Philips Hue releases themed scenes after new app update

The Philips Hue Winter Holidays scenes are now available in the brand’s app. These dynamic colored lighting effects did not immediately appear after the recent update, version 5.56, which brought bug fixes and minor improvements.

However, Philips Hue has since pushed the Winter Holidays scenes to users of its smart lighting products, like the Festavia Permanent Outdoor String Lights (90 ft version, curr. $286.52 at Amazon). You can now find the Winter Holidays scene category in the scene gallery. There are ten preset modes to choose from; it is worth noting that none of these are new.

Options include ‘Under the tree’, a present-inspired theme with red, yellow and green lighting, ‘Jolly’ mimics string lights with jewel tones, and 'Color burst' has been designed to look like a firework display. There are monochrome settings like 'Rosy sparkle', with pink hues, and 'Silent Night', with shades of peach. Other lighting modes include 'Golden Star', 'Nutcracker', 'Snow sparkle', 'Festive fun' and 'Crystalline'.

As for future updates for the Philips Hue app, users can expect at least one more release before the end of 2025, given the typical fortnightly release cycle.