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 every television. In addition, new Hue light sources have been announced.
Signify is announcing six new products at IFA, including, of course, new separate light sources. Two new variants appear in the series of filament lamps. The White Filament G125 is a large sphere of approximately 125mm while the White Filament ST72 is a much larger variant of the Edison shape. Both filament lamps are intended for the E27 fitting. There is also a new lamp in the form of the Hue White Luster E14 for the smaller E14 fitting. This is a physically smaller lamp than the existing 'candle lamps', so that even the smallest fixtures can now be made smart. Signify also had news about those candle lamps, because the new versions now support Bluetooth in addition to Zigbee Light Link, so that 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 provides 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 adds 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 Light Strip
Philips is not only known for colorful lighting thanks to Hue, many more expensive Philips televisions have multicolored lighting with Ambilight 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 lamps again to make it even more intense. With the Philips Play Gradient Lightstrip you can now provide every television with 'Ambilight'.
This light strip consists of three parts and you stick it to the back of your television at the top and both sides. Although the LEDs on the light strip can technically be controlled individually, Signify said that the system is divided into seven zones: three on top and two on each side. According to Signify, that should offer enough variety to fit in 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 are of course available 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 costs. The cheapest version that is suitable for televisions from 55 to 60 inches costs 179.99 euros. And then you are not there yet in terms of costs, because in addition to the Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip you also need the already available Hue Play Sync Box that costs 248 euros. This box is equipped with four HDMI inputs. You can only use image from a source connected to the box with the system. Watching television with light effects via the tuner built into your television is therefore not possible. According to Signify, the Hue Play Sync Box is suitable for 4K sources with a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz and supports HDR format Dolby Vision.
We previously wrote Ambilight in parentheses on purpose, because you will not encounter the term Ambilight in Hue's product information. Because although the origin may have been the same and it seems to the consumer to be one company, Ambilight and Hue are now from 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 6 October) - €99.99
Philips Hue Iris limited edition - Gold, Rosé, Silver and Copper (from 6 October) - €119.99
Philips Hue White and color ambiance Ensis pendant lamp in black (from October 20) - €399.99
Philips Hue White ball lamp E14 bulb (from September 29) - €19.99 (1-pack) / €29.99 (2-pack)
Philips Hue White ambiance candle lamp with Bluetooth (from September 8th) - €29.99 (1-pack) / €44.99 (2-pack)
Philips Hue White and color ambiance candle lamp with Bluetooth (from September 8th) - €59.99 (1-pack) / €99.99 (2-pack)
