Philips Hue Secure FloodLight Camera review: impressive quality but needs work

Signify made headlines last August after launching a new Philips Hue product category that helps users secure and protect their homes. Known as Philips Hue Secure, the system allows users to monitor their home in real time, offering instant motion alerts and unique light and sound alarms to help deter intruders. 

Moving into smart home security is a first for the smart lighting brand, but it doesn't make its releases any less impressive. I've been reviewing the Philips Hue Secure FloodLight Camera for the past few weeks, and it's been an interesting experience to say the least. 

Keep reading to find out my thoughts and whether Philips Hue has found its new niche alongside the best smart lights on the market. 

Philips Hue Secure Flood Light Camera review: price and availability 

The Philips Hue Secure Flood Light Camera has an RRP of £299.99 and can be purchased from the Philips Hue website. 

The Floodlight (£179.99) and the Camera (£174.99) can be purchased separately, but it works out cheaper for them to be bought together. 

Philips Hue Secure Flood Light Camera review: unboxing and set up

As usual, the Philips Hue Secure Floodlight Camera is packaged securely without a piece of plastic in sight. Each component even came in a soft fabric bag for protection, giving the overall unboxing process a high-quality feel. 

There was also a large volume of instructions and documents, including a couple of stickers that can be displayed to deter potential intruders. 

The Floodlight comes fully put together and the Camera is magnetically attached to its front, so no assembly of the actual device is needed. This makes life a lot easier, especially as installation can be a little tricky. 

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When it comes to installation, the Philips Hue Secure Floodlight Camera needs to be hard-wired as there's no battery option available. If bought separately, users can choose between a wired, battery or desktop Camera. However, there's no choice when it's purchased alongside the Floodlight. 

This means the Secure Floodlight Camera needs to be installed somewhere that has external wiring. If you already have some kind of floodlight, this is an easy switch. However, you may need to get the help of an electrician if not. As the Camera is magnetic, it can be positioned to whichever angle you'd like. 

I luckily had an outside light that I could just transfer the wiring over to the Secure Floodlight Camera, so it took about 15 minutes to install altogether. I unscrewed the back of the Floodlight and positioned it on the wall, feeding the cable through a small hole and connecting it to the Floodlight. I then fastened the Floodlight back on with two small screws...and voilà! 

It should be noted that a Hue Bridge is required when using the Philips Hue Secure Floodlight Camera, despite a lot of other Hue products being able to work on just Bluetooth. Read our guide on the Hue Bridge and what it does for more information on this. 

Philips Hue Secure FloodLight Camera review: design and features

There's no doubt that the Philips Hue Secure Floodlight Camera looks as high-quality as it feels. It has a matte black exterior that blends in nicely, and the Camera sits nicely underneath without standing out. At a glance, a potential intruder would probably assume it's just a light, so the design works well with its security features. 

The best part has to be the Floodlight's powerful 2250 lumen output. If you're familiar with smart lights, you'll know this is a huge amount. Philips Hue is known for its impressive lumens, but this is just on another level. The Floodlight is also able to showcase any colour out of Philips Hue's 16+ million range.  

On the other hand, the Camera has a 1080p picture quality with a 110-degree viewing angle. It also features two-way talk through the Philips Hue app, and you can trigger an integrated 80db siren when motion is detected. 

Unfortunately, a lot of features are only accessible after signing up to a Hue Secure plan. I've been testing the Philips Hue Secure FloodLight Camera without a subscription, but this means I haven't been able to try the AI motion differentiation feature or keep any video history for longer than 30 days. The Hue Plus plan is £84.99/€99.99 per year, but in hindsight, I would recommend its purchase. 

Philips Hue Secure Flood Light Camera review: performance 

Overall, I was impressed with the Philips Hue Secure Floodlight Camera, and found it worked really well. I liked being able to customise the setup and choosing from a range of colours, especially during the evenings. Scheduling a soft green light to come on at night meant my sleep was unnecessarily interrupted, especially if it was windy outside. I also found the video clips to be reliable and extremely clear, and it helped they were encrypted. 

That being said, I was slightly disappointed at the limited functionality without the paid subscription. For example, you have to trigger the siren and flashing light alarm yourself, which isn't ideal if you don't notice the motion notification straight away. I was also sad not to use the AI motion differentiation, especially as this is one of Philips Hue Secure's biggest selling points. 

Another disappointment was that despite being the Floodlight being Matter-compatible, the Camera isn't. This means you can't integrate it into an existing smart home ecosystem, and all video clips or two-way conversations have to work within the Philips Hue app. Yes, it's not necessarily a problem, but if you like having all of your smart home gadgets synced up, it can be slightly annoying. 

Philips Hue Secure Flood Light Camera review: verdict

I was impressed with the high-quality design of the Philips Hue Secure FloodLight Camera, and found its installation and set up to be a simple process. I also found the 1080p camera quality and 2250 lumen output to set the device apart from other contenders on the market, making it an extremely effective piece of kit. However, its limited smart home compatibility and restricted functionality without a subscription plan makes the Secure FloodLight Camera's usability slightly disappointing, and it needs developing before a second generation is released. 

Philips Hue Secure FloodLight Camera review: alternatives to consider 

A strong alternative we'd recommend is the Yale Floodlight Camera. It does have two floodlights as opposed to one, but it shares a lot of similar features to the Philips Hue Secure Flood Light Camera. Our reviewer found it slightly tricky to fit due to its mains wiring and weight, but the Yale app allows users to easily manage the features and functions. It's also significantly cheaper at £169.99. 

If you think you'd benefit more from just having the outdoor camera, another option is the Arlo range. Take a look at the Arlo Pro 4 if you need something that has impressive features and will last the test of time, or a more affordable option is the Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera.