CES 2020: Philips Hue Line Gaining New Outdoor Lights and HDMI Sync Box Improvements

The popular HomeKit-enabled Philips Hue line of lights is expanding, with Signify today announcing the upcoming launch of additional outdoor lighting options.

There's a new wall-mounted Appear fixture, priced at $140, which is designed to create a directed triangle of light that reaches both up and down, with the aim of elevating the home's curb appeal.

The new low-voltage Lily XL Spotlight, priced at $140, is similar to the existing Lily spotlight but it's larger and provides more light output.

The Philips Hue Econic family is gaining a new low-voltage pedestal light, priced at $130, which is ideal for path lighting, plus there's a new 100W outdoor power supply unit and a 2.5-meter extension cable with T-part for more flexibility arranging outdoor lighting options.

All of the lights in the outdoor collection can be customized with 16 million colors and 50,000 shades of warm-to-cool white light, and all of the lights also integrate with existing HomeKit-enabled Hue setups.

Along with outdoor lighting, Signify today announced improvements coming to the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, which allows Hue lights to be synced with televisions, gaming consoles, and more.

The Sync Box is getting HomeKit integration, which means the it will be able to respond to Siri commands. ‌Siri‌ will be able to turn the sync box on or off, change the light settings, and switch between HDMI devices, which will make it much easier to control the Sync Box without the need to open up the app.

‌Siri‌ integration will be available in the spring of 2020 through an update that will be installed on the Sync Box through the Hue Sync mobile app.

The Hue Play HDMI Sync Box can also now be controlled using infrared TV remote controls, which can turn it off or switch between HDMI inputs.

As of today, there's a new update for the Hue app, which updates the Zones feature. There's a permanent Zones addition that allows accessories like the Philips Hue wireless dimmer switch or the Philips Hue Smart button to control a Zone in the home rather than a room.

More information on the new Hue products can be found on the Hue website.