
If you own Philips Hue and you’re a fan of Apple HomeKit, you’re in luck. Philips announced that the promised new bridge that connects to Apple HomeKit is ready to roll out.
If you own Philips Hue and you’re a fan of Apple HomeKit, you’re in luck. Philips announced that the promised new bridge that connects to Apple HomeKit is ready to roll out.
Philips Hue launched in 2012, with a boom and bang in the growing market of systems connected to your WiFi. Its smart bulbs systems have raised the bar in home lightning, quickly becoming the reference point for smart home products.
Now, the new bridge works with your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch and Siri is there to take commands on your preferred ambient. Dim the lights for a relaxed, cosy atmosphere? One voice command away.
The new bridge has also suffered a redesign. From the circular hub that was released three years ago, Philips gave its new bridge a rounded square shape. Still, the device is able to connect to your WiFi, while leaving room for all the Philips Hue bulbs around the house to do the same and efficiently communicate with the device and with each other.
Now that the Apple HomeKit is integrated as well, Siri is there to help you set the mood throughout the house with just voice commands. The great thing is that the system works differentiated, which means that you can apply your own creativity to the mood setting in each room equipped with Philips Hue bulbs. If your bedroom should be ready for the well-deserved sleep and you have a certain light setting that you prefer, you order Siri to bring the lightning to those specific hues. The lights in the rest of the house will be unaffected.
Setting the ambient can be tricky. As such, there are already presets that come with Philips Hue. If you prefer your own, just set them, save them and make Siri remember them. Presets from Philips Hue have long been studied. According to the company, they have reached the point of creating ‘light recipes’ based on comprehensive studies on how lightning conditions affect our well-being and life. The type of mellow hues that are representative for a sunset for instance or necessary to calm our biorhythm before going to sleep increases the production of melatonin, which in turn helps us to relax.
Apple HomeKit and Philip Hues are one step ahead in the race for the Internet of things, providing a smarter framework for home lightning systems. The new Philips bridge is hitting the European and North American markets starting October 6th. The product will be sold by itself at 60 dollars.
If you already own Philips Hue, then you can trade it for the upgrade with a 20-dollar discount.
Photo Credits: Flickr