The smart home networking protocol Thread is adding a new way to onboard devices without a Thread border router. The feature, called Thread Direct, is designed to let users set up Thread-powered devices — such as smart plugs and smart locks — using only a phone or mobile device equipped with a Thread radio. Current devices with Thread radios include many iPhones, newer Pixel phones, and the latest Samsung flagships.

Thread is one of the networking technologies used with the smart home interoperability standard Matter. A low-powered, low-latency mesh networking protocol, Thread provides a way for devices to talk to each other locally in your home, while Matter defines how they talk to each other. Matter is supported by all the major platforms, including Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, and Home Assistant.

Today, using Thread devices typically requires a compatible Thread border router — a device such as an Apple TV, an Eero Wi-Fi router, a Google Nest Hub, or several versions of Amazon’s Echo smart displays. These are always-on devices that bridge a Thread network to other networks and the internet. While many smart homes already include a border router, many do not, creating a frustrating setup barrier. This is something I called out when Matter first launched in 2022 and is still an issue today.

This has led to a now-familiar problem: Someone buys a Thread-enabled device, like a smart lock, only to discover they can’t set it up because there’s no Thread border router in the home. Thread Direct is intended to address that gap.

Thread Direct doesn’t replace the need for a Thread Border Router; one will still be required for a Thread network. But it “removes reliance on the Thread Border Router for initial device setup,” Thread Group’s head of marketing Anne Olivo said in an interview with The Verge. “We hope that we’re going to make it a lot easier to set up and operate those Thread devices directly from a phone, a tablet, potentially a wearable.” She added that the feature could extend to other use cases, such as smart shades that come with a remote control. “You could pair them using a Thread-enabled phone.”

With Thread Direct, a mobile device could communicate directly with a Thread device during setup, allowing users to commission a product and add it to their smart home app. While they will still need a Thread Border Router for full functionality — including remote access and automations — that could be added later. 

The approach is similar to how Apple’s HomeKit worked pre-Matter, where Bluetooth devices could be set up and controlled locally with an iPhone, but required a Home hub for remote access and automations.

While most smartphones support Bluetooth, few have Thread. Apple and Google, which have supported Thread since its earliest days, have begun incorporating Thread radios into their lines, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro and the Google Pixel 8 Pro and now with broad support across their latest models. 

While Apple still supports HomeKit and Bluetooth, it has been steadily expanding its Matter and Thread support across its ecosystem. It introduced Thread with the HomePod Mini in 2020, and its newest tvOS 27 brings Thread 1.4 to Apple TVs, which are also Matter Controllers. The company recently enabled iPhones to control Matter and Thread devices directly in Apple Home with iOS 18, and Thread Direct appears designed to extend similar onboarding capabilities across more Thread-enabled mobile devices. 

Thread Direct is expected to be part of the next iteration of the Thread specification, likely Thread 2.0. The Thread Group has not announced a release timeline.

Matter, the smart home interoperability standard, might finally get a feature that should have been there from day one: a single shared Matter network managed by multiple ecosystems. With this feature, called Joint Fabric, smart devices added to the network will be controllable by any authorized platform —  Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and the rest. No need to “share” your smart light between apps; set it up once, and control it everywhere. It’s like your smart home is a joint bank account and your platforms of choice all have signing authority. 

Joint Fabric is part of the new Matter 1.6 spec announced this week at Unify, the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s inaugural conference, in Austin, Texas. While there are no new device types in the spec, there are a few quality-of-life updates.

There’s now support for full NFC setup, which eliminates the need to scan the QR code and lets you just tap to pair. With this, you can also pair a device before powering it on — which could be useful when installing smart bulbs or a wired smart switch. 

Also new is Thermostat Suggestions, a standardized way for these devices to communicate across ecosystems. It allows an ecosystem to send a time-based “recommendation” that the thermostat can defer or adopt based on input from other platforms.

The idea here is that if you manually change the temperature on one platform, the thermostat will ignore an automated request that arrives a few moments later. Also, your Apple Home automation won’t override a utility savings program you signed up for, and preferences like optimizing for air quality will be recognized across services.

But back to that Joint Fabric thing. Besides sporting a name that fits better in a ’70s road-trip movie than a smart-home standard, Joint Fabric is designed to improve on one of Matter’s core features, multi-admin. This is where you should be able to set up a device in one smart home app and then use it on any other Matter-compatible platform.

