After weeks of persistent leaks, Signify has officially unveiled the long-awaited Philips Hue Bridge Pro.
This next-gen upgrade to the decade-old second-generation Bridge made its debut at Signify’s major pre-IFA event in Berlin, following a brief (and likely accidental) appearance on Hue’s official website last month.
Highly anticipated within the smart home community, the Hue Bridge Pro is poised to transform the smart lighting experience with a host of advanced features and enhanced integration.
Philips Hue Bridge Pro: Key Features Overview
- Enhanced Performance
The Hue Bridge Pro debuts with the cutting-edge Hue Chip Pro, bringing a significant performance boost to your smart lighting system. It features:
- A quad-core Cortex processor running at 1.7GHz
- 8GB of RAM
- 8GB of eMMC flash storage
Compared to the meagre 16MB found in the 2015 Hue Bridge, this is a massive leap—five times more processing power and fifteen times more memory, according to Signify.
- Expanded Device Support
Your smart home setup just got roomier. The Hue Bridge Pro now supports:
- Up to 150 lights
- 50 accessories
- 500 scenes
This is a major upgrade from the older model, which was limited to just 63 devices—unlocking more complex and customized setups than ever before.
- Improved Connectivity
Say goodbye to fixed locations. Unlike the previous Hue Bridge which relied solely on Ethernet, the Pro version offers Wi-Fi connectivity, giving users more flexibility in placement.
- Still includes an Ethernet port (with cable in the box)
- Now powered via USB-C for greater convenience
4. Easy Migration & Bridge Merging
Upgrading is easier than ever with a new migration wizard in the Hue app. With just a few clicks, you can transfer:
- All your existing lights
- Accessories
- Settings and scenes
Later this year, a Bridge Merge Tool will allow you to consolidate multiple older Hue Bridges into a single Bridge Pro, simplifying complex setups.
- Smarter Lighting with Motion Aware
One of the most exciting new features is Motion Aware. With this, your Hue lights themselves act like motion sensors—no additional hardware needed. By using at least three Hue bulbs in a room and the advanced vector processing unit in the Bridge Pro, the system can:
- Detect movement patterns
- Trigger automations like lights turning on/off when entering or leaving a room
- Extend functionality for Hue Secure setups
According to Signify, 95% of current Hue lights will be compatible with Motion Aware via a simple software update—since the processing is handled by the Bridge Pro itself, not the bulbs.
The Philips Hue Bridge Pro will be available for purchase later this month, priced at $89.99 in the US and £79.99 in the UK, directly through the Hue website.
