(Philips hue by @linusmimietz at Unsplash)
Once again a neat little update has been released by Signify, the owner of Philips Hue lighting. The Philips Hue App version 4.13. Signify publishes a new version of the Hue app around every month. The most significant feature for this release is the ability to use Bluetooth functionality within the main Hue app. I already talked about this in a previous post where I expected this functionality version 4.11, but here it is!
This means a couple of things for their users. First of all, it will remove confusion for new users as there is only one app to choose from. Second of all will the switch from Bluetooth bulbs only to a bridge be made much easier. Another big advantage is that we can expect new features faster. As all developers can now put their full focus on improving one app with only one codebase instead of two.
It is important to note however that this was stated with the new release: “If you already use the Hue Bluetooth app, keep using it for now — you’ll be prompted to move to this app in a future app update.“
During the initial setup, you will now be asked whether you want to add a Bridge or a Bluetooth lamp. You can open up this menu again via the settings – “My Hue System” and click the small plus icon.
Bug fixes & stability improvements
As with almost every update, bug fixes & stability improvements need to be done to keep the app up and running as you expect. This means coding bugs need to be crushed and old code needs to be thrown out of the window. Let’s hope we will see some nice performance improvements with this.
