Looking to get started with smart lighting? Philips Hue is probably the brand you're looking at. It's the most prominent name in this market, and with good reason: it makes high-quality and ultra-versatile smart lights, and offers a huge range of products to suit different needs.

Philips Hue lights can, however, be rather pricey — especially if you're looking to kit out several rooms at once. The Amazon Prime Day sales can be a really good opportunity to pick up some Hue kit at a more affordable price, and luckily there's one about to start. The event officially runs through June 23-26, but there are discounts popping up already — and a number of other big retailers are running their own rival sales at the same time.

Below you'll find an explainer on your different Philips Hue bulb options, plus the best deals I've spotted in each category, from Amazon and beyond.

Philips Hue starter kits

Philips Hue bulbs are available as part of 'Starter Kits', which include bulbs (in any of the three light categories detailed above) and a Hue Bridge. The Bridge is essentially the communication hub that all your smart lights connect to, and which unlocks the lights' full gamut of features.

A starter kit is designed to be the most straightforward way to get set up with smart lighting in your home, and will often also be the most cost-effective, too.

US deals

UK deals

Philips Hue bulbs

At the heart of the Philips Hue range are its light bulbs. It makes a wide range of shapes and styles — spotlights, candle-shaped or flattened-off, and regular bulb-shaped bulbs. Most are available in any of Philips Hue's main light categories: White, White ambiance, and White and color ambiance. They'll also be available with different connections to work with different light fittings; double-check your setup before buying.

US deals

UK deals

Philips Hue lamps

Philips Hue makes a selection of indoor and outdoor lamps. I say lamps, but it's really everything from spotlights to light bars to pendant lights, wall washers and wake-up lights — I'm essentially using this as a catch-all term for anything where the bulb and its casing are sold together.

US deals

UK deals

Philips Hue lightstrips

Another main category of Philips Hue light is the LED strip light. These are designed to sit behind your TV, under shelving or behind mirrors to enhance room features and create atmosphere. There are even options that are weatherproof, and can be used outside. You can purchase different lengths (some kinds can be trimmed further), and they have adhesive backing to enable you to simply stick them on a clean, flat surface.

US deals

UK deals

Philips Hue accessories

Finally, Philips Hue makes a selection of accessories to work with its lights. The key one is the Bridge — if you're just purchasing individual lights rather than a Starter kit, you might need to pick one of these up separately in order to unlock the full potential of your smart lighting setup. The brand also makes physical switches and buttons that offer a different way to access your lights' functions outside of the app.

US deals

UK deals

• New Hue Play lamps to expand your immersive lighting
• Upgraded candle bulbs with full-spectrum daylight and Matter compatibility
• New smart switches, including dimmer switches

My house is full of Philips Hue smart bulbs, motion detectors and various flavours of lightstrips, but one thing I haven't been able to do is integrate old-fashioned light fixtures into my hue setup – so for example if you've got a ceiling light that doesn't use the kind of bulbs that can be swapped out for Hue ones, you're out of luck. Or at least, you were. Hue now offers smart light switches that you can use to add non-smart lights to your Hue system.

There are two versions, the Hue Wired On/Off and the Hue Wired Dimmer. Simply swap them for the original light switches and you can then control the appropriate lighting with the Hue app or compatible voice assistants.

The big benefit here is that your non-smart lights can now be included in your Hue groups, and in timed or other triggered events – so for example my Hue setup turns on the living room lights when I'm arriving home after dark. And it's a boon for rooms such as kitchens where – and I'm speaking from experience here – swapping out multiple downlighter bulbs for Hue ones is ruinously expensive.

Just make sure that you put the right sort of switch for the kind of lighting you have: for example some older downlighters aren't designed to be dimmed and can start strobing if they don't get enough power, so you'd need the on/off switch rather than the dimmer for those.

More Play lamps to light up your living room

In addition to the smart switches there are three new models of Play lamps: the Hue Play table lamp, the Hue Play floor lamp compact, and the Hue Play floor lamp large.

The USP of these lamps is that they pair with either the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box or the Hue Sync TV and PC apps to synchronise your lighting with the on-screen action.

I really like the Hue Play system and use it with a lightstrip for TV, movies and gaming; it makes my TV look like an Ambilight one and it's particularly good fun with things like the sunsets in Horizon: Forbidden West, which filled my entire front room with reds and oranges. By adding floor and table lamps to the collection Hue's expanding the scope of a Hue Play system, with the potential to have immersive lighting across even really big rooms.

Last but not least, there are new versions of the Hue candle bulbs. The new version is 40% more energy efficient and as before they're designed to go into decorative lighting, chandeliers and wall sconces. The 2026 version features full-spectrum daylight that closely mimics natural daylight and can be turned into warm or bright tones depending on the time of day, your preferences and your Hue routines.

The new wall switches will be available in the Europe (including the UK) from June 2026. The Hue Play table and floor lamps and the new candle bulbs will also arrive this month, and will be available in North America and "selected other markets" too.

As ever with Hue there are multiple bundles for the bulbs and the price you pay per bulb gets less the more you buy. The prices for the new lamps and switches are:

• Philips Hue wired switch module 1P/2P: £39.99 / £69.99 (about $50 / $90 or AU$80 / AU$130)
• Philips Hue wired dimmer switch 1C: £52.99 (about $70 / AU$100)
• Philips Hue wired relay switch 1C/2C: £44.99 / £49.99 (about $60 / $70 or AU$90)
• Hue Play Table lamp: £69.99 (about $90 / AU$13).
• Hue Play Floor lamp compact: £124.99 (about $170 / AU$240)
• Hue Play Floor lamp large: GBP £129.99 (about $170 / AU$250)

And the price for the candle bulbs will be (W is white, WA is White Ambience and WCA is White and Colour ambience):

• Philips Hue W B39 1P/2P: £19.99 / £29.99 (about $30 / $40 or AU$40 / AU$60)
• Philips Hue WA B39 E14 1P/2P/3P: £29.99 / £44.99 / £59.99 (about $30 / $60 / $80 or AU$40 / AU$90 / AU$110.
• Philips Hue WCA B39 E14 1P/2P/3P: £54.99 / £94.99 / £139.99 (about $70 / $130 / $190 or AU$100 / AU$180 / AU$270

• Philips is launching a ceiling light that mimics the look of a real skylight
• It automatically adjusts daylight temperature as the day goes on
• The skylight looks very realistic, but lacks smart home support

Philips is one of our favorite home lighting brands, and it’s launching a new ceiling light that mimics daylight and creates the effect of a skylight — and it looks spectacular.

The Philips Skylight is designed to replicate natural lighting and outdoor environments indoors, using a blend of advanced LED and Philips’ NatureConnect technologies. Signify, Philips’ manufacturer, says the skylight is “inspired by the natural brightness, depth and rhythm of sunlight”.

It’s a great option for windowless rooms if the design of your roof doesn't allow you to fit a skylight, or you want to save yourself the hassle and expense of having one fitted.

Before now, Signify limited the Philips Skylight to professional settings (offices, medical environments, and so on), but now the ceiling light will be available for everyone when it launches later this month in most regions (Signify says the Skylight be available in the US in September).

The Philips Skylight comes in four models: the Philips Skylight Medium, Philips Skylight Large, Philips Skylight VitaUp Medium, and Philips Skylight VitaUp Large, with prices starting at 499.99 euros (about $580 / £430).

Each variant comes with a slim ceiling profile for mounting, a remote control, five preset lighting scenes, and Philips’ Day Rhythm tool which automatically adjusts color temperature and brightness throughout the day. All models have an IP44 rating, meaning the Philips Skylight can be fitted in bathrooms and other humid environments.

The VitaUp models come with an integrated UV-B module built to support the body’s natural vitamin D production indoors. This also includes a handful of safety measures, including automatic shut-off which happens after eight hours.

In images shared by Philips, the Skylight's outdoor light imitation looks surprisingly convincing, and there are obvious benefits for wellbeing. More people are spending more time indoors and out of natural daylight, so devices like this are becoming increasingly sought after.

However, despite its cleverness, the Philips Skylight is not a Hue product. Philips produces some of the best smart lights out there, but its new ceiling light doesn't offer smart connectivity. This means it doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi or work with Matter over Thread, so you can't integrate it into your existing smart home setup, and you’ll have to use the included remote to control it manually.

Given how impressive the Philips Skylight looks, and its price tag, that's a shame. Let's hope Philips adds smart home connectivity to a future version.

• Philips Hue are getting a new Sports Live feature for the World Cup
• It will sync Hue smart lights to the action during games
• You don't need any extra hardware, just the lights and the Hue app

As a long-time Philips Hue user, and a big fan of this brand of smart lights, I'm looking forward to trying out a newly announced Sports Live feature during the World Cup — as long as it doesn't signal goals before they've actually happened.

Philips Hue lights have long been able to change color and brightness based on what's happening on a TV screen, but you need a compatible television or an HDMI Sync Box to get the feature. With Sports Live the lights change in real-time based on "live match data", with no additional hardware required.

That's according to the announcement from Philips Hue parent company Signify. Apparently the lights will shift for "key moments" such as goals, yellow cards, and red cards, during the soccer World Cup 2026.

"Easy to set up and in time for the world's biggest football event of the year, soccer at home has never felt so real," says Signify, though it sounds as though the feature is only going to be available for this one upcoming tournament, which starts on Thursday, June 11. That's a disappointment.

No spoilers please

It's also going to be interesting to see how this works. The live match data comes straight from the web to the Hue app, so presumably you'll need to tell the app when you've actually started watching it – and give your smart lights a heads up if you decide to pause or rewind the action at any point.

I don't want to be in a situation where my smart lights are flashing to tell me England have scored (or conceded, which is perhaps more likely), while the action on my TV screen is still several seconds behind.

"The system allows users to fine-tune timings to account for minor broadcasting delays," according to Signify. "If users choose to pause the action, lighting effects are also paused and — upon resuming — sync to current, live match events for a consistent and accurate real-time experience."

Sports Live will support an unlimited number of smart lights apparently, and there will be a certain level of customization on offer: you'll be able to select your favorite team, and its main strip color will be used as part of the suite of smart lighting effects.

Philips Hue Omniglow: one-minute review

The Philips Hue Omniglow is the best Hue lightstrip yet. It's a classier kind of LED strip: where other models have visible LEDs, the Omniglow delivers seamless color gradients and smoothly moving light effects. The results are very impressive and the Hue app makes it easy to select, edit or create scenes either solo or as part of a wider Hue setup. If you've already got a Hue system you can add it in seconds and then include it in your scenes and automations. As with other Hue lights you'll need a Philips Hue Bridge or Bridge Pro to access advanced features such as custom scenes and smart home integration.

The Omniglow is easy to install and set up, although if you're mounting it up high you might curse the short power cable. The only real downside is the length: you can shorten the Omniglow but not extend it, and longer versions are not widely available in the UK or US. While European customers can choose between 3m, 5m and 10m models, the US and UK are currently limited to the 3m model only.

Philips Hue Omniglow: price and availability

• On sale from November 2025
• $139.99 / £119.99 / AU$279.99 (3m)

The Philips Hue Omniglow was announced in September 2025 and went on sale in November 2025. There are three sizes, but only the 3m model is available everywhere. That has a recommended price tag of $139.99 / £119.99 / €139.99 / AU$279.99.

Europe and Australia also get a longer 5m version, which costs €199.99 / AU$399. And in Europe there's a 10m version with a price tag of $349.99. The same 10m version was listed with a UK price of £349.99 but at the time of writing it's showing as as "not currently available" on the Philips website.

Philips Hue Omniglow: design

• RGB, warm white and cool white
• Seamless color and gradients
• Cuttable but not extendable

The Omniglow is a RGBWWIC design, which means it combines RGB, warm white, cool white and independent control in a single light source. Unlike other Hue lightstrips you can't see the individual LEDs; it's designed to deliver seamless whites, colors and gradients, which it does very well. That makes it look much more classy than lesser lightstrips.

The strip is 17mm wide and 8.5mm high and consists of multiple 12.5cm sections, each of which has 6 LEDs that can be individually controlled – so you can get twinkly lights and motion effects as well as solid color and gradients.

This lightstrip can be cut shorter at pre-defined 12.5cm spaces but any bit you remove can't be re-used or replaced later. Unlike previous Hue lightstrips the Omniglow can't be (officially) extended with additional sections, although inevitably some Hue fans have come up with warranty-voiding DIY solutions.

There are double-sided adhesive strips along the full length of the Omniglow, but you may want to use something more permanent if you're putting the strip in a place where it'll have to battle gravity; in my experience the adhesive that comes with Hue strips tends to be rather weak, and this lightstrip is quite heavy. The power supply is also very short, with just over 1m between the plug socket and the beginning of your lightstrip, and you're going to want to support the weight of the power brick.