Today, each ecosystem creates and manages its own network (called a fabric) and can share devices across them (in a cumbersome way). Joint Fabric creates a single Matter network that Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, and so on can all become co-signers on. You add a device once, and it appears across all authorized ecosystems. You can also revoke that authority at any time without losing any of your devices.

This opens a host of possibilities for unifying your smart home as Matter was originally intended. It’s a part of enhanced multi-admin, an ongoing effort to make using devices across multiple ecosystems smoother.

To date, interoperability problems have been one of Matter’s biggest roadblocks — a notable issue for an interoperability standard. It’s not that the CSA hasn’t addressed them; it’s that platforms have been slow to fully adopt new specifications, which can result in incompatibility.

Seamlessly setting up and managing a device once, and having it automatically accessible and up to date on any other platform, was something I thought would be part of Matter when it launched in 2022. When the first spec arrived, I was disappointed to learn this wasn’t how it would work. Back then, I was told Matter didn’t work that way because the platform makers didn’t want it to. Four years later, has that attitude changed?

There was a similar attempt back in Matter 1.4 in 2024 called Fabric Sync, which lets devices set up in one ecosystem be shared to another with just a single authorization. But each platform still runs its own separate network. At the time, the CSA told me that all the big players were actively involved in developing this solution, and it was expected they would implement it over the next year. It’s 2026, and we’re still waiting. 

Joint Fabric feels like a much bigger ask than Fabric Sync, and effectively takes control away from the platforms and puts it where it should be: in your hands. My hopes aren’t high that this will see rapid adoption either. I’ll be at the CSA’s Unify conference in Austin this week, and plan to ask the ecosystems about their timeline for implementing Joint Fabric.

I’ll admit it. I was wrong. Wildly colorful lighting is delightful for your smart home — well, outdoors, at least. 

Smart lighting is one of my favorite features of the smart home — it combines convenience with ambiance, letting you change the entire look of your room with just a press of a button. But, other than the occasional pop of color, mostly in my kids’ rooms and outdoors around the holidays, I’ve never found much use for color-changing lights. I prefer the subtler effects of tunable white light combined with dimming to set the scene indoors, and that preference also extended to outdoor lighting. Until this summer.

With an influx of new outdoor lighting products over the last year or so, I decided to see how far outdoor smart lighting has come: Are products with color-changing and gradient lighting, along with RGBICW (where you get colors and whites and can control LEDs individually), worth the extra investment, or are they still more garish than gorgeous?

To find out, I tested various string lights, “permanent” exterior lighting, a giant lamppost, and a wall of light in my yard. Overall, smart outdoor lighting has come a long way, and while there’s still potential to go over the top, today’s options offer a surprisingly effective blend of fun and style — if you stick with one brand. I focused on Govee for this article because it offers one of the broadest lineups and has a few truly wild options, including that 8-foot wall of light.

Govee Outdoor Lamp Post Lights

Where to Buy:

• $399.99 $199.99 at Govee

Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism

Where to Buy:

• $539.99 at Amazon

Govee Lightwall

Where to Buy:

• $449.99 at Amazon

Strategically placed architectural lighting has always had the potential to elevate a home’s curb appeal or your backyard party vibe, but connected, color-changing outdoor lighting offers several advantages. First, one setup works year-round. Instead of changing out your lights for different seasons, you can just use an app to change the look. And if you’re investing in smart lighting, having the option to add color gives you more flexibility.

I have Govee permanent outdoor Prism lights installed on my home, and while most of the time I stick with an elegant white light, in the last few months I’ve decorated my eaves with a variety of colors. These include shades of pink for Valentine’s Day, green and gold for St. Patrick’s Day, pretty pastels for Easter, red, white, and blue for Memorial Day, orange and purple for when my son got accepted to Clemson University, and then his school colors — orange and blue — for his graduation this month. (I just can’t seem to escape orange.) 

Second, there’s the benefit of connectivity; app control lets you set your lights on a schedule, set sunrise and sunset routines, and easily control them with voice commands. Paired with motion sensors, outdoor lights can be an excellent safety feature, illuminating a path as you walk along it or lighting up dark areas of your yard. I set up Govee’s outdoor lamppost in my backyard, and when I go out at night to check on the chickens, it lights up as I approach. This is where I’ve found outdoor lighting to be the biggest benefit in my yard, extending my garden’s usability past twilight. 

