14 DAY TRIAL // Well, IoT or Internet of Things is all the hype recently, and no wonder it's so. It basically pulls out the Internet from your computer right into your home electronics, and you can thus command anything in your house. Apparently, to beat Amazon's Echo and its successful home integration, Apple's Siri now supports Philips Hue as well.
It's a very nice feeling to see lights in your house respond to your voice commands, and since this might turn out to be a very addictive habit, Apple didn't lose the opportunity to join the fun and accepted to support Philips' Hue smart lighting platform. This means big money for Philips since from now on all Apple users will be able to buy Philips Hue lighting platform and command it via their phone to turn on and off, and so on.
Called Hue Bridge 2.0, the new platform will incorporate Siri support and can be upgraded to the new Home Kit from the first-generation Hue, seamlessly bringing together existing and forthcoming Philips Hue bulbs and lamps so that they can benefit from all the functionalities of HomeKit and work with other HomeKit-enabled devices.
Price-wise, however, there might be some disadvantages, as Philips kind of rewards first-generation Hue users by allowing them to upgrade to the Hue Bridge 2.0 for just $40 (€35) until the end of December, while everyone else will have to spend $60 (€53) just for the kit and Siri support.
If users want to buy an entirely new kit, with brighter bulbs, it will cost them $200 (€178), and it will be available on October 6th in Apple stores and other retailers.