Design score: 4/5

Hue Omniglow review: features

• Three-stage gradients
• Moving and flickering lights
• Great integration with other Hue lights

The Omniglow delivers the promised seamless gradients, and it also brings a feature across from the Festivia string lights in the form of moving lights. That enables you to pick a moving scene such as a fireplace, candle glow or looped color change, and you can tweak those scenes in the Hue app to adjust their speed or intensity. It's very smooth and very impressive.

The app offers very basic control via Bluetooth but for access to advanced features such as syncing and smart home integration you'll need a Hue Bridge or Hue Bridge Pro. That gives you the full range of customization, per-light settings and the ability to create your own custom moving gradients and flickering effects.

Features score: 5/5

Philips Hue Omniglow: performance

• Up to 2,700 lumens
• Seamless color
• Beautifully smooth transitions

If you're familiar with Hue lightstrips the first thing you'll notice about the Omniglow is how bright it is. It's much brighter than standard Hue lightstrips, delivering up to 2,700 lumens of brightness compared to the 1,700 lumens of a Hue Solo of the same length.

If you can get the 5m or 10m models they are more powerful still, putting out up to 4,500 lumens. That means the Omniglow isn't just a decorative lightstrip. You can also use it to illuminate spaces such as stairs or feature walls.

Performance score: 5/5

Philips Hue Omniglow: should you buy it?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Philips Hue Omniglow: also consider

There are multiple lightstrips for Hue, some of them much more affordable – so for example the Hue Gradient Lightstrip is much cheaper. Govee is the main rival in this space with very affordable products including the bendable, cuttable COB Strip Light Pro, the very cheap RGBIC LED Strip and several rope light models.

How I tested the Philips Hue Omniglow

I've been all-in on Hue lights for more than a decade, and my home currently features a mix of smart lights including two Hue gradient lightstrips, various Hue bulbs, a Hue motion sensor and Hue Festavia string lights, all controlled via the Hue app, Apple Home and Siri. I added the Omniglow to my living room setup and Hue Bridge and used it as both decorative lighting and functional lighting, controlling it alongside my existing lights and scenes.

First reviewed March 2026

This year, one of the biggest sleep trends is ‘dark showering’ — turning down the lights while bathing in the evening to get your body and mind ready to rest. The idea isn’t brand new, but as the seasons change and nights get shorter in the northern hemisphere, it makes sense that people are trying to optimize their bedtimes.

As the Guardian explains, the idea is to block out distractions, calm your nervous system, and practice mindfulness before bed. According to sleep scientists, it can have real benefits, with warm water reducing your core body temperature and low light signaling that it’s time to get ready to sleep, causing the release of melatonin.

If you want to try dark showering (or bathing if you prefer the tub), smart lights are a good way to do it. You can schedule them to dim to help you get into a regular routine, and set the brightness so you’re still safe in the bathroom.

That’s not the only way lighting can help you get a better night’s rest, though. I asked an expert from Signify — the company behind Philips Hue and WiZ smart lights — for some recommendations to help you get more out of your smart lamps and bulbs in the evening, and again in the morning when it’s time to rise and shine.

“Light is one of the most important environmental signals influencing the body’s internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm,” said Signify’s spokesperson. “This biological system helps regulate sleep–wake cycles and responds strongly to changes in light throughout the day.

“Exposure to brighter and cooler-toned light in the evening can delay the body’s natural transition toward sleep, while lower light levels and warmer tones are generally associated with more relaxing environments before bedtime.

“Because of this, we recommend reducing brightness and using warmer light settings during the evening hours. These lighting conditions resemble the natural decrease in daylight after sunset and can help create a calmer atmosphere that supports bedtime routines.

Smart sunsets

I’ve tested a lot of sleep tech over the years, and I’ve found wake-up lamps are particularly tricky to get right. Ideally, the light shouldn’t wake you the moment it comes on; instead, it should brighten very gradually, like dawn through the canvas when you’re camping.

In my experience, many of them simply can’t dim low enough to wake me gently. Worse still are the lights with ‘nature’ sounds that are looping snippets of audio — usually only a few seconds long - that sound horribly compressed. It’s not a great way to start the day.

If you're on a budget, the Beurer Wake Up Light WL50 is a good option. It offers a broad spectrum of light temperatures, meaning it can wake you with warm light that gradually brightens and then cools, and it dims lower than most other lights in its price bracket (under $100 / £70 / AU$150).

I recommend skipping its wake-up noises, but it doubles as a radio and Bluetooth speaker, so you can connect it to your phone and wake up to your chosen music as a backup in case the light alone isn't enough to rouse you.

The lamp that’s working for me right now is the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer, which casts indirect light by shining onto a wall rather than directly into the room, and offers extremely low dimming. If you also want a light that can double as a reading lamp, the Philips Hue Twilight could be the one for you. It’s not quite as versatile as the Wall Washer (it can’t be connected to a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and used as part of an entertainment system, for example), but it provides you with focused white light that lets you enjoy a few pages of your favorite book before turning in for the night.

The Philips Hue app provides sunrise and sunset automations that can be triggered at a specific time or upon a particular event. I wake up at the same time most days, so the sunrise is on a timer, but bedtimes can vary, so the ‘Go to sleep’ automation is triggered by a smart switch attached to my bedside table.

“By allowing Philips Hue users to schedule gradual light transitions in the evening and morning, the system helps create consistent daily lighting routines that align more closely with natural light patterns,” explains Signify’s spokesperson.

If you want to get creative with your lighting, Google Home and Alexa+ let you describe the type of lighting you want using natural language — so you could ask for soft evening light, or a dim glow for your night time shower routine, whichever smart lights you own.

• The IKEA Skaftsärv is an LED gradient light costing $6.99 / £4 (about AU$8)
• It looks similar to the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Bar, but can't mirror colors from a TV screen
• The WiZ Gradient Light Bar is an affordable alternative that can sync to a TV

IKEA has just launched a new lamp that looks strikingly similar to a popular Philips Hue light, but at a tiny fraction of the price. The IKEA Skaftsärv is available in the UK for just $6.99 / £4 (about AU$8), and each one has three lighting zones that can cast a colorful glow onto your walls or shine into the room.

As our colleagues at T3 note, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Philips Hue Play Light Bar, and if you like the idea of making your home cinema system more immersive but have been put off by the price tag, you might be tempted to snag a pair of Skaftsärvs instead — but there's something you should know first.

Although the Skaftsärv can shift colors in response to music, and is dimmable, there's no way to connect it to your TV or PC monitor to extend the colors from the screen. It's impressive considering how little it costs, but it's only a decorative lamp, not a smart light.

By contrast, the Philips Hue Play Light Bar can be used to add ambience to a room, or to create an Amblight-style effect around and behind your TV when connected to a Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box. Up to three Light Bars can be connected to the same power supply.

You can control your Light Bars via the Philips Hue app, and like all Philips Hue devices, they are compatible with all the major smart home ecosystems so you can operate them with voice commands, connect them to your other smart devices, and use them in automations. Take a look at our Philips Hue Play Light Bar review to find out more.

Lighting for less

If the Philips Hue light is outside your budget, but you want something that will provide a similar experience, take a look at the WiZ Gradient Light Bars, which cost just $59.99 / £54.99, and work in a very similar way when linked to a WiZ HDMI Sync Box.

Although they use different technologies, both Philips Hue and WiZ smart lights are made by the same company (Signify), so you can be confident that you're getting good quality. In fact, our reviewer Abigail Shannon gave the WiZ Gradient Light Bars a near-perfect four and a half stars out of five thanks to their ease of use, versatility, and smooth color gradient. Check out our full WiZ Gradient Light Bars review for more details.

Evenings are getting lighter, temperatures are slowly but surely creeping up, and I've officially switched my heating off for the year. Summer is definitely in the air, and that means it's time to think about getting your outside space sorted. Below, I've rounded up my favourite outdoor buys for an instant outdoor upgrade.

Adding some lighting is a really easy way to completely change the feel of your outside space. The Festavia Smart Globe Lights are the tech-lover's option — these outdoor string lights from Philips Hue can be adjusted to a wide range of colours, turned up bright or right down low, and even synced up to pulse with your playlist. If you want something that's less of an investment, check out the BioLite Alpenglow mini lantern. This lightweight and curvy weather-resistant lamp has multiple settings, including warm white, a single colour, or a 'horizon' gradient. I have the larger versions, and they're a constant presence at all my outdoor suppers and camping trips.

There's something really special about cooking outdoors, and Ninja has pulled a blinder with its Woodfire cooker. This appliance can act as an outdoor oven, pizza maker or BBQ smoker. It's electric — so nice and reliable — but there's a compartment where you can add wooden pellets that burn to create an authentic smoky BBQ flavour. Genius.

Whether you're getting ready for al fresco dinners, big weekend BBQ parties or just a quiet Sunday morning cup of coffee in the sunshine, read on for my top picks to give your outside space an instant upgrade.

12 of my favorite outdoor buys

The Philips Hue Spring Sale is on now, with big discounts across the brand's entire range of smart lights, switches, sensors, and other devices to help you brighten up your home for less.

Philips Hue products consistently rank among the best smart lights I test as TechRadar's Homes Editor, so whether you're just starting out with Hue or want to expand your existing setup, this is the perfect time.

• Shop the full Philips Hue spring sale

I'm particularly impressed by the spring deals on multipacks of Philips Hue light bulbs, which mean you can fit them in every lamp and ceiling fixture in your home without spending an arm and a leg. For example, you can pick up a four-pack of Philips Hue Essential bulbs for just $44.99 (was $59.99), which is awesome value.

I gave these bulbs four and a half stars in my Philips Hue Essential review, and they're the ones I use most often at home. Read on for more of my top sale picks.

Today's best Philips Hue deals

If you're not sure whether Philips Hue lights are right for you (perhaps you want an LED pegboard to show off your collectibles, for example, or want some battery-operated string lights), take a look at our complete guide to the best smart lights for more options from brands including Nanoleaf and Govee.

Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lights, and for good reason. Not only are its lights themselves well-made, they're also available in a huge choice of shapes and styles, are easy to use, and are super versatile. The only sticking point is that they can be pretty expensive — but not right now! Amazon is holding a huge spring sale this week, and has knocked up to 34% off all kinds of Hue bulbs, light strips, and starter kits.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Philips Hue Essential series, which is a collection of bulbs and LED strips that are cheaper than standard Hue lights, with only slightly lower specs. They're fantastic value, and with these offers at Amazon, I'm going to take the opportunity to stock up.

If you're new to Hue, this is the perfect time to grab a cheap Philips Hue Starter Kit. Each of these includes a pack of smart bulbs and a Philips Hue Bridge hub to connect them together — sometimes with a smart switch or button thrown in as well. They're the perfect way to start your smart lighting journey.

Philips Hue Essential deals

Philips Hue Starter Kits

Philips Hue LED strips

If you can't see a light here that quite suits your needs, take a look at my complete guide to the best smart lights, where you'll find an array of bulbs, lamps, and string lights to suit every room in your house – all tested and recommended by me and my army of smart home tech experts.

It's hard to overstate the usefulness of smart lights, and once you have one at home, you'll start to see dozens of different ways to use it— from simply creating a schedule to changing the light temperature to suit the time of day, or even making it blink when someone presses your doorbell.

Smart lights don't have to be expensive either. Sure, outfitting your whole home with top-end Philips Hue color bulbs would be an expensive endeavor, but that's not your only option. There are (literally) brilliant bulbs from other brands that offer impressive features and quality for much less cash, and even Philips has a collection of lights at an entry-level price these days.

Below you'll find the top three smart light bulbs I recommend for your home. I've opted for Hue Essentials in my own apartment, but I'd happily fit either of the other options as well — particularly if I was in a party mood.

Best cverall

Philips Hue Essential

Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lighting, and has sat at the top of our roundup of the best smart light systems for years, but it's always had one significant drawback: it's expensive. That's where Philips Hue Essential comes in.

Hue Essential, which launched last year, is a more affordable alternative to the standard Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance series, with fewer bulb options and a much lower price tag. You don't get to pick from such a huge array of sizes and styles (at launch, there were only three bulbs and a light strip available), but during my tests, I was thoroughly impressed by how well they performed compared to their full-price counterparts.

Like regular Hue bulbs, Hue Essential lights can be controlled individually via Bluetooth, or through the Philips Hue app. Using the app unlocks a lot more features, including the ability to assign a set of bulbs to a particular room or area and control them together, create automations, apply Scenes (themed color palettes) and link them to other devices such as sensors and switches.

The more advanced features also require a Philips Hue Bridge, which is an extra expense you'll need to consider when budgeting for your new smart lighting system, but it's worthwhile if you're adding them to more than one room, particularly since it also allows you to connect your lights to virtually any smart home ecosystem.

