Philips Hue – Smart Home Geeks

Philip Hue product releases leaked!

Henry McLean-Low — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 11:41:53 +0000

Signify is rumoured to be expanding its Philips Hue range to include designer filament bulbs. As well as a smart plug that will be controllable from the Philips Hue app. The plug will be their first move into other products outside lighting.

The news comes from a leak via Dutch tech website iCulture.

The funky bulbs will apparently be available in sizes: E27, ST19 and G93 with prices starting from £17.99. Based on the price we assume these will not be colour changing bulbs.

The leak also stated the bulbs would support Bluetooth, an interesting move and expansion on the current ZigBee support. This would remove the reliance on the Philips Hue hub.

It also contained a full line up of product coming this year, highlighting Bluetooth coming to updated versions of existing products:

Hue White Filament with Bluetooth: € 19.95 / ~£17.99
Hue White Filament Edison with Bluetooth: € 24.95 / ~£21.99
Hue White Filament Globe with Bluetooth: € 29.95 / ~£26.49
GU10 (white) new design with Bluetooth: € 19.95 / ~£17.99
GU10 (white ambiance) with Bluetooth: € 29.95 / ~£26.49
GU10 (white & colour) with Bluetooth: € 59.95 / ~£52.99
Candle E14 with Bluetooth: € 19.95 / ~£17.99
Hue GO V2 with Bluetooth: € 79.95 ~£17.99
Fugato spot (multiple configurations): from € 89.95 / ~£79.99
Argenta spot (multiple configurations): from € 89.95 / ~£79.99
Centura recessed spot (multiple configurations): from € 64.95 / ~£57.99
Adore mirror lamp (multiple configurations): from € 149.95 / ~£132.99
Adore bathroom spot (multiple configurations): from € 49.95 / ~£44.99
Smart Plug: € 29.95 / ~£26.99

Signify normally release their new products at the IFA 2019 Trade show in September. We look forward to seeing what is announced!

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Philips Hue at CES 2019

Henry McLean-Low — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 18:12:23 +0000

Signify, or as most people will know them Philips Hue, have just made some big announcement’s at CES Las Vegas. The worlds largest tech trade show.

Wireless Outdoor sensor – This is similar to their indoor sensor but designed for outside use. This fits with Philips Hues expansion into outdoor lights and allows motion to automatically activate lights. The sensor is battery powered with an impressive 2-year minimal life, as well as being weather proof with an IP54 rating. Priced at £39 / $49.95 and on sale in February 2019.

Discover outdoor floodlight – A floodlight that emits 16 Million colours as well as white. Welcome outdoor floodlight – This is a cheaper floodlight that only emits white light. Three different models of a “Econic Outdoor Wall Light” a stylish wall mounted outdoor light. These will all be on sale in February 2019.

Google Assistant Natural wakeup – use Google Assistant to set a natural wakeup sunrise on Hue. Philips Hue already supports this feature, but this allows users to be able to use Google to set a wakeup:
Vast expansion to its outdoor range – the new line up now includes:

“Hey Google, wake me up at 7am tomorrow!”

This has been a very busy year for Hue, releasing many products as well as friends of Hue integrations. We look forward to trying the new tech when it is released.

For more details visit the Philips Hue website.

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Philips Hue 3.0 update released

Henry McLean-Low — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 16:00:09 +0000

Philips Hue announced the release of their updated phone and tablet app in January 2018. The new app has now been globally rolled out hitting the UK this week.

Here is a quick video showing some of its features:

We have had a good play with the updated app and have to say its a big improvement. It is now much easier to control multiple smart lights and set scenes. If you have not yet updated to Philips Hue 3.0 App check for an update on your phone or tablet.

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Philips Hue app 3.0!

Henry McLean-Low — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000

Back in January 2018 Philips announced the planned released of the lasted update to their Philips Hue smart phone app for both iOS and Android, Philips Hue App 3.0

The release stated the update would come in Q2 2018 so anytime now!

According to Philips the app is totally redesigned taking into consideration comments feedback and ideas from its users.

The new app will improve daily use, and ensure seamless setup and integration of Hue accessories and new Philips Hue Entertainment partnership integrations. The interface will also enable consumers to instantly access their last used scenes, and to simply group lights and select their desired color temperature or color.