Today, colored outdoor lighting still works best if you stick to one brand. That’s because many of the most impressive features — such as dynamic lighting — rely on proprietary apps. Dynamic lighting is the catch-all term for colorful, synchronized, and animated lighting effects. These effects can also sync with music, TVs, or computers to create a more immersive experience. Outdoors, music sync is the most useful, helping create an instant party atmosphere. 

There are plenty of good outdoor lighting options with strong dynamic lighting features, including Nanoleaf, Philips Hue, Lifx, GE Cync, and Home Depot’s Hampton Bay, but for sheer variety and a broad price range, it’s hard to beat Govee. Its ecosystem has grown exponentially over the last few years, with entries in every category and some entirely new ones, and it’s significantly less expensive than Hue’s outdoor range, which is the closest in terms of number of options.

Nearly all Govee’s newer products support the Matter interoperability standard, and all of them work with Alexa and Google Home for voice control and pairing with other lights. I have an Amazon Alexa routine where I say, “Alexa, glow up the garden,” and all the lights come on. (Matter doesn’t support dynamic lighting yet, but it can handle color-changing, scheduling, and on/off controls). 

Govee uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for setup and control. I’ve found its Wi-Fi connectivity can be temperamental — that’s one reason I prefer Philips Hue for my indoor lights, with its rock-solid Zigbee connectivity. But with Bluetooth as a fallback, you can control Govee lights with your phone as long as you’re near them, which is generally when you want to change colors or turn on scenes. Govee’s app is less polished than some competitors, but it offers a huge amount of flexibility once you learn your way around. 

I’ve found Govee’s AI Lighting Bot handy when none of the preset scenes fit, and I didn’t want to spend time creating my own. For my son’s graduation, I asked it to create a “playful scene using orange and blue” on the Govee permanent outdoor lights I installed at the front of my house, and it produced a lovely rippling effect that undulated across the eaves.

The most fun we’ve had with the AI Lighting Bot, though, has been with Govee’s Lightwall. At almost 8 feet wide, this curtain-style light comes with its own frame, so you can put it anywhere in your yard for a serious light show — think outdoor movie screen. 

During the Kentucky Derby, my husband asked Govee to conjure up a suitable scene, and it did a decent job of simulating horses and jockeys racing. Its 35fps wasn’t near movie quality, but entertaining all the same. For my son’s card game evening, he and his friends played Spades, illuminated by a colorful hand of cards on the Lightwall. It’s also portable, so we took it to his graduation party, and it made a great backdrop for the band. But at $450, it’s definitely more novelty than utility.

Govee Outdoor Chromatic String Lights

Where to Buy:

• $299.99 $240 at Amazon

Govee Outdoor Solar String Lights

Where to Buy:

• $99.99 at Amazon

Nanoleaf Multicolor Outdoor String Lights

Where to Buy:

• $129.99 at Amazon

My favorite outdoor lights are still the string lights. These combine task lighting, decor, and ambiance, letting you go from bright whites while prepping dinner on the grill to softer, more colorful vibes with the press of a button. I recently swapped out a set of Nanoleaf outdoor bulbs hanging around my patio for the new Govee Chromatic String Lights. Here, each bulb can display multiple colors simultaneously, which adds dimension without being overpowering. They’re similar to Lifx’s outdoor string lights, but the key difference is that Govee’s are more diffuse, which lends a softer look. 

Overall, I prefer the look of the Nanoleaf bulbs when off; they have a pretty cut-glass design, but Govee’s light shows are more impressive, and I can sync them with the other Govee lights using Govee’s DreamView system, which syncs lighting effects over your Wi-Fi network so multiple products can display the same effect. The option to instantly shift the mood from dinner al fresco to a teenager hangout this summer has been more fun than I expected.

Of course, a big challenge with outdoor lighting is power cords, and this is where solar is a great option. Govee’s new Outdoor Solar String Lights feature a 6-watt panel with a built-in battery and let me extend my lighting beyond where I have power sources to around my vegetable garden. They aren’t as bright as the powered string lights, but the shapely filament is attractive, and the lights look like little jewels hanging off my garden fence. 

