It looks like Philips Hue is gearing up to release an updated smart lighting hub. As clocked by Hueblog.com and users on Reddit, Hue briefly updated its website with mention of a previously unseen Hue Bridge Pro that brings new functionality to Phillips’ smart lighting ecosystem.
Mentions of the Hue Bridge Pro have since been removed from Hue’s own site, but the listing that briefly appeared teased some interesting details. The Bridge Pro is apparently faster than existing Bridge models, and individual Bridge Pro hubs will be able to connect to more lights at a time (existing Bridges have a limit of 63 lights per unit).
Most interestingly, the Bridge Pro will be able to “turn your smart lights into motion sensors” using a feature Hue calls MotionAware, which we actually first heard about in 2023. It seems likely MotionAware will work similarly to a feature developed by Hue parent company Singify called SpaceSense, which sees smart light bulbs detect motion by monitoring for changes in wireless signals.
We don’t know much about the Hue Bridge Pro; we’ve only seen a short description and a photo of it. That blurb mentions a higher bulb capacity, but doesn’t specify how many lights it supports. It’s also not clear how exactly MotionAware works. Signify’s SpaceSense requires two smart bulbs in the same area to function, so Hue’s implementation could be similar.
Some other new Hue stuff, too
Hue also spilled the beans on a handful of other new products that have since been removed from its site. As described by Hueblog.com, Hue briefly published images of the upcoming Wired Video Doorbell along with the detail that it’ll have a 2K resolution. There were also images of new indoor-outdoor Festavia string lights, as well as light strips.
Finally, Hue listed a new version of its standard E27 bulb that will apparently be capable of more precise color matching while also using less energy. These bulbs will also be able to dim to lower brightness levels than the current version can manage.
We don’t know when any of these products are meant to hit the market, but given Hue had imagery and descriptions lined up and ready to publish, it could be soon.