Colors are bright and bold, and in my tests, the Hue Essential bulb proved just as responsive as a White & Color Ambiance bulb costing twice as much. The two bulbs use different color technologies. meaning the more expensive bulb offers a wider palette, but in everyday use, you'll be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

The only real downside of choosing Hue Essential bulbs is that they can't be dimmed quite as low as regular Hue bulbs. That won't matter for most situations, but if you want to use your smart lights to wake you gently in the morning, or for subtle lighting in your home theater, the more expensive bulbs may be the better option.

For everything else, though, Hue Essential bulbs offer a staggering array of features, excellent quality, a well-designed app, and the most extensive compatibility of any smart lights you can buy today.

Read our full Philips Hue Essential review

Party lighting

GE Cync Lighting Dynamic Effects

Philips Hue Essential lights are excellent, but GE Cync Lighting Dynamic Effects bulbs offer something Hue ones don't: the ability to assign multiple colors to a single bulb so you can set the mood with just one light. Better yet, these party-ready smart lights can shift their multiple colors in response to music without the need for extra sensors and accessories. It's a party on your ceiling, and everyone's invited.

"The dynamic effects available here are a treat, especially the ones that respond to audio, and set it apart from the competition," said our reviewer, James Holland. "Get enough of these, and you could probably throw your own rave."

These bulbs link directly to Wi-Fi, so unlike Philips Hue lights (which use the Zigbee wireless protocol), there's no need for a hub to use all their features. If you're planning to equip your whole house with smart lights, then a Zigbee mesh network makes more sense (each light effectively acts as a repeater, giving more range), but if you just want fun lighting for one or two rooms, Wi-Fi will be fine.

During testing, we found GE's bulbs refreshingly simple to connect, and the accompanying Cync app is much better designed than many others we've tried over the years.

"The GE Cync Lighting Dynamic Effects bulb might be a little spendy compared to other models, but its connectivity is rock solid," said James. "In fact, the closest I‘ve had to any issue is a second or two of lag when turning off through the app, but that’s only if the light’s been on for a while."

Want to take the party further? There are also Dynamic effects wall light panels, LED strips, and string lights so you can design a setup to suit your room. These bulbs aren't widely available outside the US though, so if you want to have fun with smart lighting elsewhere, scroll on for my next recommendation.

Read our full GE Cync Lighting Dynamic Effects review

Budget

Nanoleaf Matter Essentials

Nanoleaf has carved a niche for itself in smart lighting for gamers. If you want an illuminated pegboard to hold your headphones and controllers, flexible rope lights that sync with the on-screen action, or stackable light-up storage cubes to show off your collectibles, Nanoleaf has you covered.

It does have a more sensible side, though, including some excellent smart light bulbs that are particularly bright and bold, and are great paired with Nanoleaf's decorative lighting or used alone.

As you can tell from the name, these particular bulbs are Matter-compatible, meaning you can use them as part of a mix-and-match smart home comprising devices from different brands — a significant advantage over many similarly-priced smart bulbs.

We experienced a few connectivity hiccups during setup, but once we got our Nanoleaf bulbs set up, we were very impressed. We particularly liked the way you can easily sync your Nanoleaf bulbs with what's happening on your screen, and the Circadian Lighting feature, which changes the color temperature and brightness throughout the day to help you feel energized when it's time to work, and wind down in the evening. Creating custom color scenes is a breeze, too (and you can even share them with other Nanoleaf users if you're feeling generous).

Like the Hue Essential series, Nanoleaf's budget bulbs don't give you a huge range of shapes and styles to choose from — there's a screw fitting, bayonet fitting, spotlight for recessed ceiling lights, and that's it — but the fact that you can use them with any major smart home platform opens up a world of options if you want to extend your smart lighting further.

Read our full Nanoleaf Matter Essentials review

Last year, Signify, the company behind Philips Hue, unveiled a new lineup of bulbs and strip lights intended to make it more affordable to start installing smart lighting in your home, and lower the barrier to entry – but just how good are they, and how do they compare with the company's full-price smart lights? To find out, I put both types to the test against one another.

Philips Hue bulbs, strips, and lamps have consistently held the top spot in our roundup of the best smart lights here at TechRadar, and for good reason. They provide excellent color reproduction with smooth transitions, brightness up to 1,600 lumens, compatibility with all the major smart home ecosystems, a feature-packed mobile app, and lights for pretty much everywhere, including regular screw-fitting bulbs, spotlights, and outdoor fixtures.

The Hue Essential series gives you almost all the same features, but with a maximum brightness of 806 lumens, and fewer design options. You can choose screw-fitting or bayonet bulbs for lamps and pendant lamps, B22 spotlights, or a five-meter LED strip. However, they're also less than half the price, so those differences are easy to justify.

To see how well they compare in practice, I fitted an 800-lumen White & Color Ambiance bulb and a Philips Hue Essentials bulb in identical table lamps, and used the Hue app to add them to the same zone so I could control them together.

Although the more expensive bulb can display more colors, and uses a different LED system that means it can shift between them more smoothly, in real life I couldn't see any noticeable difference between the two. It might well be a different story if you wanted to sync your lights with a TV screen or PC monitor, but since they're not compatible with a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, that's a moot point.

The Hue Essential bulb did. however, have a warmer cast when set to one of its white light settings. I'd advise against using a combination of Essential and regular Philips Hue bulbs in the same room to avoid a mis-matched appearance.

The other big difference was dimming. The Hue Essential bulb could only be dimmed to 2% of its maximum brightness, whereas the regular bulb could drop to just 0.2%, which makes the more expensive bulb a better choice for situations where you want very low light levels, for example when setting a lamp to wake you up with a virtual sunrise in the morning, or providing just enough light for you to find the bathroom at night without waking anyone else.

In all other respects, the two bulbs were strikingly similar in performance, and I'd definitely use the Hue Essentials ones for things like basic ceiling lights in hallways and bathrooms that don't require anything too elaborate. They're also great value bundled with the Philips Hue Bridge, making them perfect for newcomers to the world of smart lighting. Take a look below for today's best offers on Philips Hue Essential lights and starter kits.

Today's best Philips Hue Essential deals

• The Philips Hue Lucca lights are tipped to get an upgrade
• These models are set to get brighter and more colorful
• At the moment, prices and launch dates aren't clear

In recent weeks we've seen Philips Hue upgrade some of its existing products, like its Hue Flourish lamp. And it looks like another refresh is on the way for the Lucca series of products, which comprises a wall light, a path light, and a pedestal light.

According to the usually reliable Hueblog (via Notebookcheck), the Lucca lamps are getting a bulb upgrade. These products will soon be fitted with the E27 smart bulb, just about the best that Philips Hue makes at the moment.

Not only will that boost the maximum brightness of these devices from around 800 lumens to around 1,100 lumens, it will also enable a wider range of color effects. Some of the current Lucca models only offer white lighting, but the bulb upgrade should put these devices among the best Philips Hue lights out there.

It seems as though the rest of these products will be unchanged – specifically the design and dimensions. Philips Hue is just upgrading the bulb that's fitted inside, which is after all the most important component in a smart light.

Pricing to be confirmed

At the moment it's not clear if this is going to affect pricing, and we don't know when the refresh is actually going to happen either. Given that the update has now leaked, however, it shouldn't be too long before its made official.

The availability of the current Lucca series seems to be rather limited right now: the Philips Hue US store only has the wall light on sale for $109.99, while the UK store has the wall light for £89.99 and the pedestal light for £114.99. None of the products are showing up on the official Australia store at the time of writing.

That's another indication that a refresh is on the way, together with the previously rumored updates for the Turaco lights and the Flourish table lamp – all getting a boost from the same E27 Philips Hue bulb.

Meanwhile, the Philips Hue Bridge and Bridge Pro hubs continue to get updated with new and improved features, including easier access to automations. Note that you need a Bridge or Bridge Pro in order to make use of the Lucca lights.

Philips Hue bulbs and lamps are among the best smart lights around, and there's a dizzying array to choose from. As TechRadar's smart home tech editor, I've had my hands (and eyes) on all of the main products, and have put together this guide to help you decide which ones are right for you.

If you're new to the world of smart lights and just want to try replacing a few of your existing bulbs, I recommend the Philips Hue Essential series. These are entry-level versions of the brand's standard color-shifting smart bulbs, and are much more affordable. If you want to add ambience to a room or create an Ambilight-style home-theater effect without the hassle of fitting light strips behind your TV, I recommend the Philips Hue Wall Washer, and if you want string lights that will be fun and functional throughout the holidays and beyond, Philips Hue Festavia gets my seal of approval.

Bear in mind that to unlock all the features of your smart lights, you'll need a Philips Hue Bridge. This links to your Wi-Fi router and connects all your Hue lights (plus switches and sensors) in a mesh network. For more details, take a look at our guide about what is a Hue Bridge and how important is it.

Best smart light bulbs

Philips Hue Essential

Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lighting, but the price can be daunting if you're thinking about trying it for the first time, or like the idea of having smart bulbs in every room. That's where the Hue Essential series comes in. It doesn't include as many different types and styles as the original Hue range, but it covers all the basics with screw, bayonet, and spotlight options – and they're excellent.

I tested a Philips Hue Essential bulb against its premium White and Color Ambiance counterpart, and I could barely tell the difference between the two in most situations. Color reproduction was excellent for both, they're equally responsive to commands from the Hue app, and their maximum brightness is almost identical.

The only significant difference involved dimming, with the regular White and Color Ambiance bulb capable of dropping to a much lower level than the Hue Essential bulb. That might be an issue if you want subtle lighting for your home entertainment area, or you want to fit a smart bulb in your bedroom to wake you gently with a sunrise effect, but for most rooms, it really won't matter.

Hue Essential bulbs work just like any other Hue lights in other respects. You can control them via Bluetooth or use a Philips Hue Bridge to connect them to other devices, including switches, sensors, and smart speakers.

That's all very impressive considering they're less than half the price of standard Philips Hue bulbs, and means they're easy to recommend.

Check out my full Philips Hue Essential review

Best smart table lamp

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer

The Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is the most versatile smart lamp I've tested. Rather than shining light directly into the room, it has a stack of three bright LEDs on the back, which cast a striking, even gradient of color onto a wall – hence the name.

Much like Philips Ambilight, you can use a pair of Wall Washers to enhance your home-theater setup by extending the colors from the edges of your TV screen. Just connect them to a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, follow the setup instructions in the Hue app, and settle in for a more immersive viewing experience. Color-matching was impressive during my tests, and each Wall Washer has a surprisingly long throw, so they will even work with larger TVs.

You can also use it to add ambient light to any room (the further away from a wall it is, the more diffuse the glow), and link it to any other Hue smart lights and devices in your home.

Personally, I like to use it as a wake-up light (similar to the Philips Hue Twilight, but not quite as expensive). The Wall Washer casts a warm glow onto your bedroom wall that gradually brightens and shifts from dark blue to red, orange, yellow, and eventually white to rouse you from slumber gently. It's less of a shock to the system than an audible alarm, and beats even the best wake-up lamps when it comes to color and dimming.

Read my full Philips Hue Play Wall Washer review

Best smart string lights

String lights aren't just for the holidays, as Philips Hue Festavia proves. This string of tiny smart LEDs looks stunning gracing your tree, but can also be strung anywhere in your home to add ambient lighting all year round.

Using the Philips Hue app, you can apply themed Scenes to your Festavia lights, and even group them with other Hue bulbs and lamps to create a cohesive theme throughout a space. Thanks to a new feature called Hue SpatialAware, the app can even apply Scenes differently depending on where the lights are positioned, so your Festavia strings add to the ambiance in a way that makes sense for your room.

You can also control them using automations or switches and sensors. For example, you could have them illuminate only when someone enters the room, or on a timer so they shut off automatically at bedtime.

You can even use them to create a welcoming glow around the front of your home when someone approaches. Unlike most string lights we've tested over the years, standard Festavia lights are suitable for use indoors or out, and are rated IP54, meaning they won't be damaged by rain.

As with all Hue lights, you'll need a Philips Hue Bridge to get the most out of them, but if you already have a Hue setup, then they're a great option if you're shopping for lights for the holidays and beyond.

See our guide are smart string lights worth it?

• An update to the Philips Hue Flourish table lamp is on the way
• The lumens will be boosted from 806 to 1,100
• It's not clear when the lamp is going to go on sale worldwide

The newly unveiled IKEA donut lamp, part of the Varmblixt series, has been turning heads in recent weeks – but Philips Hue looks set to counter with a new product of its own, based on the existing Hue Flourish table lamp.

Based on a listing seen on Amazon Germany (via Hueblog), the lamp is going to get an upgrade from 806 lumens to 1,100 lumens. That should mean a higher maximum brightness for the Flourish lamp when it's sitting in your home.

If you're new to the product, the lamp doesn't actually have a light fixed inside it, like the Flourish pendant light or the Flourish ceiling light. Instead, it comes with a Philips Hue E27 bulb for full color illumination, which can be replaced as and when needed.

It's that bulb that is driving the upgraded lumens in the new version, and the rest of the lamp looks to be the same: it still measures 26.1 centimeters wide and 17.5 centimeters high, so make sure you've got enough room for it before buying.

The price is right?

Based on the Amazon Germany listing, the upgraded Flourish table lamp is going to be available for roughly the same price as the previous version launched at – though the older model no longer available to buy direct from Philips Hue.

The previous version would have cost you $153.99 / £129.99 (roughly AU$225, though it's not clear what the original price in Australia was). Remember that includes both the E27 bulb and the surrounding lamp, made from glass.

The IKEA Varmblixt donut will set you back $99.99 when it goes on sale in April – that's about £75 / AU$145, though international pricing is to be confirmed – so if you're going for the cheaper option it seems as though IKEA is still the way to go.

Of course, a lot depends on what else you've already got set up in your smart home: if you've already heavily invested in Philips Hue lights and perhaps a Hue Bridge to connect them all together, then the Flourish table lamp makes more sense. Well, either that, or buying a different IKEA light and using a Philips Hue bulb inside it.

• A new Hue Bridge update lays the ground for an automations tweak
• Automations will soon be visible alongside rooms and scenes
• There's no sign yet of the SpatialAware feature we saw demoed at CES

Update: We've had a response from Signify, the parent company of Philips Hue. Its representatives told us –

"Automations aren’t disappearing or being replaced. Instead, we're making them more accessible by surfacing them directly where they're most relevant. Automations will live alongside lights, scenes, and accessories within rooms and zones, so users can interact with them in the context of the space they’re controlling."

Scroll to the bottom for the rest of the statement. Our original story continues below.

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If you have a Philips Hue Bridge or a Philips Hue Bridge Pro set-up at home, be on the lookout for a software upgrade that's rolling out now, which lays the foundations for upcoming improvements to smart-light automations.

As spotted by Notebookcheck, the notes accompanying the version 1975104000 update (Hue Bridge v2) and version 2071193000 update (Hue Bridge Pro) mention showing automations "within the screens of the rooms and zones they control".

Currently, if you open up the Philips Hue app on your phone, you'll see there's a separate Automations tab where you'll find them all listed – timers for waking up and going to sleep, motion-sensor triggers, preset color cycles, and so on. These automations are why Philips Hue devices are some of the best smart lights in the business.

In the near future, it sounds like these automations will also appear on the same screens where you can access the rooms and zones you've created for your lights, making it much easier to see what's what with a quick glance.

Coming soon

The latest Bridge update doesn't enable this change – but it's apparently arriving "in the coming weeks". We've reached out to Philips Hue parent company Signify to see if it has anything extra to add, and will add an update here if we hear back.

In addition to making preparations for this automations tweak, the update release notes say there are "several small changes behind the scenes" that make the Bridges work better than ever – so expect faster responses and fewer problems in the future.

Though it's not mentioned in this update, we're also patiently waiting for the SpatialAware feature, announced at CES 2026 and exclusive to the Hue Bridge Pro. When you set scenes in a room, it tweaks the output from each light, based on its position – for example, for a sunset scene, the artificial sun effect will set on one side of the room.

You can manage Hue Bridge updates by tapping Settings in the app, then choosing Software update. To make life easy, enable Automatic update, which means your Hue devices will update themselves, without you having to do anything else.

And the rest of that Signify statement in full –

"From those room and zone screens, users will be able to create, edit, delete, enable or disable, and start or stop automations – without having to navigate away. This makes it much easier to find the right automation at the right moment.

At the same time, the Automations tab will remain available. This gives users flexibility: they can either browse automations by context (room or zone) or view and manage the full list of automations across their home in one place.

We're also introducing more personalization in how content is displayed within rooms and zones. Users will be able to reorder sections – for example, placing scenes or automations first, followed by accessories and individual lights – based on how they prefer to control their space.

The change is focused on reducing friction and making everyday actions quicker, especially for users who rely heavily on scenes and automations rather than individual light controls. We'll share timing details closer to rollout."

We're on the show floor at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where all the biggest names in tech are showing off their latest consumer products, and smart home brands are vying for a place in your living room.

There have been some interesting developments in the world of smart lighting (such as IKEA's donut-shaped Varmblixt LED Lamp), but one that really caught my eye was a new line of budget-friendly smart light bulbs from Lifx.

These have been on sale for a couple of months already, but this is the first time Lifx has demonstrated them at a major trade show.

We've tested various Lifx products over the years here at TechRadar and been impressed by their performance. However, they tend to lean towards the expensive side, with premium prices more in line with Philips Hue's best smart lights than affordable rivals Govee or Nanoleaf.

Last year, Philips launched the Hue Essential series – a collection of everyday bulbs that work in just the same way as its regular lights, but with more modest specs and much lower prices, so it makes sense that Lifx is following its lead with a more accessible range of entry-level bulbs.

Opting for a cheaper bulb doesn't necessarily mean missing out on features or quality. I put a Philips Hue Essential E27 bulb to the test against a regular Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance one, and was surprised how well the cheaper model compared in terms of overall brightness and color reproduction. The biggest difference was that the regular Hue bulb could be dimmed to 0.2% of its maximum brightness, whereas the Hue Essential one could only drop to 2%.

Depending on how you're planning to use them, that might be something you don't even notice – particularly if you're not mixing the two bulb types within the same room.

So what does the new Lifx Everyday series bring to the table (or ceiling) compared with Hue Essential, and which smart lights should you pick if you're on a budget?

Significant specs

The table below sums up the key similarities and differences between a Philips Hue Essential and a Lifx Everyday bulb. In the interest of simplicity, I'll be comparing the standard E27 screw-fitting bulb in both collections.

I should also point out that although Hue Essential bulbs can be bought individually, Lifx Everyday bulbs are only available in packs of two, so here I'll be comparing the list price for a twin-pack of each.

As you can see, while both these bulbs are in the entry-level price bracket, the Philips Hue Essential is considerably more expensive. If you want to make the most of the Hue Essential bulb's features (beyond simply adjusting the brightness and color) then you'll also need to factor in the price of a Philips Hue Bridge, which connects to your router and links all your Hue devices in a mesh network using the Zigbee wireless protocol.

Using Zigbee does have some significant advantages over Wi-Fi though, and is ideal for low-powered devices like smart lights and switches. Connecting multiple smart lights directly to your Wi-Fi router can cause congestion, and although you can theoretically connect dozens of bulbs to a single router, doing so is likely to slow down other connected devices.

Zigbee-enabled devices also act as repeaters, which can dramatically extend their range compared to Wi-Fi connected devices.

The Hue Essential bulb has a slightly higher max brightness and the Lifx Everyday, plus a wider white light temperature range. The Lifx bulb offers deeper dimming, however, which may be helpful if you want to use your bulb as a wake-up light in the morning.

Into the apps

Both thje Lifx and Philips Hue apps let you choose from a collection of preset lighting scenes or create your own to set a particular mood. However, the Hue app also has an AI-powered assistant to make bespoke scenes for you using typed or spoken commands. Both the Philips Hue app and the Lifx app let you set custom schedules and automations.

Both apps let you connect to their respective brand's switches without using a third-party platform, but the Hue app also offers native support for the brand's huge range of sensors, cameras, doorbell, and other devices. You can not only control your lights, but also create and arm a home security system through the same app. There are also more third-party integrations for Hue products via services like IFTTT.

Conclusion

So which entry-level bulbs are right for you? The answer depends partly on your budget, and partly on what you're planning to do in the future.

The Lifx Everyday bulbs are cheaper to buy outright, and have the advantage of not needing an additional bridge to unlock features like customizable scenes and scheduling. If you want smart light bulbs for one or two rooms, they're a very reasonably priced option, with brightness, dimming, and colors to compete with premium options.

Philips Hue Essential bulbs, on the other hand, are intended as an affordable entry point to the Hue system. If you'd like to gradually change all your lights to smart ones and can see yourself building a system spanning multiple rooms with different sensors and security devices, Hue Essentials will be a better investment in the long term.

• Your Philips Hue lights are getting a new feature called Hue SpatialAware
• It applies scenes differently depending on the location of lights in a room
• There's also a long-awaited update coming to the Philips Hue Bridge Pro

Your Philips Hue lights are getting an upgrade that's going to make your rooms look a lot more cohesive. It's called Hue SpatialAware, and it will apply lighting scenes differently depending on the location of smart lights within your room, resulting in a more natural-looking effect.

Lighting scenes are palettes of themed colors that you can apply to all the lights in a particular room or area. They're great for setting a mood, but until now each color in the scene could be applied to any light bulb or fixture, regardless of its location. The result could be somewhat jumbled, as you can see on the left-hand side of the images above and below.

That's about to change though, because now you can use your phone's camera to scan your room and log the location of each light. Hue SpatialAware will then apply the colors within your chosen scene in a way that makes sense. For example, the lights on one side of the room might have a bright, warm glow to represent a sunset, while those on the other are darker. You might also find the lights towards the top of your room are brighter than those lower down, simulating a sunny sky.

Hue SpatialAware is currently available for about half the remastered scenes in the Hue app's scene gallery, and is most effective with nature-inspired palettes. It requires Philips Hue Bridge Pro, which went on sale in September last year, and SpatialAware will be available early this year.

More bright ideas

SpatialAware isn't the only new feature rolling out today. Anyone who currently has multiple Philips Hue Bridges will be pleased to learn that they can now port all their lights to a single Bridge Pro. A single Bridge Pro can support over 150 lights and 50 accessories, and you can transfer data from as many Hue Bridges as you like provided you don't exceed those limits.

The Philips Hue AI assistant is getting an upgrade that will let it create automations based on your requests. For example, you can ask it to wake you at a particular time every day, except for Mondays. The assistant is currently only available in English, but support for Dutch, German, and Spanish will arrive over the next few weeks.

There's good news for Apple Home users too. The Hue Secure camera, video doorbell, and contact sensors will soon work seamlessly with Apple's smart home platform, with support for live streaming via picture-in-picture mode on Apple TV, and real-time alerts in the Apple Home app. This will be available very soon as well.

• Govee unveiled three new smart light products at CES 2026, including the new Floor Lamp 3 and two new ceiling lights
• The new Ceiling Light Ultra encourages you to create your own animated color gradients, while the Sky Ceiling Light leans into natural lighting
• As well as new hardware, Govee announced a slew of new software upgrades including DaySync, which changes your smart lights based on the time of day

Govee’s showcase at CES 2026 showed that not only is the company focussed on evolving its range of smart lighting, but it's dedicated to making the technology even smarter through its new era of smart lights and software updates – and Philips Hue should watch out.

Known for making some of the best smart lights out there, three new products are joining Govee’s range of lighting products. These include the Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light – each offering Matter integration and compatibility with Apple's HomeKit smart home platform.

While we don’t have any pricing details for the new range, the new Floor Lamp 3 succeeds the Govee Floor Lamp 2 packing an upgraded LuminBlend+ color system. Its advanced new features now allow you to control a staggering 281 trillion colors and an extensive spectrum of temperature lighting ranging from 1,000K to 10,000K – a feature that’ll be coming to other Govee smart lights this year.

With that said, the Ceiling Light Ultra, and Sky Ceiling Light are new to the Govee family, both of which are 21-inches in size, but offer different, unique functions.

The Ceiling Light Ultra is a more playful take on the smart light, packing a detailed 616-pixel LED matrix which can display intricate animated scenes and gradients with 5000 lumens of brightness. You can even take it a step further and design your own patterns in the Govee app “with up to eight distinct layers of motion, color, and shapes” – or you can select from the 20+ presets that are included – something that even the Philips Hue Datura ceiling light has yet to achieve.

When it comes to the Sky Ceiling Light, this model is designed to emulate natural daylight, with 5200 lumens of brightness and edge-mounted LEDs that mimic the effects of a real skylight window. While the Ceiling Light Ultra provides a more creative experience, the Sky Ceiling Light leans more towards the well-being side of smart lighting, offering realistic blue-sky effects during the day and warm sunset tones in the evening with the help of DaySync – a new lighting feature introduced by Govee.

Govee catches up on customization

We’re very fond of Govee as a budget-friendly smart lighting brand, but until now one of its drawbacks has been the lack of advanced features offered by rivals like Philips Hue. With the new DaySync and AI Lighting Bot 2.0 functions, that could all be about to change.