I may never fully embrace a giant wall of animated LEDs in my backyard, but my summertime garden experiment showed me that RGB outdoor lighting can be more than a novelty. It’s becoming more useful indoors, too. I recently tested some of Philips Hue’s new lighting features that use color in subtler ways to create elegant lighting scenes that enhance a room rather than dominate it.

Overall, I still prefer the more sophisticated approach that companies like Hue offer indoors, but Govee’s bolder outdoor lighting proved me wrong when it comes to my garden. Flashy, RGB lighting has made it a more welcoming, usable, and genuinely fun place to be after dark this summer.

Photos and video by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service is getting in on the Apple Intelligence party to bring more descriptive alerts from your connected cameras and let you search footage using natural language. The Apple Home app is also getting better notifications powered by AI and is finally adding support for energy reporting.

These improvements were announced at WWDC last week and will be publicly available this fall. I’ve been playing with some of the features in the developer betas for iOS 27 and tvOS 27 for a few days, and based on my first impressions, Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video is much improved — enough to put it back in contention for me as a home security system.

I test a lot of home security cameras and have largely stopped using Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video because it was sometimes unreliable (with cameras disconnecting and clips going missing) and sent too many notifications.

While I love that it processes video locally and is end-to-end encrypted, the service has been leapfrogged by competitors like Ring and Google Nest with their higher-resolution cameras and smarter AI-powered alerts. These include text descriptions of recordings, giving you glanceable info of what’s happening at your home, so you don’t have to wait to pull up a video to view it yourself — helping cut down on notification fatigue. It’s a genuinely useful application of AI in the smart home.

With Apple Intelligence bringing these features to Apple Home, Apple’s smart home platform is gaining parity with competitors’ offerings. It will also soon support up to 4K video resolution, and when you factor in that the service works with cameras from several manufacturers, it gets more compelling — as long as you’re an iPhone user.

Apple Intelligence-powered text descriptions

To activate the new Apple Intelligence features, I needed to download the iOS 27 developer beta to my iPhone 17 Pro Max and the tvOS 27 beta to my Apple TV 4K, which acts as my Home hub. I then had a new Apple Intelligence section in Home settings. Here, I toggled on new options for “summarize videos” and “reduce notifications” and selected which cameras receive summaries.

Summarized videos use AI to process video from my HomeKit Secure Video cameras and send a notification with a more detailed description of the action. So, instead of an alert saying “animal detected,” I’ve been getting “dog in yard,” and instead of “person detected,” I’ve seen “lawn mowing.” I also had one notification that summarized several activities from one camera: “Someone walked into the yard and then went back out to a dog. Aqara G5 changed modes.”

In the app, each clip now also displays this short AI-generated description, such as “Someone held a cat in the kitchen” or “Chickens grazing in the yard.” Occasionally, it identifies the person (I have Face Recognition on), but not always.

The descriptions are very brief, especially compared to those I get from Ring’s and Google’s AI features, but they do provide helpful extra context. I am also still getting standard alerts, such as animal or person detected, so my notification load hasn’t reduced. However, this is the first developer beta, so I expect to see more refinements before this launches.

Searching my camera feeds with natural language worked well — I typed in “Show me my cat” and got a lot of cat videos. But it couldn’t distinguish between my grey cat and my black cat. If I were using a HomeKit video doorbell, this would be useful to search for things like when my son got home or what time the UPS delivery person came by.

I haven’t seen any reduced notifications for other Home accessories yet. According to Apple, this will use Apple Intelligence to determine that several activities from connected devices, such as someone arriving home and a door being unlocked, are related to the same event and send one notification that it will keep updating.

Of course, I ran into several bugs, and the app crashed fairly regularly, but again — first developer beta. Overall, this feels like a really good start, and Apple Intelligence has already improved the usefulness of my HomeKit-connected cameras.

An improved interface and faster response times

One HomeKit Secure Video improvement I noticed right away is that viewing recorded clips and live streams loads faster. I can also view more than two live streams when away from home, which is a welcome upgrade and, again, something competitors have had for a while.

I’m a big fan of the new camera view in the Home app, where I can scroll through a timeline of clips or view a live feed from all the cameras at once. The clips are sequenced by time, not by camera, so scrolling shows activity around the home in real time. When I click on a clip, a camera switcher presents footage from other cameras recorded at the same time on either side — which is really handy. I’ve used a lot of camera app interfaces, and this is one of the simplest and most intuitive.

