue devices, the next price increase is now imminent. According to my information, Philips Hue will adjust its official price recommendations again on February 1st 2023 – upwards.
It had been announced for a long time, but now the time has come: If you use the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, you no longer have to use the Hue Sync App to control it. With the update to version 4.31, the functions have been integrated into the Sync section of the Hue app.
I was able to tell you a few weeks ago that Philips Hue is planning to kill off the Sync app as well, following the end of the Bluetooth app. Instead of a separate app for the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, the entire functionality is to be integrated into the normal Hue app.
Fabian