At CES 2026, Govee announced its new DaySync functionality alongside its range of new hardware. As its name implies, DaySync can alter the brightness and color of your smart lights based on the time of day. It can also pick up on sunrise and sunset times and local conditions and change your lighting accordingly – which is native to the Sky Ceiling Light.

Additionally, Govee unveiled its AI Lighting Bot 2.0, an upgraded version of its scene-changing chatbot feature that adjusts animated scenes in its pixel and graphic smart lights. Instead of using fixed commands, it can now alter your smart lighting by using natural conversations.

Like we’ve stated earlier, we don’t know how much Govee’s new Floor Lamp 3, Ceiling Light Ultra, or Sky Ceiling Light will cost, nor when they’ll be available to purchase. That aside, this is a huge step for both Govee’s smart lighting hardware and software, and 2026 is already looking to be a bright year for one of our favorite smart home brands.

Philips Hue Essential: two-minute review

Philips Hue Essential bulbs are a more affordable version of the company's standard smart lights, and they perform incredibly well considering they're less than half the price. There are a few limitations, though. For example, Philips Hue Essential bulbs offer a maximum brightness of **803**CHECK*** lumens, whereas standard Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance bulbs range from 800 to 1,600 lumens.

In most other respects, the two are very similar, and during my tests there was only one clear instance where the standard bulb really outshone the Essential version.

To see how the two would compare, I set up a pair of lamps – one with a Philips Hue Essential bulb, and the other with an 800-lumen Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance bulb. I added them to the same room in the Philips Hue app, which would enable me to control them simultaneously, and directly compare and contrast their output.

During most of the tests I ran, it was difficult to spot any difference between the two. Both were equally responsive, and produced colors that were identical to my naked eye when I switched between scenes. According to Signify (the company behind the Philips Hue brand), Essential bulbs use different color-matching technology to regular Hue lights; but personally, I had a hard time telling the difference.

Having said that, I did notice a dark band at the top of the Essential bulb, which wasn't present on the premium bulb. This was most apparent with purple and blue light. Note that it isn't something you'll notice if you're using the bulb in a ceiling light, nor in a table lamp, and therefore is unlikely to be a deal-breaker unless you're exceptionally picky.

The two were equally bright (as expected), although if I'd used a higher-output White & Color Ambiance bulb, then it would have been appreciably brighter.

However, there's one important difference that you should be aware of, particularly if you're looking for smart bulbs that will produce a natural-looking sunrise and sunset to help you wake up feeling refreshed, or to create subtle ambient lighting in your living room.

With both bulbs dialled down to their dimmest setting, the Hue Essential bulb was much brighter than the more expensive White & Color Ambiance model, as you can see in the photo below. That's because the Hue Essential bulb can only be dimmed to 2% of its maximum brightness, whereas the regular bulb can drop to just 0.2%.

I also found that the Essential bulb tended to show a slightly warmer cast, due to its narrower white light spectrum (2,200–6,500K compared to 1,000-20,00K for a regular Hue bulb). Depending on your preferred light temperature, the difference could be apparent if you use the two different types of bulbs in close proximity,

I wouldn't mix and match regular Hue and Hue Essential bulbs within the same room. However, they're an excellent option for those wanting to setup a Philips Hue system but have previously been intimidated by the price. They're also great if you're looking to extend your existing system to more rooms in your home, without splashing too much cash.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Philips Hue Essential: price and availability

• Much cheaper than regular Philips Hue bulbs
• Even more affordable when bought as a multipack
• You may also want a Philips Hue Bridge

The Philips Hue Essential range is designed to be an accessible entry point into the world of smart lighting, with the bulbs coming in at a much cheaper price than standard Philips Hue ones.

One Philips Hue Essential bulb (either screw or bayonet) costs $24.99 / £19.99 (about AU$40). If you want several, you can save money by opting for a multipack. A twin-pack costs $44.99 / £32.99 (about AU$70), and a four-pack comes in at $59.99 / £49.99 (about AU$90).

For comparison, a twin-pack of regular 800-lumen Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance bulbs costs $98.99 / £84.99 / AU$149.25, and a four-pack is $185.99 / £169.99 / AU$290.50. That's the starting price for a maximum brightness of 800 lumens; brighter bulbs cost even more.

There's another potential cost to consider, though. Although you can control the color and brightness of your Philips Hue Essential lights using Bluetooth on your phone, for more advanced features (such as applying scenes, setting schedules, and connecting them to smart speakers or switches) you'll also need a Philips Hue Bridge.

A standard Philips Hue Bridge costs $65.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.95, so factor this into your budget when planning your new smart lighting system. There's also a Philips Hue Bridge Pro, but this would be overkill for a new user with a small setup.

At the time of writing, Hue Essential bulbs only seem to be available in Australia as part of a starter kit, costing $170.08 for four bulbs and the Hue Bridge.

• Value score: 5/5

Philips Hue Essential: specifications

Philips Hue Essential: design

• Only three bulb types available
• All options offer tuneable white and colored light
• Maximum brightness of 806 lumens

Philips offers only a small selection of Hue Essential bulbs, which makes sense for an entry-level option. There are currently three models available – screw, bayonet, and GU10 spotlights – and these should be fine for most fittings around your home. Here, I tested an E27 screw-fitting bulb.

By contrast, regular Philips Hue lights come in virtually every shape and form possible, including candle and "filament"-style bulbs, LED strips, and gradient lamps to name just a few.

All bulbs in the Philips Hue Essential Series are "Warm to Cool White & Color", meaning they can show eight million colours, plus white light at different temperatures (from 2,200K to 6,500K). Regular Philips Hue smart bulbs are available in three versions:

• Warm white, which lets you tune brightness but not color;
• White Ambiance, which lets you adjust the brightness and temperature;
• White & Color Ambiance, which also lets you pick from eight million colors.

For more details, take a look at my complete guide to the different types of Philips Hue smart light bulbs.

All Philips Hue Essential bulbs offer a maximum brightness of 806 lumens. Regular Philips Hue bulbs range from 800 all the way through to 1,600 lumens.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Should you buy Philips Hue Essential bulbs?

Buy them if

Don't buy them if

Philips Hue Essential: also consider

How I tested the Philips Hue Essential bulbs

I tested a Philips Hue Essential E27 screw-fitting bulb alongside a standard Philips Hue Essential White & Color Ambiance bulb in identical table lamps, so I could more easily compare the two. I connected both to my existing Philips Hue setup, and added them to the same zone, which would enable me to control them both at once via the Hue app on my phone, set them to the same colors and brightness, and note similarities and differences.

I also tested them using the "sunset" automation within the Philips Hue app, with various preset scenes, and by tuning the light color and brightness manually.

For more details, see how we test, rate, and review products at TechRadar.

Whether you prefer your decorations in minimalist white and silver or gaudy festive cheer, a Christmas tree just isn’t complete without string lights.

Thanks to the swathes of LED options on the market, gone are the days of hunting through the entire string to find that one pesky dud bulb that’s killed the mood, which is a big win for those of us who are old enough to remember.

Nowadays, we’ve got oodles of smart string light options at our fingertips, but are they worth the extra cash? In my opinion: absolutely.

A smart upgrade offers much more convenience in how you control your lighting and greater flexibility than you could ever get from standard LED string lights, with companion apps offering scheduling and voice control.

Smart features let you fine-tune the ambience to your liking with adjustable color and brightness settings, DIY modes, and more, opening the option to use those diddy bulbs year-round if fairy lights are your thing. However, the level of customization and convenience can vary between brands.

In preparation for my Christmas tree’s glow-up, I’ve tested four sets from Philips Hue, Nanoleaf, and Govee, focusing on the differences in features, usability, and convenience.

To save you some deliberation time, I’ve shared my findings below to light the way to your perfect set of string lights.

The essentials

As with most smart tech, the price of a set of string lights can vary widely, from super-cheap finds on Amazon to premium options. It helps to know exactly what you’re getting for your money, as you may well find you can get similar, or sometimes better, value from a lower-priced option.

To demonstrate this, the sets I’ve tested were similar in length, with most around the 66ft / 20m mark, aside from the Nanoleaf Matter Holiday Smart string lights, which are slightly longer at 78.8ft / 24m. I’ve collated the main elements to consider in the table below.

I’ve quoted the list prices above, but there are some joy-inducing holiday discounts at the time of writing, including a deal on the 66ft / 20m Govee Christmas Sparkle String Lights, which lowers the cost to just $64.99 in the US and £69.99 in the UK.

• Shop Govee’s full Christmas sale in the US

• Shop Govee’s full Christmas sale in the UK

Nanoleaf is aglow with holiday discounts too, having cut the price of the 78.8ft / 24m Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights down to $74.99 in the US and £58.49 in the UK.

• Shop Nanoleaf’s full Holiday sale in the US

• Shop Nanoleaf’s full Holiday sale in the UK

Companionable apps

Each set of string lights I tested comes with a companion app, but some are noticeably more user-friendly than others.

Nanoleaf gave me plenty of scenes to explore, and it was satisfyingly simple to create my own. The paint feature makes it easy to customize my color palette, with two bulbs popping into color in real time with each segment I filled in the app. I could also apply one of the many available dynamic motions to custom or existing palettes, such as random, pulse, and wheel.

Preset scenes are abundant on the simple-to-use Govee Home app, which also offers access to loads of user-created options.

It was trickier to add colors to specific bulbs with the Finger Sketch feature than in the Nanoleaf app, since I had to select a block at a time and then choose smaller segments from there.

Fortunately, the Mapping feature for the Christmas Sparkle and Christmas String Lights 2 can make this easier. All I had to do was take three photos of the most prominent sides of the tree, use my finger to paint over the representation generated by the app.

It took a few attempts, as I had to tweak the lighting and keep my hands as steady as possible for the best results, but it's a fun feature that offers a higher level of creativity than the Nanoleaf and Philips Hue string lights.

There’s also a little more flexibility with the Govee AI feature, which accepts written, verbal, and image prompts, unlike Nanoleaf, where I could only use the former.

I consider the Hue app to be the least user-friendly. Adjusting brightness and white temperature, and selecting single colors, is straightforward enough, but the settings for fine-tuning color placement and applying effects are very limited.

The process of exploring preset scenes is also flawed, and proved more time-consuming than those of its competitors. Each time I applied or saved a scene from the library, I was sent back to the dashboard, meaning I had to navigate back and scroll through the library again to get back to where I was.

Nonetheless, once my favorite presets were saved, it was simple enough to switch between them and alter the brightness.

Using voice commands via my Echo Dot naturally made life even easier with each set I tested. Though I will note that the connection process was trickier with the Nanoleaf string lights, as they wouldn’t play ball with my dual-band Wi-Fi network.

In or out?

If you’re only interested in a set of string lights to adorn the tree in your living room, you’ll be spoiled for choice. If you have dreams of adding that festive sparkle to your front yard, however, you’ll need to look a little bit harder.

Fortunately, all but one of the sets I’ve tested are stated to be suitable for outdoor use, with the exception being the Govee Christmas Sparkle String Lights. Here it pays to check the IP ratings of the string lights you’re considering, as this rating offers more clarity on whether you can use them as planned, or if they’re best kept within the confines of your porch.

For example, the Philips Hue and Nanoleaf models I’ve tested have an IP54 rating, which means they’re best used in covered areas, as they won’t be too fond of wet conditions.

In contrast, the Govee Christmas String Lights 2 have an IP67 rating, which, in official terms, means they can withstand immersion in up to one meter of water for thirty minutes. This is the rating you’d want for any device that lives permanently outdoors, such as home security cameras, because they’re not afraid of a bit of rain.

Reel convenient

My final point is for those who despair at the thought of untangling the lights every year. I was ready to throw in the towel after testing just one set, which turned out to be the most inconvenient.

The Philips Hue Festavia lights are intended to be stored in one large bundle, which increases the chance of tangling, and the inconveniently placed velcro strap made it harder not to get the lights caught up when applying them to the tree.

The Nanoleaf Matter String Lights and Govee Christmas Sparkle String Lights were less frustrating to work with, as they were stored in two and three bundles, respectively. If you want to keep things as simple as possible, I suggest going with an alternative format.

The Govee Christmas String Lights 2 are a prime example. Unlike a traditional fairy light setup, the LED lights are set into the cord. This makes them a little more subtle, but also means they can be stored and unwound from their reel, making them a great alternative if you’re tired of wrestling your string lights into submission every festive season.

Black Friday is the perfect time of year to try Philips Hue smart lights, or extend your existing setup. Hue bulbs, lamps, switches and other devices are usually quite expensive, but this year's Black Friday deals are better than ever, making the premium smart lights much more affordable.

If you're in the US, the most exciting deal is the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box for $269.99 at Amazon (was $284.99). This box lets you sync your Hue lights with the action on your TV screen for a totally immersive experience, and this is the cheapest it's ever been, by a long shot.

