While Philips Hue had leaked some information about the launch of a camera, it was at IFA Berlin that the leader in connected lighting officially unveiled its new Philips Hue Secure range, consisting of cameras and sensors to provide security-related features. Philips Hue Secure aims to keep an eye on your home in real time and trigger instant motion alerts, as well as light and sound alarms to deter unwanted visitors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9mEVc0DS9wPhilips Hue Secure cameras to monitor your home
Philips Hue cameras come with end-to-end encryption by default, ensuring the privacy of videos, photos, and live views. The ability to recognize whether a notification is triggered by a person, a pet, or a package runs on the camera itself and not in the cloud, meaning end-to-end encryption is always active. Suitable for use inside or outside the home, Philips Hue Secure cameras are available in wired and wireless versions, in black or white.
The Hue Secure Indoor Camera can also be complemented with a table stand, providing optimal flexibility in choosing its location within the home. For outdoor spaces, Philips Hue offers various camera systems that are easily installed and concealed. Thanks to the “plantable stake” camera stand, they can easily be positioned out of sight in a planter on a patio or directly in the ground in the garden. To keep a close eye on walkways, front doors, or more generally the entire outdoor space of the home, the Philips Hue Secure Camera is also available in a wall-mounted version, integrated with a floodlight that allows you to trigger a light alarm directly from the Philips Hue app and instantly illuminate a wide area in the color of your choice, such as bright white or even red. For all Philips Hue Secure cameras, a low-voltage outdoor charging cable and a fall-arrest cable are available, allowing you to easily connect the cameras to your existing Philips Hue outdoor installation. The Philips Hue Secure wired camera (black or white) will be available for €199.99 (or €229.99 with the desktop stand). The wireless version (black or white) will be available for €249.99.
A version incorporating a spotlight will be available in early 2024 for €349.99.
An opening sensor for even more functionality
Another new feature this fall is the Philips Hue Secure contact sensor, which can be easily positioned on doors, windows, or even cabinets.
Available in black or white, and connected via ZigBee, it sends real-time notifications when a door is opened or closed.
This makes it possible to program the sensor located on a front door to immediately turn on the hallway light and send a notification to the user, ensuring there are no intruders in the home. You can also use the contact sensor to automate your lighting throughout the home: for example, you can program your lights to turn on and off when you open and close a cabinet or the bathroom door.
The door sensor will be available for €39.99 or in a pack of two for €69.99.
New security center in the Philips Hue app
The Philips Hue app now includes a
control center designed to control your security system from an intuitive dashboard. When you receive a notification on your smartphone, tap your screen to open the app. From the “Act” window, manually trigger an alarm that will flash your lights, trigger your Hue Secure camera's siren, or call emergency services or a trusted person.The Philips Hue app also lets you customize every setting on your camera. Define your active motion detection zones: identify paths users may take and draw your motion detection zones to exclude areas you don't want the Hue Secure camera to detect, such as busy streets or neighboring houses, or where you want to maintain privacy. Users can easily arm and disarm the system, set specific activation states for when they're home or away, view a timeline of video recordings, and much more.
As a global leader in connected lighting, we know that light plays a major role in security. Having previously introduced innovations such as Philips Hue motion sensors and presence simulation via Mimic scenarios, we are naturally expanding our offering with a complete suite of solutions for everyday home security. By integrating our smart lighting system with cameras, contact sensors, and new features on our app, we offer a unique security solution through light to help users secure their homes. It doesn't stop there. We will continue to develop innovations to capitalize on the potential of lighting and security for all our users.
Jasper Vervoort, Philips Hue Business Leader at Signify. As with lighting and the long-standing motion sensor, the Philips Hue Bridge is required to access all Philips Hue Secure products and their advanced features, such as the contact sensor, the floodlight with integrated camera, the sound and light alarms, and the automations.
Additional security features, such as access to activity zones and whether the alert was triggered by a person, package, animal, or vehicle, can be activated with a paid subscription. The “Basic” subscription provides access to 30 days of video history (€3.99/month or €39.99/year per camera), while the “Plus” subscription offers 60 days of video history (€9.99/month or €99.99/year for 2 to 10 cameras).
Other new Philips Hue products
Philips Hue also unveiled other new lighting features. A new generation of Philips Hue Festavia light strings will be launched this fall. These lights can now be used both indoors and outdoors. In addition to creating a cozy indoor atmosphere for parties and special occasions, they can also be used to brighten up a backyard barbecue or get-together. The new light strings are available in three models: 100 LEDs on an 8-meter cord (€119.99), 250 LEDs on a 20-meter cord (€219.99), and 500 LEDs on a 40-meter cord (€359.99). Three new lighting effects, specially designed for Festavia, will be available in the Philips Hue app: Prism, Glisten (twinkles), and Opal. These effects will also be available for the first-generation Festavia string lights, while the Prism effect will be available for all Philips Hue products in the Color Ambiance range. The new Philips Hue MR16 smart bulb will allow you to integrate Philips Hue smart lighting into conventional spotlights throughout your home. The bulb operates on the same low 12V voltage as MR16 halogen bulbs, making it compatible with most 230V/12V transformers. Featuring a bi-pin base and a standard size, these bulbs fit perfectly, both in size and style, with most existing lighting fixtures. It will be available in a White Ambiance version (€39.99 or a pack of 2 for €64.99) and a “White and Color Ambiance” version for €64.99 (or a pack of 2 for €109.99).
Finally, all Philips Hue users will now be able to benefit from Matter interoperability thanks to a software update for the Philips Hue Bridge available in September 2023. With the launch of this software update, users will benefit from a simplified experience when connecting their Philips Hue system to other Matter-enabled devices and apps within the connected home.
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