The incredibly popular Philips Hue smart lights have been extended just in time for IFA 2019 in Berlin, and that includes the retro-looking, but smart & efficient, filament Edison bulbs.
The filaments and a handful of other bulb types listed below all have support for Bluetooth and can be used without the Philips bridge, even though the bridge is necessary to exploit them fully. Note that the filament lights are not RGB and have a “soft white” color temperature of 2100K
- Vintage filament: bulb A19 ($25), tube ST19 ($28), sphere G25 ($33)
- E12 ($33 for 2): these are white-candle style bulbs, and don’t support color changes.
- GU10 ($55): the small spotlight bulbs can output up to 400 lumens and the whole gamut of colors.
- Hue Go ($80): it’s an updated color lamp that has its battery and can be on for up to 18 hours, although it’s not clear if that’s when it blasts an impressive 520 lumens of brightness.
Philips is also launching a smart outlet and a smart button. The outlet can be used to control a “dumb” light from the Philips Hue app, for example.
The button is much more than a simple switch and is a programmable button whose behavior can change slightly depending on the time of day (set up via the app). Its design is immaculate and straightforward so it should fit in any home.
It’s not hard to imagine that having a bunch of these around must create a mix of creative and addictive behaviors because the possibilities are endless.
Filed in . Read more about IFA, IFA 2019, Lighting and Smart Home.