In the UK, I was excited to see a four-pack of Philips Hue Essentials White and Colour Ambiance bulbs for just £46.18 at Amazon (was £59.99). I'm currently testing these bulbs myself, and my first impressions are very positive. They can't be dimmed as low as the original Hue bulbs, and don't offer such a wide range of colors, but both types offer a maximum brightness of 800 lumens, and they're a much more affordable way to dip your toe into the Hue ecosystem.

Philips Hue Black Friday deals – US quick links

• Amazon: record-breaking prices on Hue bulbs
• Best Buy: over $60 off selected Hue smart lights
• Lowe's: discounts on Philips Hue starter kits
• Philips Hue: lightning sale with up to 40% off

Today's best Philips Hue Black Friday deals in the US

Philips Hue Black Friday deals – UK quick links

• Amazon: deals on Philips Hue and Hue Essentials
• AO.com: over £100 off lights, plus member discounts
• John Lewis: save 30% with multi-buy deals
• Philips Hue: lightning sale with extra savings
• Very: big savings on Hue bulbs, strips, and lamps

Today's best Philips Hue Black Friday deals in the UK

Philips Hue is the premium brand when it comes to smart lights, but it's not the only one around, and rivals like Govee and Nanoleaf have a lot to offer too, particularly if you're looking for fun lights for your entertainment system rather than everyday bulbs. Take a look at our complete guide to the best smart lights for more of our top recommendations.

More Black Friday deals in the US

• Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
• Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
• Lowe's: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools
• Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
• Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture
• T-Mobile: up to $1,100 off latest iPhone 17
• Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
• Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor

More Black Friday deals in the UK

• Amazon: up to 66% off tech & essentials
• AO: up to £500 off Dyson, Bosch & Hisense
• Argos: up to 50% off appliances, tech & toys
• Boots: save on 1,000s of beauty products
• Currys: deals on Ninja, Shark & Lenovo
• Dell: laptops from £279
• Dyson: up to £550 off vacuums
• EE: Switch 2 bundles from £20/month
• John Lewis: up to 50% off tech & fashion
• Lego: sets & accessories from £2.99
• Samsung: deals on appliances & phones
• Very: up to 40% off tech, toys & fashion

With so many fantastic deals popping up this Black Friday, it can quickly start to feel like you can't see the wood for the trees. But, this deal on one of my favorite smart lights shone right out to me, as we can now purchase the white Philips Hue Signe Gradient Floor Lamp at Amazon for just $232 (was $362.99).

If you prefer darker colors and don't mind spending a few dollars more, then you'll be pleased to know you can get the black Philips Hue Signe Gradient Floor Lamp at Amazon for $238.80 (was $362.99).

• Shop Amazon's full Black Friday sale

Black Friday deals make the perfect excuse to splurge on premium products, so this saving of up to $131 off this vibrant, wall-washing floor lamp from one of the most popular smart lighting brands is bound to be very popular.

Not in the US? See today's best deals in your region below

Today's best Philips Hue Signe gradient floor lamp Black Friday deal

Philips Hue is well-known for creating some of the best smart lights, and I must say, I really appreciate the versatility of the Signe Gradient Floor Lamp.

It offers plenty of opportunities to fine-tune the effects to suit any situation, thanks to the adjustable brightness, hues, and white temperatures, and there's also a satisfying range of scenes to try out and save to your library.

The Signe Gradient Floor Lamp has no onboard controls, but is easy to sync to the Hue app via Bluetooth. To make the most out of this smart light, you'll want to use it with a Hue Bridge, which lets you control it away from home and sync it with your smart home systems.

More Black Friday Philips Hue deals

Shop more of today's best Black Friday sales

• Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
• Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
• Lowe's: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools
• Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
• Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture
• T-Mobile: up to $1,100 off latest iPhone 17
• Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
• Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor

I adore having colorful lights brightening up my home all year round, but Christmas is the perfect excuse to kick things up a notch. That's why I'm so excited to see that we can now get the Festavia 500 LED string lights at Philips Hue for $237.60 (was $395.99).

There's good news if you were hoping to spend a little less, too, as the shorter lengths have also had a 40% discount this Black Friday, meaning Philips Hue is offering the Festavia 250 LED string lights for $145.19 (was $241.99), and the Festavia 100 LED string lights for $79.19 (was $131.99).

• Shop Philips Hue's full Black Friday sale

Whether you're a long-time Hue-siast or looking to dip your toe into their highly rated ecosystem, the deals on these satisfyingly smart and gorgeously colorful string lights are not to be missed.

Now's the perfect time to stock up on our festive lighting, especially with so many fantastic Black Friday deals that make things a little more cost-friendly.

Not in the US? See today's best deals in your region below.

Today's best Philips Hue Festavia String Lights Black Friday deal

Philips Hue is one of the first brands to spring to mind for most people when it comes to the best smart lights, and these Festavia String Lights do nothing to tarnish that reputation.

They're vividly colorful and have made a gorgeous addition to my Christmas tree this year, to the point where I've had them on all day, every day, as they're so aesthetically pleasing.

They offer both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, making them easy to control, whether or not you have a Hue Sync box. They were also happily adopted by my Echo Dot, so now I can switch up the settings with just a few words.

Christmas is sneaking closer and closer each day, so I highly recommend jumping on this deal now.

More Black Friday Philips Hue deals

Shop more of today's best Black Friday sales

• Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
• Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
• Lowe's: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools
• Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
• Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture
• T-Mobile: up to $1,100 off latest iPhone 17
• Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
• Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor

Early Black Friday deals are already hitting retailers, and Amazon is holding a secret sale of its own, which is filled with deals on the best smart lights. Philips Hue is one of our favorite smart lighting brands, and Amazon is swimming in savings - and the Philips Hue Calla outdoor light is the stand-out.

This 35% price drop will save you $50, bringing its retail price to $92.50 from $142.99 - a generous deal given how pricey Philips smart lights can be. Though $92.50 still isn't the most budget-friendly option for most, this is one of the lowest prices the Calla outdoor lamp has seen, and it's already beating last year's Black Friday price point.

Today's best Philip's Hue deal

In addition to the Philips Hue Calla outdoor light, it includes a T Connector, one 16-foot extension cable, and one spike standard. As mentioned, you'll need to purchase a Hue bridge separately if you want to connect your other smart home devices and control it from anywhere using Alexa.

Once you've set up the Philips Hue Call smart light in your garden or patio, there's a massive library of 16 million color options to choose from, warm tones to white lights, and you have total control just by using the Hue app. Not only that, the Philips Hue Calla smart light is weatherproof, with an IP44 water-resistance rating.

Philips Hue smart lights are the perfect way to liven up your home ready for the holidays, and right now there's a huge selection of lamps and fittings going cheap at Amazon.

My personal top pick is the Philips Hue Calla Smart Pathway Light, which is now just $92.50 (was $̶1̶4̶2̶.9̶9̶). This compact bollard-style lamp is fitted with Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance LEDs, meaning you can take your pick from thousands of colors, and configure it using the Philips Hue app, or voice commands via a smart speaker.

Team it with other outdoor lights, such as the Philips Hue Lily XL Smart Spotlight for $144.99 (was $̶1̶7̶5̶.9̶9̶) and you'll have a full yard setup that will look welcoming all year round, and add a splash of festive fun with custom colors for Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas.

Like what you see? Take a look at the full sale to see what else is on offer. If you're not in the US, scroll down to the bottom of this article for today's best offers on Philips Hue lights where you are.

Today's best Philips Hue deals

If you're not in the US, here are today's best offers on Philips Hue lights where you are. Also make sure to take a look at my guide to the best smart lights for deals on other brands including Nanoleaf and Govee,

If you sometimes have trouble waking up in the winter, you're not alone. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggests that the shorter daylight hours during winter can throw off your body's timings, making you feel more sleepy and sluggish during the day.

If this is seriously affecting your everyday life then you should speak to your doctor about the possibility of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). According to to the NHS, signs of SAD can include persistent low mood, irritability, loss of pleasure or interest in normal activities, and difficulty concentrating. Your doctor will be able to listen to your experiences, and suggest lifestyle changes, therapies, or other treatments that can help.

If you're not experiencing serious problems and are just finding yourself a little more reluctant than normal to pry yourself out of your warm bed, a wake-up light might help make mornings a little easier. These are special lamps that work by simulating a sunrise, slowly brightening over the course of several minutes rather than jolting you awake like the alarm on your phone. Think of being gently roused by sunlight filtering into your tent on a camping trip, and you'll have the right idea.

I've tested a lot of the best wake-up lights during my time at TechRadar, and overall there's one that really shines: the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer.

Simulated sunrise

If you're familiar with Philips Hue lights, you might be surprised that my number one pick is the Wall Washer rather than the Philips Hue Twilight, which is designed specifically for use on your nightstand. Turn both lamps around and you'll see that they are quite similar, with a stack of LEDs down the back that throw a diffuse gradient of color onto your wall.

The key difference is that the Twilight also has a front-facing task light for reading before bed, but the Wall Washer has the edge when it comes to versatility. When connected to a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box it can become part of your home theater system, synchronizing with what's on your TV screen to make movies and games more immersive − something the Twilight can't do.

The Wall Washer is more discreet too, looking less like a conventional table lamp, so you can place it anywhere you want to add some indirect lighting.

Whether you choose the Twilight or the Wall Washer, it's those stacked rear lights that provide the gentle illumination necessary to help you fall asleep and wake gradually, and they shift brightness more smoothly than any other lamp I've tried. Even the premium Philips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake-Up Light can't compare. That's important, because sudden changes in illumination can shock you awake as abruptly as a trilling phone.

Color temperature is also important. Some wake-up lamps only have one light temperature setting, but the Twilight and Wall Washer gradually change from warm to cool light like a real dawn. Both also start out extremely dim, ramping up the brightness gradually so you're not jarred into consciousness.

Soft sounds

Nature sounds are a feature you won't get with either of these lamps, but personally I don't think that's a bad thing.

Many of the wake-up lamps I've tested over the years offer a menu of audible options to help ease you in and out of sleep – usually nature sounds like birdsong or rainfall, with a dash of white noise. These can be useful, particularly if you're struggling with racing thoughts, but wake-up lights tend to play very short sound clips of sound on a loop, which tends to be more annoying than relaxing. They often have poor-quality speakers too, which make the sound doubly irritating. A five-second loop of a blackbird trapped in a cola can is nobody's idea of a good time.

If you want to fall asleep or wake to gentle ambient sounds, I think you'll be better off with something like the Soundcore Sleep A20, Bose Sleepbuds 2 or Amazfit Zenbuds. These are soft earbuds that play a selection of soothing sounds, are designed to be comfortable even when you're lying on your side, and can even track your sleep overnight (though you can't use them as regular Bluetooth headphones).

It's a good idea to have some sort of backup alarm, just in case the Wall Washer is so gentle and you're so exhausted that you manage to sleep right through, but in my experience that rarely happens – and even when it does, waking to an already lit room makes the switch to consciousness less of a shock.

It's transformed my mornings, and if you struggle to peel yourself off your pillow first thing, it might just help you, too.

After weeks of tantalizing leaks, the Philips Hue Bridge Pro is finally on sale. The new smart lighting hub (in a fetching shade of graphite) is available to buy for $98.99 in the US and £79.99 in the UK, and details of its Australian launch are expected very soon.

The Hue Bridge Pro can support over 150 smart lights (including bulbs and lamps) and over 50 accessories (such as switches and sensors), compared to just 50 bulbs and 10 accessories for the Bridge V2.

It can also turn your existing Hue lights into motion sensors using the Zigbee wireless protocol. The system, called MotionAware, works by detecting interference in the signal being sent between your bulbs and lamps. This data is processed by the Bridge Pro, which interprets it and uses it to determine whether a person has entered the area.

All of this makes it very tempting, particularly if you have too many Hue lights for just one Bridge, and had to go through the hassle of installing several in your home. Having them all linked to a single Bridge sounds ideal - but don't rush in just yet.

Hold your horses

Although the Hue Bridge Pro can support well over 100 lights, it's not yet possible to merge and migrate all the device settings from multiple previous-gen Bridges. You can use the Philips Hue app to port across your data from one Hue Bridge V2, but if you have more than one of the older hubs, you'll need to wait a while before you can transfer all your settings and devices en masse.

The option to merge multiple Bridges and transfer the data is coming, but Signify (the company behind Philips Hue) hasn't said exactly when. At its launch event in Berlin this week (where it revealed over a dozen new products), its spokespeople only said that it would become available before the end of the year.

It should be worth the wait, though. It's understandable that Signify wants to get the merging and porting software working perfectly before launch, because any failure could mean you have to re-add all your lights one by one, re-create your zones and rooms, and make all your automations and scenes again. It would be a bit of a nightmare.

