Using color-changing lights in your home can be a fun experience. However, it can be challenging to optimize their use effectively. While most smart lighting companies offer pre-designed scenes to assist you, the lights may not be aware of their physical placement in your home, resulting in a diluted effect. Philips Hue has addressed this issue with SpatialAware.
SpatialAware is a feature that understands your room’s layout and the positioning of your Hue lights. This enables it to intelligently distribute the colors and effects of a scene across the lights.
1/4
To set up SpatialAware, you scan your space using your smartphone in the Hue app. By leveraging your phone’s AR capabilities, the system creates a 3D model of how Hue lights are positioned in your room.
This data is then stored as a map in the Hue app. When you apply one of the newly remastered scenes, the lighting is distributed intelligently based on the actual placement of bulbs and fixtures.
For instance, in a sunset scene, the lamps on one side of the room may display warm yellow tones to simulate the setting sun, while the ceiling lights on the opposite side might showcase darker tones and colors.
Approximately half of Philips Hue’s scenes have been reworked to be compatible with this new technology. Each scene is coded to adapt to the updated data on light placement.
I recently experienced a demonstration of SpatialAware in a hotel suite at CES, and it completely changed my perspective on smart lighting. The demo showcased the original scene followed by the remastered version in a dining room filled with Hue ambient lighting products and bulbs in overhead can lighting.
As demonstrated in the video above, the remastered version offers a more polished and integrated distribution of lighting. According to George Yianni, CTO and founder of Philips Hue, this is because the lighting is now aligned with the original designer’s vision.
One noticeable improvement is the even distribution of colors. In the remastered Savannah sunset scene, all ceiling lights emit a soft orange glow, whereas in the original version, some lights are orange while others are soft white, resulting in an uneven look.
For example, in the Nightlight scene, the remastered version turns off all ceiling lights, as opposed to the original where some remain on. This attention to detail enhances the overall ambiance of the scene.
This new feature is set to launch in Spring 2026 and will be compatible with Hue lighting connected to the Hue Bridge Pro.
Images and video courtesy of Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