Apple also said that Apple Intelligence will be able to understand connected activities across cameras and present footage from different cameras in a single clip in the app, but I haven’t seen this yet in my testing.

Other improvements include an overhaul of the infrastructure for HomeKit Secure Video, including how clips are captured, stored, and processed. As mentioned, I’ve noticed the cameras load faster, and they are also more stable. An Eve outdoor camera that regularly dropped offline has stayed online since the upgrade. Whether these improvements have addressed the missing clip issue will take more testing.

Apple also announced support for 2K and 4K HomeKit Secure Video streams, but that feature isn’t available in the current beta. It seems it will rely on manufacturers of compatible cameras — including Aqara, Eve, and Eufy — to implement the new HomeKit Secure Video spec announced at WWDC, meaning it may be a while until we see it in our homes.

Energy monitoring finally arrives

Another long-awaited upgrade is that the Home app now supports energy monitoring through Matter. There’s a new power icon in the Energy tab, along with tiles for each connected energy monitoring device. I have a Matter-over-Thread Ikea Grillplats plug that now shows its current, average, and daily usage in kWh. Clicking on the card took me to more detailed reporting, where I could see its usage over a year, six months, a month, a week, and a day.

However, there’s no option to use energy reporting to trigger automations, and you still can’t use different events captured by the cameras to trigger automations, such as “turn on the porch light if a package is detected.” This is something you can do in Google Home, and that platform just added the ability to create automations based on custom actions.

Smarter cameras and energy reporting are great additions to Apple Home, and so far the upgrades to HomeKit Secure Video have impressed me; I’m looking forward to seeing how they shape up in the full release later this year. But Apple is still playing catch-up when it comes to features like automations and intelligence. These are what take a smart home platform from a command-and-control system to something that can proactively manage itself.

Screenshots by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Apple and Google are updating their smart home streaming devices to Thread 1.4. As first spotted by Matter Alpha and 9to5 Google, the latest spec has arrived on compatible Apple TVs in the tvOS 27 developer beta and the Google TV Streamer through a software update.

This lays the groundwork for these devices, which serve as Thread Border Routers, to implement Thread credential sharing, enabling them to connect more easily to an existing Thread network rather than creating their own.

Thread is one of the connectivity protocols the interoperability standard Matter runs on. The original plan was for Thread Border Routers to all work seamlessly behind the scenes, but that didn’t pan out.

In 2024, the Thread 1.4 spec introduced a standardized way for border routers to share credentials. Two years later, with 1.4 on board, the streamers should offer a more straightforward way for users, manufacturers, and ecosystems to share the credentials so they join your existing Thread network. Think of it like sharing a Wi-Fi password.

However, it looks like I’ll still have to wait for a unified Thread network. While the Google TV Streamer now offers the option to generate a QR code to join a Thread network, it didn’t work for me. And although DNS discovery tools show my Apple TV is on Thread 1.4, there aren’t yet any options to share credentials in the current iOS and tvOS 27 dev betas. It’s worth noting that 1.4 appeared in a tvOS 26 beta, but got pulled before the final release.

Since there’s still no dev beta for HomePod Software 27, the smart speakers aren’t joining the party yet, either, and Google’s Nest Hubs still haven’t got a 1.4 update. My guess is the Google Home Speaker will land later this month with Thread 1.4.

The fact that the Apple TV and Google TV Streamer have Thread 1.4 at all is a big step in the right direction. To be fair, Apple and Google already handled this credential-sharing issue better than any other ecosystem — but unity here is only a good thing. And, considering Samsung added support for credential sharing on its SmartThings hubs last October, and Ikea’s Dirigera hub is on Thread 1.4, we’re now just waiting for Amazon to get on board and update its smart speakers to the latest spec. The company has said that will happen this year.

Once Amazon updates, the major ecosystems will all be on the same version of Thread, which could bring significant improvements to Matter/Thread smart homes.

I, for one, can’t wait to see my nine different Thread networks unified into one giant, meshy goodness.

I’ve been a fan of Philips Hue smart lights since the early days. It’s one of the few staples in my ever-changing smart home. However, when the Bridge Pro launched late last year, it wasn’t immediately obvious why I should upgrade. The signature feature, MotionAware — which turns your lights into motion sensors — is neat, but I already have motion sensors. While I run two of Hue’s standard bridges to accommodate all my lights and accessories, I’m not at a point where I need the Pro’s higher device capacity. I like the idea of faster response times thanks to the advanced processing power, but that wasn’t quite enough.

