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Philips Hue announced a ton of new products at its IFA 2025 event. From the affordable Essential Strip to new smart light strips, there were a lot of cool products, but I was most intrigued by the New Bridge Pro and its ability to add motion detection to new and existing Philips Hue smart light products.
MotionAware
The Philips Hue Bridge Pro supports a new feature called MotionAware, which uses radio frequency (RF) sensing to detect changes in the ZigBee signal between bulbs, turning them into motion-sensing devices without the need for external motion sensors. The feature will work with 95% of existing Hue products (those manufactured after 2014).
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I received a demo of MotionAware, and it was quite impressive. Philips says you need at least three hue lights for MotionAware to work. These don’t necessarily have to be smart bulbs, but can also be light strips or other light products. MotionAware won’t work with third-party devices or battery-powered hue lights.
Setup was easy in the demo. You need the Hue app to select the room and participating lights. Once calibrated (a 20-second process), they will blink once to confirm the setup process, and you’re ready to go. MotionAware can be triggered by pets, as it can only detect movement and cannot distinguish between humans and pets. The motion data is sent to Bridge Pro, which analyzes it and applies AI algorithms to find the cause of the movements.
You can also change the sensitivity, draw shapes around an area where you want MotionAware to work, and choose whether to set up safety notifications. However, you’ll need a security subscription to make the safety notifications work. While subscriptions start at $40 per year (including video storage), you can subscribe to MotionAware security alerts only for $1 per month.
Philips Hue also announced a partnership with Sonos, allowing you to control your Hue products with Sonos Voice Control. It only works in English and French, as those are the only two languages supported by Sonos’ voice assistant.
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As one of the journalists in the room pointed out, it would be cool if MotionAware could sense which room you’re in and automatically switch music to the Sonos speaker in the room (from, say, the living room soundbar). This isn’t possible yet, but it’s a cool idea, and the company says it’s working on expanding the capabilities in its partnership with Sonos.
While we’re on the subject of voice assistants, it’s worth mentioning that Philips Hue has also added an AI assistant to its app. It can be operated with both voice and text commands. You can ask it to set the room theme or use generative AI to suggest more lighting options based on your mood.
Many more Philips Hue products
Along with my favorite MotionAware announcement, Philips Hue also announced its first doorbell. The Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell is a wired (rather than battery-powered) product. It supports 2K video recording with a 180-degree field of view both horizontally and vertically. It will go on sale in October 2025 for $170.
The company has introduced the Hue Essentials product line, a budget-friendly alternative to Philips Hue’s reliable products. The new lineup consists of two light strips, a 60-watt A19/E27 equivalent bulb, BR30 downlights, and GU10 spotlights.
They still offer good color accuracy, but they don’t fade as deeply as their more expensive counterparts. Philips Hue Essential devices are compatible with the Hue Bridge over ZigBee and support Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home Connection for voice control.
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As for the Philips Hue Bridge Pro itself, the device costs $90. It supports connection to ZigBee devices to add features like schedules, away-from-home control, custom lighting scenes, and more. It includes a more powerful processor, increased RAM, and can connect up to 150 lights and 50 accessories.
Additionally, Philips Hue has a new Omniglow strip light . According to Signify’s John Smith, this is “the best strip light” they’ve made to date. It can go up to 4,500 lumens in brightness and dim as low as 0.5% (Hue Essentials products can dim as low as 2%, while other expensive Hue lights can dim as low as 0.2%). Prices start at $140. There are also a number of other Philips Hue strip lights, including the Flux and Essentials series.
