Summary
- Philips is always delivering new updates to its Hue app, offering new features and improvements.
- The latest update includes a new search feature that will make it easier to find specific lights, zones, and rooms.
- The new update also brings physical controls for sleep automation, along with improvements to the Hue Security Center.
Philips and its Hue brand have been around for some time now, offering a wide range of products that provide an easier way to make your home smarter. Perhaps the brand is best known for its lighting system, but it also offers security products like alarms, sensors, and cameras. But what really keeps its products range going are the constant improvements that are made through meaningful software updates.
In addition to the brand adding new features, it more recently delivered a huge update that brought a complete redesign of the app, making it even easier to control connected products and devices. Of course, it didn’t take long for Hue to add more functionality to its products, delivering a new way to easily access specific lights, zones, and rooms with its latest 5.23 update.
Let the search begin
This update should now be available on the Google Play Store according to Hueblog. And while there are a few new features to be found with this latest update, perhaps the most interesting is the ability to search for lights, rooms, and zones within the app. While this might not be a big deal for those that have only a few lights in their current Hue setup, it will be a lifesaver for those that have quite a bit.
While Bluetooth smart light setups are more restricted when it comes to the quantity of lights that can be setup, when you have a Hue system, you can connect up to 50 lights to one Hue Bridge. So as you can imagine, the latest search feature can be quite useful if you’re managing a high number of lights. In addition, the source also notes that new commands are in place that will allow users to start and stop sleep automation using physical controls like the Hue Dimmer and Smart Button Switch.
Furthermore, the new update will also allow users to quickly arm and disarm the alarm system using the Hue Security Center, which is found in the current Hue app. What’s great about all of this is that it really builds on previous updates, like version 5.22, which added the ability for Philips Hue cameras to automatically trigger the alarm, while also enabling users to easily arm and disarm the alarm from the app’s home view.
For the most part, these are all welcome changes, and can really be of use to most users. If you’ve never given Philips Hue a try, we recommend it when it comes to a smart lighting setup. Although it can be expensive, it is one of the most reliable on the market. And if you already have a setup, be sure to download the latest update to try out the new features.
