Once again I have received interesting news from the Philips Hue development team. Specifically, it’s about the integration of Bluetooth light bulbs into the official Philips Hue app. It will start with the update to version 4.11, which will be released in the coming weeks in the App Store and the Google Play Store.
In contrast to the past years, when Philips Hue always had numerous exciting outdoor novelties in its luggage at the beginning of the year, things are a bit more leisurely in 2022. Today, Philips Hue officially presented two new products, although they are not that new. It starts with the Philips Hue Calla, one of the oldest outdoor lights from Philips Hue.
It should be common knowledge by now that Philips Hue does not necessarily offer the cheapest products. This is quite understandable, after all, quality and performance are in many cases better than with cheaper alternatives. Moreover, one has to consider that Philips Hue, in contrast to some other manufacturers, also takes care of software development.
After the major update of the Hue app in early summer, which was not immediately well received by all users, the Philips Hue development team provided us with numerous exciting updates in the second half of the year. Especially the dynamic scenes and the gradient function are worth mentioning here. However, we have been waiting in vain for one function so far: natural light.
In the past few days I have sorted out some old lamps and sold them on eBay. Several buyers had no idea how to reset the lamps so that the new Bridge would find them immediately – although it is so easy with the dimmer switch. This is how easy it is to reset a Hue lamp I have often explained how to reset a lamp with the dimmer switch.
A few days later than I expected, but still in time for Christmas, Philips Hue has received another update. Among other things, version 4.10 brings seven colourful and Christmassy scenes, which you can now find in the Hue light scenes gallery. Also new is an option for Spotify integration. The developer team writes in the update description: “The new Style setting in the Sync tab makes your Philips Hue + Spotify even more customizable.
The development team of the Philips Hue app is currently preparing the next update. It is expected that version 4.10 of the Hue app will be released in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as early as next week. I can already tell you what new features the update will bring.
Secretly, quietly, Philips Hue has launched a new generation of its motion sensor. Okay, new generation might not be the right word, but in any case it is a new, improved hardware revision. The focus is on a new sensor lens that, according to my information, has a slightly higher sensitivity.
If you have been wondering in the past few weeks why the geofencing of your Hue app no longer works properly, then I can tell you today: It’s not your fault and it’s not the fault of Philips Hue that your lights no longer switch on and off reliably when you come home or leave home.
In August, the timers returned to the Philips Hue app, but one important function was missing until now: You could switch lamps on or off and activate scenes after the timer had expired, but you could not make the lamps flash. This is now possible again. To use the function, you must first create a timer – this can be done in the Automation area.
Fabian