Smart home manufacturers aren’t staying in their lanes anymore. Last year, video streamer Roku made its first foray into the home monitoring market, followed by smart light manufacturer WiZ back in May, and now Philips Hue is reportedly eyeing its first security products, perhaps including a camera.
According to HueBlog, the CEO of Philips Hue parent Signify recently told listeners on a pre-IFA conference call that Philips Hue security products are on the way, and he also discussed the “fusion” (as HueBlog put it) of cameras and smart lighting.
“The idea here is also to use security for lighting and lighting for security,” Signify CEO Eric Rondolat said during the call, adding that a camera could trigger flashing red lights when an intruder is detected as well as act as a traditional motion sensor that activates light scenes as home dwellers enter or leave a room, HueBlog reports.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras.
Reached for comment, a Philips Hue spokesperson told TechHive that “as shared by Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify, Philips Hue will extend its home security offering,” but didn’t offer any further details.
“New products or features are announced once they are ready to be launched, so keep an eye on Philips Hue’s channels and launch events,” the spokesperson added. Philips Hue generally unveils new products in September during the IFA conference in Berlin.
Word that Philips Hue may be prepping a move into the home security market doesn’t come as a total shock. The brand already offers its own motion sensors, while a “mimic presence” feature is designed to fool would-be intruders by turning your lights on and off at random intervals while you’re away.
Philips Hue parent Signify also owns smart lighting manufacturer WiZ, which itself entered the home monitoring market earlier this year.
The WiZ Indoor Camera (pictured above) arrived in May with 1080p video resolution, a 130-degree viewing angle, a motion-detecting and night vision-enabled sensor, a speaker and a microphone for two-way chat, and local and cloud video storage.
More importantly, the WiZ camera can trigger “light alarms” intended to scare off intruders, similar to what Signify CEO Rondolat reportedly described during his recent conference call.
Besides its new indoor camera, WiZ had previously unveiled its motion-detecting SpaceSense, which allows two or more WiZ lights to sense motion via nearby disruptions in Wi-Fi signals.
Prior to the WiZ Indoor Camera, streaming video player maker Roku made its own home monitoring play, with assistance from Wyze.
Roku debuted its first smart home devices last October, including such re-branded Wyze products as a video doorbell, a floodlight camera, a variety of indoor and outdoor cameras, indoor and outdoor smart plugs, and white and color smart bulbs.
Roku followed up with a complete (and re-branded) home monitoring kit in May.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.