Get more out of your Philips Hue with these five great features!
24 January 2022
The fantastic smart bulbs from Philips Hue are taking their rightful place in homes around the country. The feature-packed, elegant smart light is simple to install, and it only takes a few minutes to bring the entire lamp collection into the 21st century, so you can adjust the brightness, turn your lamps on and off, and so much more from your phone.
But Hue is capable of more than you might think – and if you want to get as much out of your smart bulb as possible, then keep reading!
Multimedia synchronisation
Philips Hue Color can be synchronised to videos, games, and music. Find the Hue Sync application on your PC or Mac, and once that’s downloaded, the Hue lamps can keep up with whatever is happening on your computer screen. Likewise, you can get your smart bulbs to blink in time with the music at your next party as Philips Hue can be integrated with Spotify on your phone, and just like that, your living room becomes a night club. Of course, Philips Hue doesn’t want your TV to feel left out, so the smart bulbs can also shine in time with your favourite films and series—all you need is a Hue Sync Box or Hue Play Gradient Light Strip.
The perfect light to start the day
There’s nothing like waking up to warm rays of sunlight sneaking past the curtains to remind us that the sun is coming up – the problem is that work, kids, and responsibilities mean that our days don’t necessarily start the natural way.
That is why it is phenomenal that Philips Hue can mimic the sunrise. All it takes is a few taps in the Philips Hue App, and you are all set for a softer start to your day!
Trick the burglars with Advance Presence Mimicking
Many of us remember the scene in Home Alone where Kevin fakes a Christmas party with music, lights, and cardboard figures to make the two burglars think that he isn’t actually home alone—and this fourth feature is, no doubt, inspired by that.
With Advance Presence Mimicking, you can set your Philips Hue lamps to turn on and off randomly around the house, giving lurking villains the impression that someone’s home. Use it when you’re out of town, and scare away potential burglars just like Kevin. You can even go the extra mile and stick a cardboard figure on your robot vacuum cleaner!
Get a warm welcome
The sun has a tendency to go down before we come home during the winter – and what’s worse than fumbling for the switch when you’re holding shopping bags, kids, keys, and a work bag? That’s a thing of the past because the Philips Hue app can communicate with the GPS in your phone. Tell your bridge to turn on the light ahead of time, and let your lamps welcome you home!
”If that, then this”
One of the smartest things about Philips Hue is that the small smart bulbs can communicate about all sorts of things. This means that you can integrate your light with more or less anything you can think of – and there are various tools for this task.
We recommend IFTTT. It stands for ”If that, then this,” and it’s a free website and app that lets you tell Philips Hue to react to various things and prompts. You can program all you want on the intuitive website, but you can also use other people’s programmes. We recommend Make a grand entrance with Philips Hue, which makes your lamps light up in rotating colours when you come home or If ISS passes over your location blink all Philips Hue lights, which gives you an unmissable reminder when the International Space Station flies over your house.
Tools like IFTTT can expand your Philips Hue functionality if you don’t feel like you’re getting enough out of your bulbs already. We hope we’ve helped you discover how you can make the most of your Philips Hue – or perhaps inspired you to buy your first Hue bulb!
Find our range of Philips Hue products here!
But Hue is capable of more than you might think – and if you want to get as much out of your smart bulb as possible, then keep reading!
Multimedia synchronisation
Philips Hue Color can be synchronised to videos, games, and music. Find the Hue Sync application on your PC or Mac, and once that’s downloaded, the Hue lamps can keep up with whatever is happening on your computer screen. Likewise, you can get your smart bulbs to blink in time with the music at your next party as Philips Hue can be integrated with Spotify on your phone, and just like that, your living room becomes a night club. Of course, Philips Hue doesn’t want your TV to feel left out, so the smart bulbs can also shine in time with your favourite films and series—all you need is a Hue Sync Box or Hue Play Gradient Light Strip.
The perfect light to start the day
There’s nothing like waking up to warm rays of sunlight sneaking past the curtains to remind us that the sun is coming up – the problem is that work, kids, and responsibilities mean that our days don’t necessarily start the natural way.
That is why it is phenomenal that Philips Hue can mimic the sunrise. All it takes is a few taps in the Philips Hue App, and you are all set for a softer start to your day!
Trick the burglars with Advance Presence Mimicking
Many of us remember the scene in Home Alone where Kevin fakes a Christmas party with music, lights, and cardboard figures to make the two burglars think that he isn’t actually home alone—and this fourth feature is, no doubt, inspired by that.
With Advance Presence Mimicking, you can set your Philips Hue lamps to turn on and off randomly around the house, giving lurking villains the impression that someone’s home. Use it when you’re out of town, and scare away potential burglars just like Kevin. You can even go the extra mile and stick a cardboard figure on your robot vacuum cleaner!
Get a warm welcome
The sun has a tendency to go down before we come home during the winter – and what’s worse than fumbling for the switch when you’re holding shopping bags, kids, keys, and a work bag? That’s a thing of the past because the Philips Hue app can communicate with the GPS in your phone. Tell your bridge to turn on the light ahead of time, and let your lamps welcome you home!
”If that, then this”
One of the smartest things about Philips Hue is that the small smart bulbs can communicate about all sorts of things. This means that you can integrate your light with more or less anything you can think of – and there are various tools for this task.
We recommend IFTTT. It stands for ”If that, then this,” and it’s a free website and app that lets you tell Philips Hue to react to various things and prompts. You can program all you want on the intuitive website, but you can also use other people’s programmes. We recommend Make a grand entrance with Philips Hue, which makes your lamps light up in rotating colours when you come home or If ISS passes over your location blink all Philips Hue lights, which gives you an unmissable reminder when the International Space Station flies over your house.
Tools like IFTTT can expand your Philips Hue functionality if you don’t feel like you’re getting enough out of your bulbs already. We hope we’ve helped you discover how you can make the most of your Philips Hue – or perhaps inspired you to buy your first Hue bulb!
Find our range of Philips Hue products here!