Newsletter
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Philips Hue is going to support Matter. Yeah, this was announced last year, but after a few delays, it looks like it is finally going to start rolling out next month.
It’ll come to the Philips Hue Bridge in the form of a software update, in September. There’s no word just yet on when in September, but just September.
This software update is going to be huge. For one, it’s going to allow customers to use their existing Hue systems with Matter devices and apps. So that every existing Philips Hue product, from as far back as 2012, will work on Matter. Now that, is a huge deal.
So what is Matter? Well to put it in simple terms, it’s a protocol that will allow smart home products to work cross platform. So your smart speaker can use Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa. And you don’t need to buy a smart light that works with your specific assistant, as they will work with all three. It’s been pioneered by Apple, Amazon and Google actually, along with a number of other smart home companies.
Philips Hue had quite a few announcements for IFA this year
On top of this announcement about Matter, Philips Hue also debuted a handful of new security products. It debuted its first Secure Camera, which is also available with a floodlight. The name is quite on the nose, since it does support end-to-end encryption or E2EE. This is not new for smart home cameras, but it is good to see.
Hue also announced new contact sensors for doors and windows in your home. Which will alert you when they are opened. Of course, the contact sensors and the new Secure Cameras will all work with your Philips Hue lights. The cameras also have built-in sirens to help scare off intruders.