Philips did provide a sneak peak video:

Historically some 3rd party apps have overtaken Philips app in terms of functionality, for example Hue Disco and iConnectHue. So much so Philips even link to the apps in their own official app under ‘Apps we like’ interesting to see if this continues.

We are pretty excited to see what they have done and can’t wait to give it a go. What feature would you like most to see in the update app?

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3D Printing to the rescue!

Henry McLean-Low — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 07:55:58 +0000

How frustrating is it when you cannot find the perfect mount or accessory for your smart home tech. Simple solutions like corner mounts or switch covers that really should exist but just don’t!

Meet UK 3D Printing Company 3D Print Concepts who have tackled this problem.

The company is brainchild of Chris Crute, he commented:

“It’s nice to have something I designed appreciated by people!”

Their main product is Philips Hue dimmer lighting switch covers. The concept is simple the cover goes over your existing switch and allows you to mount the Hue dimmer on your wall. No rewiring or electrical skills are required.

They have created an impressive seven different variants to suit different wall switches including single, double and two dimmers. They even do custom designs for 4 way switches and non-standard installations.

They plan to expand the switch cover range with Philips Hue Tap, Philips Hue Living Colours and even IKEA Trådfri in their sights.

Their latest product is a mount for a Philips Hue Motion Sensor. The mount has been cleverly designed to maintain the discreet look of the sensor whilst allowing mounting in a corner, or on a ceiling with an angle of 20, 30, or 45 degrees.

It also works for using on a desk or surface.

To find out more about their 3D printed solutions have a look at their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/3DPrintConcepts/

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Philips lighting rebrands as Signify

Henry McLean-Low — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 08:32:28 +0000

Philips lighting, world leader in smart lighting, this week announced their new name – Signify!

Philips commented in their press release the name was chosen because:

“Light becomes an intelligent language, which connects and conveys meaning”

They will however continue to use the brand name Philips on their smart home products, for example Philips Hue. Eric Rondolat, CEO of Philips Lighting said:

“We’re excited to announce our new company name as another step in our transformation journey. Our new company name is a clear expression of our strategic vision and a fabulous opportunity to introduce a new corporate look and feel that is uniquely our own and will serve to further unite our 32,000 employees. At the same time, we remain proud to continue to use the Philips brand on our products.”

Slightly confusing however it all leads back to the fact Philips lighting is a separate listed company to Philips, also listed but as Royal Philips. Philips lighting had an agreement with Royal Philips to change it’s name less than 18 months after Royal Philips did not have a controlling share. They stopped having this in November 2017.

One other clear point is this opens up Philips to release items that are not just lighting – excited to see what the future holds!

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Philips Hue announces outdoor range

Henry McLean-Low — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 18:48:13 +0000

Philips Lighting today announced details of its anticipated Smart outdoor range, Philips Hue outdoor.

The new range joins the same ecosystem and communicates via ZigBee using the Philips Hue Hub.

Good news for existing Hue owners; the new range is fully compatible with existing setups with no need to upgrade your hub or existing hardware to integrate it.

It will also integrate with other Smart Home tech like Alexa and Google Assistant in the same way the existing range does. For example:

“Alexa turn the Garden Green”

Sridhar Kumaraswamy, Business Leader Home Systems & Luminaires at Philips Lighting said:

“Our customers are always looking for new ways to extend their smart lighting system and the new Philips Hue outdoor range takes it a huge step further,”

He went on to say:

“The Philips Hue outdoor range enables you to make the most of your outside areas, be it creating the ideal ambiance to host a BBQ at the weekend or beautifying your garden.”

Following the same approach as their existing Hue ranges, the new outdoor range comes in two types; Philips Hue white and Philips Hue white and color ambiance. As the name suggests the difference is one range supports colour whilst the other has all the features of automation and control but only works in white. The colour range boasts an impressive 16 million supported colours.

The new range initially has 3 products:

Philips Hue Lily a new spotlight with integrated outdoor case. Lily is designed to be used to highlight and illuminate your outside features.

Philips Hue Lily White & Color Outdoor Spot Light

Check the Price on Amazon UK Check the Price on Amazon US

Philips Hue Calla a bollard designed to be fitted in paths or driveways.

Philips Hue Calla Extension White and Colour Ambiance Smart Garden Pedestal Light

Check the Price on Amazon UK Check the Price on Amazon US

Philips Lily will retail for £265, that includes 3 light points. Calla bollard will retail for £125.

Less details are available for the Philips Hue White range however prices start from £62.

