Signify, the company behind Philips Hue, has announced several new products at the IFA electronics fair. The most striking product is the Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip, which can best be described as Ambilight for any television. In addition, new Hue light sources have been announced.
Signify is announcing six new products at IFA, including of course new loose light sources. Two new variants appear in the series of filament lamps. The White Filament G125 is a large sphere of approximately 125 mm while the White Filament ST72 is a much larger variant of the Edison shape. Both filament bulbs are intended for the E27 fitting. There is also a new lamp for the smaller E14 fitting in the form of the Hue White Luster E14. This is a physically smaller lamp than the existing ‘candle lamps’, which means that even the smallest fixtures can now be made smartly. Signify also had news about those candle lamps, because the new versions now support Bluetooth in addition to Zigbee Light Link, so you do not necessarily need a bridge for operation with a smartphone.
Full lamps
In addition to individual light sources, Signify also sells complete lamps. A new version of the Hue Iris has been announced that gives much more light with 570 lumens. In addition, the Iris is now available in different colors. In addition to a black and white version, limited variants in gold, rosé, silver and copper are added to the range. Another news is that the Iris now also supports bluetooth.
In addition, Signify is adding a black version of the Philips Hue White and color ambiance Ensis pendant lamp to the range. This pendant lamp can display both white and colored light and illuminate the ceiling and room in a different color.
Philips Hue Ambient Lightstrip
Philips is not only known for colored lighting thanks to Hue, much more expensive Philips televisions have Ambilight multicolored lighting that is used to illuminate your room based on the content to make the viewing experience more intense. With some models you can then connect Hue lights again to make it even more intense. With the Philips Play Gradient Lightstrip you can now equip any television with ‘Ambilight’.
This light strip consists of three parts and you stick to the back of your television on the top and both sides. Although the LEDs on the light strip can be technically controlled individually, Signify said the system is divided into seven zones: three on top and two on each side. According to Signify, this should offer enough variety to fit well with all content. In addition to the light strip, you can connect up to nine other Hue lamps for an even more intense effect.
Televisions of course come in different sizes, which is why the Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip is available in three sizes for televisions from 55 to 60 inches, 65 to 70 inches and 75 to 85 inches. The larger the size you need, the more the Lightstrip will cost. The cheapest version that is suitable for televisions from 55 to 60 inches costs 179.99 euros. And then you are not there in terms of costs, because in addition to the Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip you also have the already available Hue Play Sync Box needed which costs 248 euros. This box is equipped with four HDMI inputs. You can only use picture from a source connected to the box with the system. It is therefore not possible to watch television with light effects via the tuner built into your television. The Hue Play Sync Box is, according to Signify, suitable for 4K sources with a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz and supports HDR format Dolby Vision.
We previously wrote Ambilight in brackets on purpose, because you will not encounter the term Ambilight in the product information of Hue. Because although the origin may have been the same and it may seem like one company to the consumer, Ambilight and Hue now belong to different companies. After all, Philips televisions are made by TP-Vision, while the Philips Hue system is made by Signify.
Availability and prices
Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip (October 6)
– 55 inch (suitable for TV sizes from 55 to 60 inch) – € 179.99
– 65 inch (suitable for TV sizes from 65 to 70 inch) – € 199.99
– 75 inch (suitable for TV sizes from 75 to 85 inch) – € 229.99
Philips Hue Filament White G125 and ST72 (September 29) – G125 € 39.99 / ST72 € 34.99
Philips Hue Iris standard edition – White and Black (from October 6) – € 99.99
Philips Hue Iris limited edition – Gold, Rose, Silver and Copper (from October 6) – € 119.99
Philips Hue White and color ambiance Ensis hanging lamp in black (from October 20) – € 399.99
Philips Hue White ball bulb E14 bulb (from September 29) – € 19.99 (1-pack) / € 29.99 (2-pack)
Philips Hue White ambiance candle lamp with Bluetooth (from September 8) – € 29.99 (1-pack) / € 44.99 (2-pack)
Philips Hue White and color ambiance candle lamp with Bluetooth (from September 8) – € 59.99 (1-pack) / € 99.99 (2-pack)
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