Philips Hue Secure doorbell leak: Is camera support in Matter 1.5?

The Philips Hue app on iPhone and iPad has revealed the existence of the Philips Hue Secure Doorbell. But the lack of support within Apple HomeKit for Philips Hue Secure Camera line makes its inclusion seem out of place… unless a change is coming to the Matter specification.

The leaked Secure Doorbell device

Discovered by the Hue Blog, the Philips Hue Secure Doorbell was uncovered via the updated Philips Hue app. Here, the device (which isn’t publicly listed in the Matter blockchain) is listed as being available to add in the “no QR code” menu.

Usually Matter devices are enrolled using a pairing code, but if this cannot be found, a standard non-Matter enrollment can be configured.

But Apple HomeKit doesn’t support Philips Hue Secure Doorbells. This raises the prospect that a revision to the Matter specification in the coming weeks might change this.

The expected release date for the Philips Hue Secure Doorbell is Q4 2025. In theory, this would afford enough time for the next specification of Matter to roll out.

What’s in Matter 1.5?

Matter 1.5 is expected to land at some point in Spring 2025. Matter 1.3 arrived May 8, 2024, so it could be announced anytime between now and early June.

At present, not an awful lot is known about Matter 1.5. As with previous iterations, it will expand on the existing specification. More device types and commands are expected to be supported. However, it is expected to be quite a major revision, as per Matter 1.3, rather than the more iterative spec upgrade that Matter 1.4 delivered in Fall 2024.

Viewing the project’s development on GitHub, we can see that work is ongoing on the camera device type. In addition, testing of Matter casting to Apple devices is also underway.

Doorbell and security camera support: a game changer for Matter

So, we’ve got a mysterious camera that may or may not be Matter compatible, and its availability in a mobile app on a platform that is not directly compatible with the camera.

Clearly, if this is a genuine addition, an update Apple HomeKit is imminent. This update would support Philips Hue doorbells and security cameras. Meanwhile, it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Matter 1.5 – which will almost certainly include security camera support – will support the the Philips Hue doorbell-mounted cameras.

We’ll be closer to an answer when Matter 1.5 arrives.

(Source and image credit: Hue Blog)