The new range is released in the UK in July 2018 – for further information have a look at: www.meethue.com

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Philips Hue Announces 3 big things!

Henry McLean-Low — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 11:49:04 +0000

To celebrate their 3rd birthday Philips Hue just announced 3 pretty big improvements coming to Hue!

Hue Entertainment

Philips has long been talking about “surround sound for the eyes”, Hue Entertainment takes that vision to the next level. It connects TV’s and consoles directly to the lights allowing them to change colour perfectly in time with the film or game you are playing – creating an ultra immersive experience.

Philips commented:

“We want Philips Hue to be a natural ingredient of any gaming, movie or audio experience, complementing action on the screen”

We know what you are thinking and no this does not require another hardware update, this is a software update, however you will need generation 2 hub. The technology does however require the content creators to integrate – from the demo image we can see Disney is already on board.

Brands can sign up to the program from October and it goes live customers in December – just in time for Christmas. See our Smart Home Gift Guide for Christmas 2017.

Hue Multi-packs

Soon you will be able to buy multi packs of Philips Hue bulbs, at a slightly better value than buying them separately. Although we are yet to see exact UK pricing. We can’t help but feel this is a response to competitors with lower pricing!

Commitment to ZigBee

As Philips Hue works on ZigBee’s lighting standard 3rd party bulbs can be added to its network. Recently IKEA made the jump and launched their own ZigBee bulbs. This made a lot of people question if this would be enough for Philips to move away from ZigBee to their own closed system. Fortunately for Hue users Phillips confirmed it is staying with ZigBee and will move to ZigBee 3.0 in 2018.

You can purchase Philips Hue products from Amazon UK.

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Philips Hue Review

Henry McLean-Low — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 10:44:58 +0000

Philip's Hue

Simple to setupAdvanced connectivityEasy to useGreat fun

Can be expensive

4.4Amazing

How it works

Cost

Connectivity

setup

Reader Rating 2 Votes

This is a We Own it review!

In this review we are looking at the new Philips Hue Hub 2.0 and a selection of the bulbs and strips.

What does it do?

Philips hue was one of the first wifi lights to come into the market. Since then they have endlessly improved, releasing more bulbs and added functionality.

We know what you’re thinking, added functionality to light bulbs?! These are not just lights they can do so much more for example Sun Rise, Sun Set or different moods for different activities. One of our favourites is focus for when working late.

How does it work & what is the tech?

For the Philips Hue to work you need a Philips hub. This was recently relaunched to be Apple Home compatible. Easiest way to see which Hub is which is:

Square Hub with rounded corners = 2
Round Hub = 1

(Note If buying your kit from eBay or it’s on sale check it’s not the old Hub as lots of these are still being sold).

The lights then communicate to the Hub and you can control them via the App or via other accessories.
The list of accessories is also huge, everything from motion sensors to special switches.

The lights integrate into Apple Home allowing easy control via Apple Home and Siri, commands like ‘Good night’ can turn every light off.

The lights communicate with each other and the bridge via the ZigBee protocol.

How easy is it to setup?

Very easy, the bulbs screw into existing lights and installation is done. All you need to do is plug in the hub to your router and setup is done.

The hue light strips are the same, you just stick them to the item you want to light – for example TV, connect to the hub via the app and done.

One of the great things about this is you can install it anywhere yourself without having to get in a pro.

What’s the connectivity?

Extensive! They call their integrations ‘Friends of Hue’, the list includes all the big names:

Google Home
Apple Homekit
Amazon Alexa
Nest
IFTTT

Logitech Harmony

How much does it cost?

Prices vary as it depends on what lights you want, to give you an idea:

Philips Hue White starter kit (as in the bulbs don’t change colour) with 2 bulbs and hub – £59

Philips Hue Colour and white starter kit with 3 bulbs and hub – £149

Philips Hue White Ambiance Single Bulb – £29.95
Philips Hue Colour and white Single Bulb – £49.95

Philips Hue Lightstrip – £69.99

What’s it like living with it?

Great fun as well as very useful! It never gets boring when family comes over and kids want to dance to the flashing lights, or when your working late and you need bright ‘day light’. We’ve never had any issues with any and we own a lot of Hue

What are our final thoughts?

These are epic – one of our favourite smart home gadgets. Very few downsides, apart from the price but that said the bulbs have a much longer life than standard bulbs and use a lot less energy.

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