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Philips Introduces New Hue Motion Sensor, Updated Bulbs

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Philips today announced the newest addition to its Hue line of lights and accessories, debuting the new Philips Hue Motion Sensor. The Hue Motion Sensor is designed to allow Philips Hue users to control their lights automatically as they move through their homes.

The Motion Sensor connects to a Hue Bridge and because it's wireless and powered via battery, it can be placed anywhere in the home - a bookshelf, a side table, a wall, a ceiling, etc. Once in position, the motion detection feature can be adjusted to the ideal position and it will perform set actions like turning the lights on or off whenever activated.

huemotionsensorwall.jpg
"The Philips Hue motion sensor not only provides hands-free control but also helps deliver peace of mind. You can be guided safely throughout your home at night with lighting," said Sridhar Kumaraswamy, Business Leader, Home Systems, Philips Lighting. "Plus, you no longer have to remind the kids to turn off the lights when leaving a room. The reliable detection the motion sensor provides when you exit supports this and also helps you be more energy efficient."
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The Hue Motion sensor is highly customizable and supports personalized settings ranging from a soft, subdued light at night to set scenes during the day. It also has a built-in daylight sensor so it can turn lights on and off based on the time of day, and it has an instantaneous reaction time, adjusting lights within .5 seconds of being activated. Up to 12 Motion Sensors can be connected to a single bridge for a fully automated home lighting experience.

huemotionsensorapp.jpg

Along with the Motion Sensor, Philips is introducing updated Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 bulbs that feature richer greens and blues, a feature Hue owners have long desired. The new bulbs offer bolder, brighter colors than existing bulbs. Two new Philips Hue White Ambiance bulb extensions are also available, including BR-30 and GU-10 variants.

Philips' new Motion Sensor is priced at $39.95 and will be available from the Philips Hue website, Amazon.com, and Best Buy starting in October of 2016. The new Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 bulbs and the new BR-30 and GU-10 bulb variants will also be available in October.

Article Link: Philips Introduces New Hue Motion Sensor, Updated Bulbs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/08/29/philips-hue-motion-sensor/
40 bucks seems a bit steep, if they expect us to scatter these all throughout the house. I love my Hue(s) but I'll stick with the switch.
 
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I wouldn't recommend these unless they first fix their app and bridge. The problem is that setting routines and on and off times doesn't pay enough attention to the time of day and the last state of the bulbs, or what they ought to turn on to. For example, I set a bedtime routine through their app. This is supposed to fade the lights through warm light to eventual darkness (off). Last night, before it kicked in, I was watching a movie and had the lights dark blue, almost off (~5% brightness). When the bedtime routine kicked in, the lights suddenly went to what I guess was 75% brightness at a slightly golden white color. This was jarring. On top of that, the lights never fade in this routine to dark orange or red, instead staying at a slightly warm white. The bulbs can't go very dark at this color, so right at your scheduled bedtime, they just go dark. App needs work before we add more gadgets to it.
 
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The sensor sounds useful, especially to turn off lights with daylight and on at night.

This would probably explain why the hue bulbs are out of stock at my local store. Had wanted to buy some more. May wait now... but October, really?
 
samh004 said:
The sensor sounds useful, especially to turn off lights with daylight and on at night.

This would probably explain why the hue bulbs are out of stock at my local store. Had wanted to buy some more. May wait now... but October, really?
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A big thing buried here is they are making the bulbs (GU10's) better sized to fit the majority of recessed lighting, which is mostly what these are primarily used for. This will be great as the old ones were very odd sized.
 
My house has been 80% hue and 10% wemo switches for several years now. The wemo has held on so long because of a wemo motion sensor I have in the kitchen that's really handy.

This may mean the end of wemo for me?
 
myname70 said:
And nothing mentioned about HomeKit ? Is the sensor HomeKite enabled or not
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The updated Hue bridge works with HomeKit. Don't know if it means these motion sensors are also work with HomeKit...
I definitely plan to purchase several just for the lights, but if I could eventually also make them as triggers for other smart devices, it would be really awesome.
 
