Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, is further enhancing the user experience of millions of Philips Hue users around the globe as it launches the fourth generation of the Philips Hue app. Rebuilt from the ground up, the all-new Philips Hue app has been designed as the foundation for the future of smart lighting. New technologies improve app performance both in overall function and in communication with your smart lighting system, while also delivering an intuitive and enhanced user experience.

Select the perfect scene with ease in the improved Home tab

The app’s transformation is visible as soon as you open the redesigned Home tab. In this tab, users are now able to see all their lights and scenes in one glance with Tile View, making it possible to quickly control lights and set scenes without the need to navigate between different screens. The Home tab in the new app also features a Hue scene gallery, which allows users to easily discover and preview the collection of Philips Hue scenes, handcrafted by the brand's lighting experts. Another addition to the Home tab is the much-requested ability to switch between multiple Hue Bridges quickly. Users that have different homes in the same app, or separate Hue Bridges for different areas of the home, will now be able to control their smart lighting faster than ever before.

 

Access a suite of expanded automation possibilities

In the new app, users will no longer set routines — they will set automations instead. The former Routines tab is replaced by the new Automations tab, which offers more advanced options for customization, enabling users to easily personalize their smart lighting.

One of the most requested and anticipated updates is also now available: multi-user geofencing. When using a Coming home or Leaving home automation, the Hue app now checks whether anyone else is home before running the automation. So, when the person controlling the automation leaves the house, any household members also using the Hue app that are still at home will not be left in the dark.

Last but by no means least, the way automations based on sunset and sunrise work in the app has been improved. Users are now able to choose sunset, sunrise or a specific time to start the automation, as well as to turn off their lights after the automation is over.

Enhanced user friendliness and customization

In the fourth generation Hue app, over a hundred large and small improvements to the design were made, resulting in an app that is easier and more enjoyable to use day to day. For example, the settings for lights, Rooms, and Zones can now be configured in each section of the Home tab. If you want to add a new Hue light to a Room, this can now be done from the Room tab itself, as well as in Settings. In other words, the most-used configurations are in a more convenient place.

Organizing Entertainment areas is also easier — and more fun — with a new setup in 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 color so users know exactly which ones they refer to.

As world leader in the smart lighting industry, the focus of Philips Hue is to keep improving its products and services with the latest innovations. The millions of users worldwide of the Philips Hue app are at the basis of its new launch. We analyze suggestions and reviews and even co-create with our users via usability studies and beta apps. With the launch of the new Philips Hue app, we set the first milestone in the future of smart lighting. It’s the new Philips Hue experience, and this is just the beginning. We are excited to share more innovations in the rest of the year.”

George Yianni
Head of Technology Philips Hue at Signify

 

Dynamic scenes as first upcoming update

Signify has already announced an upcoming update to the new Hue app with dynamic scenes launching in summer 2021. With this feature, each of the lights in the Room or Zone will slowly transition through the different colors of the dynamic scene. Instead of each light staying at only one color, dynamic scenes introduce a new level of unique light effects — and create an atmosphere unlike any other.

The new Philips Hue app will be available for download in the App Store and the Google Play Store from June 3, 2021. Alternatively, during the week following the launch date, the app will be automatically updated for current Philips Hue app users through the App Store and the Google Play Store. 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. During this seamless process, they’ll learn about the app’s new features and changes.

For more information about the new Philips Hue app, please visit www.philips-hue.com/HueApp.