New Philips Hue app increases the control you have over your home lighting

Signify is launching the latest fourth-generation Philips Hue app that has been fully rebuilt from the ground. In this new app, Signify said that more than a hundred improvements both large and small were made to performance, functionality, and communication with their smart lighting system.

The user interface is also tweaked with a redesigned Home tab that uses Tiles to show all of the user’s lights and scenes that are available at a glance and can be configured too. Rooms and Zones for example can now be configured in each section of the Home tab.

Want to set the lighting for your entertainment area? The new app’s setup shows an isometric 2.5D view to determine the exact location and height of the lights. To make it even simpler, the lights in the setup change their colour when indicated so users know exactly which ones they refer to.

Say bye-bye to Routines

Users of the previous app will have to bid farewell to Routines. This has been replaced by the new Automations tab, which offers more advanced options for customisation, enabling users to personalise their smart lighting. 

Automations based on sunset and sunrise have been improved with users able to choose sunset, sunrise, or a specific time to start and stop the Automation, as well as to turn off their lights after the Automation is completed. 

Multi-user geofencing is being included. What this does is to check the whole home for other household members running their own Hue Automations before running another and possibly leaving them in the dark if the lights are turned off due to an Automation command that isn't theirs.

Creating mood lighting with Scenes

Signify has announced an update to the Hue app arriving in summer 2021, will be bringing Dynamic Scenes.

With this feature, instead of each light staying at only one colour, each of the lights in the Room or Zone will slowly transition through the different colours of the dynamic scene.

Built with security in mind

During a briefing to the media on the new app, Ronald Geerlings, Global Product Manager for the Hue app said that security was the first thought they had when designing the new app.

Hue is committed to customer safety and the ongoing security of our products. To protect users, Hue strongly advises keeping your system up to date with the latest software and only download applications from the official iOS and Android app stores.

Downloading or updating the app

The new Philips Hue app will be available for download in the App Store and the Google Play Store from today. For users of the old app, updates will be rolled out through the App Store and Google Play Store in the coming week.

When opening the new app for the first time, users will be guided through migrating their current settings, light scenes, and Routines into the app.  

More information about the new Philips Hue app is available online .