Then in April, SpatialAware arrived. This maps the location of lights in a room to distribute the colors and tones of Hue’s lighting scenes across them more intelligently. Suddenly, my existing smart lights felt new again. While MotionAware was the headline feature when the Pro launched, it’s SpatialAware that finally sold me on upgrading.

Philips Hue Bridge Pro

Score: 7

Pros	Cons
SpatialAware is genuinely transformative MotionAware works out of the box without additional hardware Supports more than 150 lights Faster, more capable, and more future-proof	Expensive MotionAware can be slow and doesn’t work for every room layout No weekend settings for motion detection SpatialAware is only on some scenes and isn’t compatible with zones

Where to Buy:

• $98.99 at Amazon
• $139.99 at Philips Hue
• $98.99 at The Home Depot

You don’t need a bridge to control a Hue light, but using one unlocks more advanced features, including dynamic lighting. The Bridge Pro, which launched last September, is faster and more powerful than Hue’s standard bridge. Its quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM support speedier response times for connected devices, along with MotionAware and SpatialAware, two features that only work on the Pro. 

If you’re already invested in Hue’s ecosystem, upgrading to the $140 Bridge Pro can be meaningful. It lets you add up to four MotionAware zones, which could replace the need to spend $49 a pop on Hue’s standalone motion sensors. It can handle more than 150 lights and 50 accessories — three times the standard bridge’s limit — which is handy if you’re reaching the limit in your current setup. And it promises to be up to five times faster. The challenge is the price, particularly in the US, where it costs 40 percent more than elsewhere (it’s £89.99 in the UK/EU). 

While the interoperability standard Matter makes it easier to mix and match smart light brands, there are still some good reasons to stick with a single brand. Proprietary features like dynamic lighting, entertainment syncing, and now MotionAware and SpatialAware for Hue, can’t be used when you combine products from multiple manufacturers.

Still, the standard bridge delivers much of the same experience for less money. When the Pro was $98, it was an easier decision (and you can still find it at this price — for now), but at $140, it gets trickier. Here’s how the Bridge Pro’s headline features performed in my home.

Bulbs in motion

MotionAware detects motion by sensing disruptions in Zigbee radio signals between Hue devices. In the app, it works like Hue’s standalone motion sensors, but it has specific requirements — and if you need to buy new hardware to meet them, it might be easier to buy a motion sensor. 

The big requirement is three to four Hue lights in a room, and they have to be powered, so my Hue Table lamp in the bedroom was a no-go. I had to add an extra powered lamp to test it there. The bulbs also can’t be in a straight line, so my bathroom, which has a single vanity light with four Hue bulbs, was out of the picture.

With the right lights in place, the app walks you through leaving the room for a few seconds to calibrate, then lets you choose what happens when motion is detected: Turn the lights on and off, group with other sensors to control them, or send alerts. The last one is part of Hue Secure, Hue’s security system, and costs $1 a month or $10 a year. For this review, I focused on the free feature that controls the lights. 

As with Hue’s motion sensors, when a MotionAware zone detects motion, you can choose to trigger different scenes or have the lights turn on to whatever setting they were last on. You can also have them turn off after a period without motion.

I set up MotionAware zones in the most-used areas of my home where I could install enough Hue lights: my bedroom, mudroom/laundry room, living room, and my daughter’s room. Within a day, I nixed three of those. 

The bedrooms were a nonstarter, as there is no weekend option in the app. I shut it off after the first Saturday when the lights turned on at 6AM because I rolled over in bed. Hue’s hardware motion sensors also don’t have weekend settings, but there are workarounds — including adding them to other platforms that support weekend automations. Third-party support for MotionAware zones is currently sparse, but includes Home Assistant and the paid app iConnectHue.

In the mudroom/laundry room area, I had more success. The lights turned on reliably, but only once I was halfway down the hall. This was too late if I was passing through, but okay if I was doing something in the area. The layout here was also an issue; although I have four lights, they aren’t in ideal spots and are all on the ceiling. A light nearer each entrance would turn it on faster, but that isn’t possible in those rooms. 