More reasons to switch

If you want to upgrade from a single Hue Bridge V2, however, you can go ahead and do it right now. Other perks of switching include the ability to connect the Bridge Pro to your router via Wi-Fi rather than an Ethernet cable, which means you can put it anywhere.

The Bridge Pro's upgraded processor means your lights and switches should be more responsive too, and it can now store 500 custom lighting scenes. Learn more about all the Philips Hue devices launched at Signify's Berlin event this week.

You might also like

• I reviewed Nanoleaf's first rope light, and there are 4 good reasons to skip it – fortunately, I’ve got the perfect alternative
• I swapped my alarm clock for this Philips Hue light, and I've never felt more refreshed in the morning
• If Philips Hue is too expensive, the HDMI Sync Box and TV Backlight set from WiZ is a cheap and effective alternative

The first Philips Hue video doorbell is here, but how does it compare to the best-selling Ring Video Doorbells, and which one should you screw onto your wall?

The Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell is wired rather than battery-operated, so you can't simply stick it on your wall. So, for the purposes of this article, I'll be comparing it to the Ring Video Doorbell Wired and Video Doorbell Wired Pro.

When it comes to camera quality, Philips Hue definitely has the edge. Its doorbell records at 2K and has a 180-degree field of view horizontally and vertically, which is superior to both of Ring's wired offerings.

The Philips Hue doorbell is good value, too (which may be surprising considering its reputation for premium pricing). The Hue Secure doorbell sits in between the two wired Ring doorbells in terms of price, despite having a better camera than either.

If you opt for the Philips Hue doorbell, you'll be able to review videos from the last 24 hours for free. If you choose a Ring doorbell, your videos aren't stored at all unless you pay for at least a basic subscription plan. If you skip the paid plan, you can only watch live footage from your doorbell.

However, Ring's premium tiers can store your footage for much longer than Philips Hue Secure, and offer extra security features such as 24/7 video recording, and calls to your phone when someone presses the doorbell (not just an app alert).

Of course, one of the main attractions of the Philips Hue doorbell is that it's controlled through the same app as any Hue lights you own, making it easy to create automations that will activate your lights if motion is detected, for example. You can create similar automations with a Ring doorbell, but it's not quite so straightforward.

Want to know more? Read on for the full lowdown on both brands' doorbells so you can make an informed choice between the two. I'll also be testing the Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell very soon to see whether it can earn a place in my roundup of the best video doorbells.

Hardware specifications

• Philips Hue doorbell is wired, with a 2K camera and 180-degree field of view
• Neither of Ring's wired doorbells can match those camera specs
• Both brands offer plug-in chimes to provide audible alerts in your home

There is only one Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell at the time of writing. It's a wired doorbell with a 2K resolution, infra-red night vision, and a 180-degree field of view. There's an optional plug-in chime that lets you hear callers from elsewhere in your home.

Ring currently sells two wired video doorbells, but they both have lower-spec cameras than the Philips Hue Secure doorbell.

The Ring Video Doorbell Wired has a 1080p resolution, and a narrower field of view (155 degrees horizontal, 90 degrees vertical). It has infra-red night vision, and can be paired with an optional chime.

The next model up, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired Pro, also has lower resolution than the Hue doorbell (1536p) and a smaller field of view (150 degrees horizontal and vertical). It does, however, offer 3D motion detection, and can estimate distance so it can give a bird's-eye view and alert you when someone has stepped on your property.

• Winner: Philips Hue

Prices

• The Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell costs more than the Ring Video Doorbell Wired but less than the Ring Video Doorbell Wired Pro
• The Philips Hue and Ring chimes cost about the same
• The Philips Hue doorbell isn't yet available in Australia

The Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell will launch in the US and UK in October 2025, though we don't yet have an exact date. The doorbell will cost $169.99 / £139.99, and if you want the additional chime – so you can hear callers from anywhere in your home – this will be an additional $59.99 / £49.99. No prices or release dates have been announced for Australia yet.

Ring's video doorbells are available globally, including the US, UK, and Australia. The Ring Video Doorbell Wired is $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$89, while the Ring Video Doorbell Wired Pro is $229.99 / £199.99 / AU$349.

Ring also sells a separate Chime, which has a list price of £29.99 / $34.99 / AU$59.

• Winner: Philips Hue

Subscriptions

• No paid subscription is necessary for Philips Hue or Ring doorbells
• Free Philips Hue Secure plans offer 24 hours of free video storage
• Ring Home subscribers get more advanced security features

You can use the Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell and any Ring Doorbells without paying an additional subscription fee, but you'll get considerably fewer features.

The biggest difference is video storage. If you have a free Philips Hue Secure plan, your video clips will be stored for 24 hours (starting later in 2025). If you don't buy a Ring subscription, your videos won't be stored at all, and you can only watch footage from your doorbell live as it's happening.

Both Philips Hue and Ring offer different subscription plans, with higher tiers offering longer video storage, support for more devices, and extra security features. You'll find a complete comparison of all the plans in the two tables below.

Philips Hue Secure and Ring Home Premium plans aren't available in Australia.

• Winner: tie

Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell vs Ring Video Doorbell Wired / Wired Pro: early verdict

I can't give a definitive verdict on how good the Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell is until I've put it through TechRadar's exacting testing process, but the early signs are that it should offer a serious challenge to Ring's dominance of the smart doorbell market.

It has some impressive specs, with far superior cameras that can record in higher resolution and with a wider field of view. It's also cheaper than the Ring Video Doorbell Wired Pro despite that camera advantage, and integrates nicely with Hue's smart-home ecosystem.

Against that, Ring has arguably better subscription options, plus you can opt for the much cheaper (but basic) Video Doorbell Wired if you don't want to spend more than $50/£50 on a doorbell.

I'll be able to say for sure which you should buy once I've finished my review, but either way the Hue looks like being a worthy addition to the smart doorbell market, and that's never a bad thing.

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Signify, the company behind Philips Hue, has just launched over 10 new products, including the long-awaited Philips Hue Bridge Pro, seamless light strips, a video doorbell, and heaps of smart bulbs. The event took place in Berlin, near the IFA trade show, and according to Signify, it was the biggest launch in Hue's history.

Here you'll find a complete guide to all the biggest launches, but it wasn't just about hardware. Signify also announced a new partnership with Sonos, which will let you use your Sonos smart speaker to control your Hue lights with voice commands.

We also learned about some extra features coming to Philips Hue Secure, including free 24-hour video playback (previously only available to paid subscribers), the ability to recognize smoke alarm signals and respond with emergency light alerts, and (coming next year) AI-powered facial recognition.

Now, on with the products that'll be lighting up your home very soon...

Philips Hue Bridge Pro

What is the Philips Hue Bridge Pro?

The Philips Hue Bridge Pro is a new hub for connecting your Philips Hue devices. It can support three times as many smart lights and sensors as the previous model, and can turn your Hue lights into motion sensors without any extra hardware.

The Bridge Pro can support over 150 lights (compared to just 50 for the Philips Hue Bridge V2) and 50 accessories. It looks set to be a game-changer for people with large houses, who could easily exceed the previous limit, and would require two or more bridges to accommodate all their devices. It can also store up to 500 scenes

The Hue Bridge Pro can also turn your Hue bulbs and other devices into motion sensors, without the need for any extra hardware. This technology (which is very similar to something we saw demonstrated in a video by the Communication Standards Alliance back in January) is called MotionAware, and will work with almost all existing Philips Hue bulbs and lights that are connected to a Bridge Pro, not just new ones.

The principle is quite simple. Like previous Philips Hue Bridges, the Pro uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to connect all your Hue devices in a mesh network. By detecting disruptions in the signal as it's sent between devices, the Bridge Pro can determine whether a person has entered the area. It's recommended that you have at least three Hue lights in the room to allow the system to accurately triangulate your position.

MotionAware can be used to trigger automations (so the lights turn on if you enter a room, for example) or for security (so you receive an alert through the Philips Hue app if unexpected movement is detected).

Another difference between the Philips Hue Bridge Pro and its predecessor is that you no longer have to connect it to your router using an Ethernet cable. That's still an option, but if you prefer, you can use Wi-Fi instead, which gives you more choice about where you use it.

If you already have a Philips Hue setup and want to upgrade to the Bridge Pro, there's good news and (slightly) bad news. The good news is that you can migrate your settings from one Philips Hue Bridge V2 directly to the Bridge Pro, including all your devices, zones, and rooms.

The not-so-great news is that, if you have multiple bridges, you'll have to wait a while before you can merge them all and port everything over to a Bridge Pro en masse. It's likely to be a few months before this is made possible via a software update, but it makes sense that Signify wants to get it right. You don't want to have to add over a hundred lightbulbs back one by one. The update should be released before the end of the year.

(New to Hue and not sure exactly what a Bridge is? Take a look at our guide what is a Philips Hue Bridge and why is it important for your smart lights.)

What does the Philips Hue Bridge Pro cost?

The Philips Hue Bridge Pro will go on sale in the USA and UK in September, priced at $89.99 / £79.99. The release date and price for Australia are yet to be announced.

Philips Hue Essential

What is Philips Hue Essential?

Philips Hue Essential is a collection of smart light bulbs and strips, which offer a more affordable entry point to the world of smart lighting than the company's original lights. Essential bulbs aren't quite as bright as their classic counterparts, and can't be dimmed quite so low.

According to Signify, their specifications are similar to other smart lights on the market, but with the advantage that they're a fully supported part of the Philips Hue system.

Like regular Philips Hue bulbs, you can control their basic functions from your phone via Bluetooth, or use a Philips Hue Bridge to unlock advanced features like scenes and automations, and the ability to trigger lights with timers, switches, and sensors. If you have a Philips Hue Bridge Pro, you can use Hue Essential lights as motion detectors.

Right now, the Essential range includes A19 bulbs, GU10 spotlights, a strip light, and a flexible strip light. These can be bought individually, in multipacks, or as starter kits that also include a Philips Hue Bridge V2. There are also Philips Hue Essential starter kits that include a switch as well as the Bridge.

What do Philips Hue Essential lights cost?

Philips Hue Essential A19 bulbs, Strip Lights, and Flex Strip Lights will be available from September in the US and UK. A19 bulbs will start at $24.99 / £19.99 each, Strip Lights will start at $59.99 / £49.99, and Flex Strip Lights will start at $99.99 / £84.99.

GU10 spotlight bulbs will also go on sale in the UK in September, starting at £19.99 when bought individually.

We don't yet have details for GU10 spotlights in the US, and there are currently no prices or release dates for Philips Hue Essential products in Australia.

Philips Hue OmniGlow

What is Philips Hue OmniGlow?

There are several new Philips Hue light strips, the most interesting of which is called OmniGlow, which Signify describes as its first "perfectly spot-free strip". That means you can't make out individual LEDs along the strip's length, which will be great news to anyone who likes the idea of a gradient light strip but doesn't want to fit a plastic diffuser over the top.

OmniGlow can emit up to 900 lumens per meter, which means it's not just decorative; you could also use it for functional lighting along a staircase, for example. Each strip is packed with tiny high-performance LEDs less than 0.5mm across. They can be dimmed as low as 0.5%, and have the same color accuracy as other Philips Hue lights.

Signify also showed off two new Philips Hue Flux indoor light strips (regular and extra bright), a Flux outdoor strip light, and a Neon outdoor strip light, which you can bend into different fun shapes.

Want regular bulbs? There are new A19 and E27 bulbs in both the White Ambiance and White and Color Ambiance series. Confused? Our complete guide to the different types of Philips Hue lights explains it all.

What does the Philips Hue OmniGlow cost?

The Philips Hue OmniGlow will be available in the US from October, with prices starting at $139.99 for a three-meter strip. It will go on sale in the UK at some point between October and December, and a three-meter strip will cost £119.99.

We don't yet have a release date for the Philips Hue OmniGlow in Australia, but when it does launch, prices will start at $139.99 for three meters.

Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell

What is the Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell?

The latest addition to the Philips Hue Secure lineup of cameras and sensors is a video doorbell, which has a 2K resolution and captures head-to-toe footage so you can get a clear view of visitors and any packages they might leave on your doorstep.

Those specifications are typical for a mid-range video doorbell (take a look at my roundup of the best video doorbells to get an idea of what other companies are offering), but the difference with the Hue model is that it integrates seamlessly with your smart lights. For example, you can use the Philips Hue app to trigger your outdoor lights when someone rings the bell, or when it detects motion.

There's also a separate chime available, which you can plug in for an audible alert anywhere in your home when someone calls, and a wired indoor security camera with 2K resolution.

You can watch footage from your doorbell or camera live on your phone, and later this year, Signify will let you review videos from the last 24 hours for free. If you want to store your clips for longer than that, you'll need a paid Hue Secure subscription plan.