Sandstorm said:
The updated Hue bridge works with HomeKit. Don't know if it means these motion sensors are also work with HomeKit...
I definitely plan to purchase several just for the lights, but if I could eventually also make them as triggers for other smart devices, it would be really awesome.
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How would it support HomeKit? HomeKit is a trigger device, just like the sensor..
 
I have the original Hue bulb and bridge pack that came with 3 bulbs and I really like it. I've been thinking about adding more bulbs recently and will now wait until at least October when the newer bulbs are released. I don't have much interest in the new motion sensor since I live by myself and have the lights on timers and have the app to turn them on or off.
 
How will the sensor work when multiple people are in the same room, and one leaves?

Seems this is more suited for a single person, or just to be used for the washroom.
 
zen said:
Another advertisement disguised as an article. Great job, Macrumors.
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what utter nonsense. i have the Hue system, and i enjoyed seeing articles about updates to it since it's how i find out about updates.

you could make the same silly complaint about any product MR posts about, including apple gear. just because its not relevant *to you* doesnt mean its not relevant to *anyone else*. you are not everyone.

but you're not alone -- lack of empathy is a problem for many techies.
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allenvanhellen said:
I wouldn't recommend these unless they first fix their app and bridge. The problem is that setting routines and on and off times doesn't pay enough attention to the time of day and the last state of the bulbs, or what they ought to turn on to. For example, I set a bedtime routine through their app. This is supposed to fade the lights through warm light to eventual darkness (off). Last night, before it kicked in, I was watching a movie and had the lights dark blue, almost off (~5% brightness). When the bedtime routine kicked in, the lights suddenly went to what I guess was 75% brightness at a slightly golden white color. This was jarring. On top of that, the lights never fade in this routine to dark orange or red, instead staying at a slightly warm white. The bulbs can't go very dark at this color, so right at your scheduled bedtime, they just go dark. App needs work before we add more gadgets to it.
Click to expand...
hopefully you've used the app to contact them and submit the issue.
 
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I don't want motion sensors, I want presence sensors. I don't want to be sitting reading a book for a while and have a motion sensor decide I must have left the room (if you've ever been in a corporate conference room setting alone for a while you've probably experienced this and then have to wave your hands around like crazy to get the lights back). Use a combination of motion and thermal of a certain size or such and determine there is a human in the room.

On a side note, LED lighting now lasts so long that we've reached the point where children will find the concept of "changing a light bulb" to be foreign except for the fact that I get to purchase the new release of the bulbs every year. Oh well, the cost of progress.
 
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Arran said:
My house has been 80% hue and 10% wemo switches for several years now. The wemo has held on so long because of a wemo motion sensor I have in the kitchen that's really handy.

This may mean the end of wemo for me?
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Same situation for me.
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thisisnotmyname said:
I don't want motion sensors, I want presence sensors. I don't want to be sitting reading a book for a while and have a motion sensor decide I must have left the room (if you've ever been in a corporate conference room setting alone for a while you've probably experienced this and then have to wave your hands around like crazy to get the lights back). Use a combination of motion and thermal of a certain size or such and determine there is a human in the room.

On a side note, LED lighting now lasts so long that we've reached the point where children will find the concept of "changing a light bulb" to be foreign except for the fact that I get to purchase the new release of the bulbs every year. Oh well, the cost of progress.
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Well, this sensor is wireless so place it above your usual reading spot. It will likely trigger with normal fidgeting and page flipping motions.
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Binarymix said:
How will the sensor work when multiple people are in the same room, and one leaves?

Seems this is more suited for a single person, or just to be used for the washroom.
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Lol. If multiple people are in the room then it means that at least someone requires light so the sensor will be triggered. Would you want the lights to turn off while some people are still in the room?
 
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zen said:
Another advertisement disguised as an article. Great job, Macrumors.
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Nope.

Are news stories really advertising in disguise?

No. We always identify our promotional arrangements, and we don't post undisclosed paid stories.

If we think you'll be interested in a particular story about a Mac or iOS app, or a commercial product, site, or service, then we'll post it. But we've never posted ads that masquerade as stories, and we never will.
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