I also tried MotionAware in my office, setting up two lamps and one ceiling light. It was great at turning on the lights as I approached my desk, but because it’s motion-sensing rather than presence-sensing, it kept shutting them off while I was working. For something like an office, newer, more accurate mmWave presence sensing is a better solution, though Hue doesn’t offer it. I also had to add an extra motion sensor to catch one corner of the room. This had the advantage of bringing the sensor’s physical light sensor into the mix but emphasizes that MotionAware isn’t always a stand-alone solution.

I found MotionAware worked best in my living room, a large, open-plan area that’s always been a challenge to light. I dislike overhead lighting, so I set up a combination of ambient and task lights. In this space, I don’t need the lights to turn on instantly, and I actually like them to fade gently off if I’m sitting still for a while. Paired with SpatialAware, the lights in the room now feel appropriate and welcoming throughout the day.

Aside from the living room, I don’t see any reason to replace my motion sensors with MotionAware. It’s slower and less reliable, and it suffers from a failure point Hue users will be all too familiar with: If someone turns off the light at the switch, the feature won’t work. 

But for new users, MotionAware makes more sense. It’s easy to set up, as it’s built into your bulb/bridge combo; no need to buy little white boxes to stick around the house that need their batteries replaced periodically. 

Scenes with style

It’s SpatialAware, the Bridge Pro’s other flagship feature, that is worth the upgrade if you’re an existing Hue user. Using the Bridge Pro’s advanced processing power and your phone’s AR capabilities, the Hue app can map the lights in a room and determine the best way to distribute the scene’s colors and effects across them. When I saw this in action at CES, I was impressed. While I wasn’t able to re-create anything quite as good as the hotel room demo in my own home, my lighting is noticeably better than before. 

Woodland Toadstool Scene without SpatialAware (left) and with (right).

In the past, I rarely used Hue scenes outside the core scenes like read and energize, which just use tunable white lighting (and for those, you only need Hue’s white ambient bulbs, not its more expensive full-color ones). I just don’t find multicolored lighting all that compelling indoors, and when I’ve tried Hue’s more colorful scenes, I’ve been put off by one bulb being red or purple and another being green or orange. But with SpatialAware, I’ve found the scenes fit much better in my space, more like they were designed for it. Many made my living room — where I’ve got the largest selection of lights — a significantly prettier space. 

For example, without SpatialAware, selecting a scene such as Woodland Toadstool would result in a weird display where one lamp was glowing red, another yellow, and the light strip was all orange. With SpatialAware, the color distribution across the bulbs is subtler, and the gradient lighting in my setup (two Wall Washers) provides the stronger pops of color in a more elegant way. The overall effect is more cohesive and natural. I suspect that if I had more gradient lights, it would be even better.

Some scenes didn’t show much difference, but most were noticeably better, to the point where I added a couple to my MotionAware zones, so they come on when motion is detected at certain times of day. My husband came home one night and commented on how nice the living room looked, and the only thing I’d changed was the lighting.

There’s room for improvement. Only some scenes have been updated to support SpatialAware, and the feature doesn’t work with zones — groups that can include lights in different rooms, such as Downstairs or Night Lights. So, if I want the same scene in my mudroom and living room, which are part of my downstairs zone in the Hue app, I have to set them both individually. And as mentioned, the effect is best in rooms with a lot of lights, in particular gradient lights that can display multiple colors at once. All of this gets expensive quickly.

I’ve recommended Hue for years for its high-quality lighting, rock-solid reliability, breadth of products, and strong track record. Other brands have cheaper bulbs and brighter colors, but most have less range, none dim as well, and Wi-Fi bulbs aren’t as reliable as a Zigbee mesh. 

If you’re looking for super-bright colors and flashier RGB scenes, Govee, Nanoleaf, or Lifx may better fit your needs for less money. But for dependable everyday lighting, Hue has been and remains the gold standard. And the Bridge Pro is the first upgrade that’s really changed how I use Hue lights — SpatialAware took color-changing scenes from a novelty into a feature I prefer and now use every day. 

For me, that’s the reason to buy the Bridge Pro, and if you’re an existing Hue user with a house full of lights, I strongly recommend it. But if you’re just starting out with Hue, the standard bridge remains a better value, offering access to all the core features for under $70. Unless you’re planning to buy a bunch of lights up front, you won’t see enough benefit from the Pro’s headline features to justify the extra cost.

Photos and video by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge