Eindhoven, Netherlands – Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, today at IFA 2017 announced that it plans a new immersive entertainment capability that will enable Philips Hue to sync perfectly with all manner of entertainment content, bringing users thrilling immersive experiences when gaming, watching movies or listening to music. To mark the 5th birthday of the world’s most popular smart home lighting system, the company also announced enhanced smart home functionality for Apple HomeKit as well as new lamps, multi-packs and starter kits.

Philips Hue Entertainment - immersive ‘surround sound’ for the eyes

Philips Lighting announced today plans for Philips Hue Entertainment, a software update that takes home entertainment to a new level by synchronizing Philips Hue lights with movies, gaming and music content (including streamed content), provided in close collaboration with the entertainment industry. The new feature follows successful entertainment pilots with The Voice, Syfy and Live Nation. Philips Hue customers will have access to it in December through a free over-the-air update for all existing Philips Hue V2 bridges and all Philips Hue color-capable lights.

“Philips Hue Entertainment will be fast, synchronous and easy to set up. We want Philips Hue to be a natural ingredient of any gaming, movie or audio experience – delivering a new level of spatial immersion, complementing action on the screen. We like to think of it as surround sound for the eyes,” explains Chris Worp, Business Group Leader Home at Philips Lighting. “We are committed to developing Philips Hue Entertainment along with our partners and leading brands and invite players in the entertainment industry to join us. In October, we will open up an early access program which will allow partners to use our platform capabilities and entertainment developer kit to advance further this functionality ahead of our December launch. Together we will create a new generation of immersive entertainment experiences.”

For more information, or to become part of the Philips Hue Entertainment developments, check the developers’ pages of Meethue.com.

To read our tech blog on Philips Hue Entertainment, go to the blog page.

Extending smart home control

By October, Philips Hue’s Apple HomeKit compatibility will be extended to its range of accessories via the Philips Hue bridge, including Philips Hue tap, Philips Hue motion sensor and Philips Hue wireless dimmer switch. This means that with a press of a button, or movement of your body, you can activate your favorite Apple Home app scenes. For example, when your movie ends and it’s time for bed, with one press on the Philips Hue tap your Good Night scene in the Apple Home app is activated and your lights switch off. When integrated with other smart home devices, you could even make your window blinds shut, thermostat turn to night temperature settings and lock the doors – ensuring the perfect sleep time set-up. 

New lamps to supercharge your spaces 

Philips Lighting has added new lamps to the Philips Hue white ambiance range, including extensions to its white ambiance spot lights with the new Philips Hue white ambiance Buckram spots and Philips Hue white ambiance Buratto spots. These lights are eye-catchers for the living room or bedroom and provide the right ambiance for every moment of the day. Also new is the Philips Hue white ambiance Felicity table lamp for your bedside table, providing the perfect light to fall asleep and wake up to. A final new addition to the range is the Philips Hue white ambiance Struana, a connected bathroom lamp that allows you to change the light setting to support your daily routine: be that a bright light for applying make-up or shaving, or the perfect ambient light to relax in your own at home spa experience. All Philips Hue lamps come with a wireless dimmer switch (Europe only), allowing you to choose from four pre-set light recipes, dim and switch on and off the lamp out of the box. Connecting them to the Philips Hue bridge gives you access to all the benefits of the Philips Hue ecosystem.

A light recipe for each occasion

New in Europe this Autumn is the Philips Hue white ambiance Light Recipe Kit, which features a Philips Hue white ambiance E27 light bulb and a wireless dimmer switch. It works straight out of the box with no need for a bridge or internet connection, allowing you to select four pre-set Light Recipes: Relax, Read, Concentrate and Energize. Get your children ready for school with the Energize Light Recipe, or select the Concentrate Light Recipe for homework time, helping to make your family’s routine smoother. The Light Recipe kit is a great way to get started with Philips Hue or to extend your existing system. Simply add a bridge to unlock the full Philips Hue experience, when you want. 

Even more Hue! – new starter kits and bundles

To make it easier to get started with Philips Hue or extend your ecosystem, a variety of new starter kits and multi-packs will be available this Autumn. Following its launch in April, the Philips Hue white ambiance and Philips Hue white and color ambiance E14 candle will also be available in a 2-bulb multi-pack in Europe from September. Philips Hue white and Philips Hue white ambiance as well as Philips Hue white and color ambiance E27 and B22 multi-packs are also coming to Europe in September. The new starter kits will include an extra switch in Europe and an extra bulb in North America.

Philips Hue and Zigbee 3.0 compliance

Since its launch, Philips Hue has supported open interoperability using the Zigbee Light Link standard. This ensures that devices created by third parties can work alongside the official Philips Hue lights within the Hue ecosystem. Philips Lighting is committed to adopt the new standard, Zigbee 3.0, for the Philips Hue portfolio of products starting in the first quarter of 2018. 

The new Philips Hue white ambiance lamps are available in Europe and North America from Autumn 2017, while the Philips Hue white ambiance Light Recipe Kit is available now in North America, and from Autumn in Europe. More information on the Philips Hue Entertainment offering will follow later in 2017.