Hue launches its first video doorbell

After a Philips Hue app update leaked a caller Hue video doorbell successful March, genitor institution Signify is making it authoritative this week. The $169 Hue Secure video doorbell is arriving successful October to complement Hue’s different Secure indoor and outdoor camera offerings.

The Hue Secure video doorbell looks overmuch similar immoderate different astute doorbell connected the market, with a candy barroom signifier and a ample fastener for visitors to activate. It’s a wired doorbell, truthful you’ll request powerfulness astatine the beforehand of your location alternatively of relying connected an easier battery-powered doorbell installation.

Signify is utilizing some 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi options connected the Hue doorbell, arsenic good arsenic a Zigbee vigor to brace with Hue lights. You tin configure the Hue doorbell to automatically crook connected different Hue lights erstwhile idiosyncratic approaches your beforehand door, and it besides comes with a plug-in chime that tin enactment arsenic a siren for the Hue information system. The chime is besides a request arsenic the Hue doorbell won’t enactment with immoderate existing doorbell chime.

The Hue doorbell itself has a 2K representation sensor with a fish-eye lens and a quadrate facet ratio. That’s amended than the solution disposable connected Google’s Nest doorbells oregon adjacent Blink’s buzzer, but it’s close successful enactment with TP-Link’s Tapo D225 and Ring’s fashionable artillery doorbell plus. Google is also rumored to beryllium launching a 2K video doorbell next month.

The Hue doorbell volition besides enactment with Google Home and Samsung SmartThings, arsenic good arsenic wrong the main Hue app. Like galore different astute doorbells, you’ll get alerts erstwhile idiosyncratic is astatine your doorway oregon if a bundle arrives, and there’s a two-way speech mode to greet guests oregon archer transportation drivers wherever to fell your package.

One mode Signify is hoping it volition basal retired against the contention is with escaped video past for a afloat day. “We’re going to beryllium offering 24 hours of motion-activated video clips escaped for all Hue Secure products and existing users,” said George Yianni, CTO and laminitis of Philips Hue, successful an interrogation with The Verge’s astute location adept Jennifer Pattison Tuohy. Previously, you had to bargain a subscription for 30 oregon 60 days of recorded video, truthful this is simply a bully betterment if you request a day’s worth.

Existing Hue information cameras are besides being updated to enactment with the Apple Home app, but the doorbell won’t beryllium compatible astatine launch. “We are besides looking astatine Matter, but decided not to wait,” Yianni said. Camera enactment for Matter is slated to get successful the autumn with Matter 1.5.

In October, Signify volition besides motorboat a caller 2K wired camera successful Europe, priced astatine €179,99 oregon €199.99 with a stand. The Hue-branded camera is an update to the archetypal Hue information cameras from 2023 and volition integrate into Hue Secure features similar airy and dependable alarms. A camera update is arriving soon that volition let Hue cameras to admit if a fume alarm is going disconnected and acceptable lights to a smoke-penetrating red-light setting.