Philips Hue's new app update just arrived – and it's the best one we've had in ages

Philips Hue has absolutely excelled itself this year when it comes to product launches and software updates. As someone whose job it is to keep you lovely lot up to speed, it’s been a lot to keep up with – not that I’m complaining, of course.

However, the brand has just dropped a new software update that I had to share, simply because it’s the best one we’ve seen in a quite a while. Philips Hue app version 5.57.0 is an impressive update filled with lots of useful new features, especially if you own some of the best Philips Hue lights.

It follows the previous update, version 5.56.0, which arrived a few weeks back with a handful of minor stability tweaks and bug fixes. However, there was nothing groundbreaking, so this new release really stands out.

With version 5.57.0, users can now migrate multiple Hue Bridges to a Bridge Pro, which was one of the biggest frustrations people had when the Bridge Pro first launched. It was also something I pointed out in my 5 things to know before switching to the Hue Bridge Pro, so it's great to see Philips Hue listening and improving here.

You’ll also now find a device count in Settings > Devices, and users can filter their lights by each Hue Bridge, which is really handy for anyone with a bigger setup.

There are a couple of nice upgrades for Philips Hue Secure users too. The Hue Secure Wired Camera can now detect the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm, and users can set up push notifications for these events under the Detections section. On top of that, there’s a new daily peak activity view in the Insights section of the Security Centre.

Finally, Philips Hue has added battery replacement instructions and troubleshooting tips to the edit screen of all switches and sensors. This is a small update, but very welcome.

Users can download Philips Hue app version 5.57.0 today from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.