What does the Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell cost?

The Philips Hue Secure Video Doorbell and Smart Chime will be available in the US and UK from October 2025. The doorbell will cost $169.99 / £139.99, and the chime will cost $59.99 / £49.99. Signify hasn't yet released any details for Australia.

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Philips Hue bulbs and lamps are the best smart lights around, but they're usually some of the most expensive. That's not always the case though, and right now Amazon is holding a secret sale that brings Philips Hue bundles down to record-low prices.

If you've been thinking about adding Philips Hue lights to your home but have always been put off by the price, there are some particularly great offers on starter kits, which include several bulbs, a programmable Philips Hue Smart Button, and the Philips Hue Bridge to connect them all together.

For example, if you want to start in a room with spotlights, the Philips Hue GU10 Starter Kit is now just £101.99 (was £140.40) at Amazon – the cheapest it's ever been. Want bayonet bulbs instead? Amazon has you covered with the Philips Hue B22 Starter Kit on sale for £81.50 (was £103.23). That's its lowest price this year.

Today's best Philips Hue deals

You can use Philips Hue bulbs via Bluetooth, but the Bridge is necessary to get the most out of them. This little device plugs into your router, and creates a wireless mesh network that links all your Hue bulbs, sensors, and switches to each other so they work together quickly and seamlessly.

All of these are Philips Hue White & Colour Ambiance bulbs, which you can set to warm, neutral or cool light, or thousands of different RGB colors.

You can use the Philips Hue app to create automations that will trigger then to turn on or off, or shift color when a certain event happens, set schedules, and create 'scenes' that will apply the same lighting effect to a whole room or area.

The Philips Hue app makes it all very straightforward, and even includes a tool that uses AI to create custom 'scenes' based on spoken commands. For example, you could tell it to make a scene for a horror movie night, or a calming tropical sunset, and it will do exactly that. It's a lot of fun, and you'll have it all up and running in no time.

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There are some very interesting Philips Hue products on the way, including new Gradient Strips, Festavia string lights, and a Philips Hue Bridge Pro that can support up to 150 devices, but one rumored release has had me scratching my head - Philips Hue Essential.

These appear to be slightly lower-spec versions of standard Hue smart light bulbs, and will presumably have a more modest price tag to match – but why? Who, exactly, is Philips Hue Essentials for?

The budget end of the smart lighting market is already dominated by the likes of Govee, Ikea, and WiZ – and that’s where things get interesting. You see, WiZ lights are made by a company called Signify – the same company that makes Philips Hue products under license. Why would it pit its two brands against one another with a low-cost version of Hue?

Well, it isn’t – not quite. Aside from price, one of the key differences between WiZ and Philips Hue is connectivity. WiZ lights connect directly to Wi-Fi, meaning there’s no need for a hub, and they’re easier to set up. They’re a good option if you just want one or two bulbs and aren’t planning to build a sophisticated lighting system with switches and sensors.

Although you can control individual Philips Hue lights from your phone using Bluetooth, most people will use them with a Philips Hue Bridge, which plugs into your router and uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to create a mesh network that links all your devices together. No Wi-Fi necessary.

Using Zigbee rather than Wi-Fi means you can have a lot more smart lights in your home (a typical home Wi-Fi router isn’t really intended to communicate with more than a couple of dozen devices), with better range without the need for a Wi-Fi extender. (Zigbee devices also use less power, though LED bulbs aren’t huge energy-hogs to begin with, so you’re not likely to notice a huge difference on that front.)

Philips Hue Essential and WiZ bulbs, therefore, aren’t filling quite the same niche. If you only ever intend to own a couple of smart lights, then WiZ would be just fine, but Hue Essential will give you the option to expand your setup much further in the future, should you choose to.

A bright idea?

"Hue stretches across indoor and outdoor, and has different variants of products in all those categories," Giuliano Ghidini, Business and Marketing leader at Signify, told me in a recent interview.

"Hue offers a more comprehensive range so you can cover all rooms, and thanks to the technology it’s based on, Zigbee, with a Hue hub, you have very good coverage indoor and outdoor, and very high reliability without putting too much stress on your Wi-Fi network."

That makes Hue appealing if you have a generous budget and can afford to deck out your entire house, but the high entry price can be off-putting otherwise. A starter kit of two White & Color Ambiance bulbs bundled with a Hue Bridge might cost as much as $140 / £130 / AU$190. When you can pick up four Govee bulbs for a quarter of the price, with no hub necessary, it’s easy to see why homeowners with more modest needs would write off Hue.

The Philips Hue Essential series, depending on how it’s priced, sounds like it could offer the best of both worlds, with a palatable asking price and the ability to expand your smart lighting setup as much as you like later on, or just keep it simple and not feel like you’re under-utilizing it.

Essential? Perhaps not quite, but certainly more tempting.

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If you’ve been looking to upgrade your smart home, it looks like Philips will have you covered with a brand new Philips Hue Bridge Pro that boasts some impressive (in cases almost needlessly so) capabilities.

Signify, the company behind the Philips Hue brand, accidentally leaked the existence of the new Bridge a few days ago alongside spoilers for new lights and a wired video doorbell, but yet another leak – this time via Lowe's – has clued us into what upgrades the Bridge Pro boasts beyond general promises of it being faster and able to support more devices.

Lowe's runs a program called Loop, which gives customers free samples of new and pre-release tech, and it looks like one such item is the Philips Hue Hue Bridge Pro. Several people have shared images and asked questions about the product on social media – with one tester being completely unsure what to do with the new Bridge Pro as they have no Philips Hue smart lights. 9to5Google reports that some people have even taken to Facebook Marketplace to sell their Bridge Pros.

These shenanigans have given us some key details. Firstly, the Bridge Pro can supposedly support 150+ lights – a huge increase from the current limit of 50. That might seem like overkill for smaller homes, but will pique the interest of anyone who's currently using multiple Bridges to cover their whole house.

The Philips Hue Bridge Pro also promises to offer full home control, so you could rely on this Matter-compatible hub to manage more than just Philips Hue technology.

The other, much more interesting addition is Hue MotionAware tech, which promises to turn your lightbulbs into motion sensors. Exactly how this works hasn’t been revealed, so it’s not clear which Hue smart bulbs will support this upgrade, but it seems rooms with three bulbs or more will be able to detect people walking past and react accordingly.

It's possible that it might use something like the ambient sensing technology that the Communication Standards Alliance showed off in a video earlier this year. Ambient sensing is a use case built by a company called Ivani to demonstrate what's possible using the Zigbee wireless protocol (which is used by Philips Hue devices).

Now that would be smart, and might give me a reason to fill my home with smart bulbs.

Even with these serious leaks we should take details with a pinch of slat – though if you ask us it certainly seems it’s a matter of when not if Philips will debut the Bridge Pro.

IFA looks to be a likely event that'll happen – given the Berlin tech show is due in only a couple of weeks and Philips has debuted tech there before – but we’ll have to wait and see.

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• New Philips Hue products have been leaked
• There are 4 new lights plus a hub and a doorbell
• It's not clear when they might launch

We're expecting some new Philips Hue smart lights in the not-too-distant future, and it seems the Signify-owned brand has got so excited about the upcoming products that it's leaked them early on its own website.

Pages listing the new devices were only live briefly, but before they got pulled they were spotted by Hueblog (via Android Authority). There are apparently four new models coming, plus a Hue Bridge update and a new video doorbell.

We've got two new smart lights in the Festivia string lights line: downward-facing lights intended for permanent outdoor installation, and a garland-style strip for decorating spaces with. It's likely both are going to be available in a variety of lengths, with the usual wealth of color and brightness customization choices for the bulbs themselves.

In addition, it looks as though Philips Hue is about to refresh its more basic light strip product, with a gradient function for the outdoor model and boosted brightness. Lastly, there's an updated version of the A19/E27 bulb, bringing with it a broader spectrum of colors and ultra-low dimming, while using 40 percent less energy.

Even more devices

On top of the bulbs, it seems Philips Hue is also going to launch a Hue Bridge Pro: according to the leaked description, it'll be faster, offer support for a greater number of devices, and add some fresh new features as well (quite possibly involving AI). It also promises to turn your smart lights into motion sensors.

Then there's a wired video doorbell, which would seem to be an extension of the Hue Secure series of home security cameras. The doorbell is listed as having a 2K resolution, which usually means 1440p – an upgrade on the 1080p resolution offered by the current cameras. It's a device that's previously been rumored.

What we don't get here are any details on pricing or availability, though it seems the wired video doorbell may launch later than the other bits of kit: it's listed as "coming soon" rather than "available now" on the now-pulled webpage.

One final tidbit from this leak is that Sonos voice control seems to be coming to Philips Hue systems, so you'll be able to use voice commands issued to your Sonos speakers to control the basics of your smart light network.

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• Philips Hue Twilight review: a beautiful wake-up light

I've tested a lot of wake-up lights over the years, and most of them have the same problem: even their lowest illumination level is fairly bright, and they jar me awake the instant they start their sunrise cycle. Some have terrible canned bird noises as well, but mostly it's the sudden change in brightness that has me burying my groggy face in my pillow.

The Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is different, though, and after a week, I can say that it's changed my morning routine for good.

The Wall Washer is a new smart lamp, released earlier this year, and as the name suggests, it's designed to shine colored light onto a wall rather than into your room, creating a diffused, atmospheric effect. It's not advertised as a wake-up light, and as part of the Play series, it's made more with entertainment in mind. Similar to a Philips Hue Play Gradient Strip, it can be paired with an HDMI Box or the Philips Hue Play app to extend the colors from your TV screen, creating a more immersive experience.

It uses a technology called ColorCast, which is essentially a stack of three colored LEDs that overlap in such a way that they create a smooth gradient of color. The image at the top of this article is unedited – it really is that seamless.

It's the same system you'll find in the back of the Philips Hue Twilight, which is designed to sit beside your bed and has a front-facing light for reading, but if choosing between the two, I'd opt for the Wall Washer thanks to its versatility.

Creating a wake-up automation in the mobile app is easy. Once I'd plugged in my Wall Washer and connected it to my Philips Hue Bridge (the hub that connects your Hue Lights devices to one another), I added it to my bedroom, gave it a descriptive name, tapped the 'Automations' button in the app, and selected 'Wake Up'.

There are two options here: you can choose white light that simply increases in brightness, or opt for a simulated sunrise that starts with dim red light, shifts to orange, and eventually finishes white. I wanted an effect similar to the sun shining through the canvas on a camping trip, so I chose the latter, set it to finish its cycle at 7am, and named it 'Rise and Shine'.

Creating this automation is no harder than setting an alarm on your phone, and after a week, I can say that it's a much gentler way to wake. Now I come round gradually, with no shock of noise-induced adrenaline.

I still keep a backup alarm set with some nature noises in case I manage to sleep through the light, but so far that's not happened (touch wood).

The Wall Washer doesn't just wake you gently either; it can also help you drift off at night by playing its sunrise effect in reverse, with warm light that gently fades to darkness over a duration of your choice.

Again, this is done via an automation in the Philips Hue app. This time, though, I didn't want to set a timer. Although experts recommend keeping a set bedtime every night (even on the weekends), sometimes life gets in the way. There could be a deadline, I might be having drinks with friends, or I might need to spend half an hour on Duolingo to avoid being demoted. You know, important things.

Luckily, I happened to have a Philips Hue Dimmer Switch on hand, which is perfect for the job. It has programmable buttons, so I could set one to trigger the simulated sunset, and its self-adhesive mount was perfect for sticking to the side of my nightstand. If my husband wants to use it, he can simply remove the magnetic switch from its mount and use it as a remote.

You could do exactly the same thing with a Philips Hue Smart Button, but the advantage of the Dimmer Switch is that it can also turn the light on and off, or (as the name suggests) adjust its brightness.

I added the switch to my bedroom in the app, then gave it a name, and assigned the Sleep automation to its bottom button. Now, when I'm ready to wind down, I can trigger the light sequence with a single tap.

The video below shows the final few seconds of the sleep automation, and as you can see, the change in brightness is incredibly smooth. I'd set the light to dim over the course of five minutes, which is the shortest possible period. If you choose a longer timeframe, the light will dim even more gradually.

I sometimes have trouble dropping off at night (likely a consequence of testing the best coffee makers too close to bedtime), but the sleep automation on the Wall Washer is like magic. Its dim, reddish light lulls me to sleep like nothing else, somehow helping me relax and silencing the caffeine-induced chatter.

It's incredibly soothing, and after a week, I can't imagine dozing off without it. If I ever did change my mind, though, it's good to know that the Wall Washer could find a new home beside my TV, serving as an Ambilight alternative. It's the most versatile Philips Hue lamp yet, and well worth investigating if you're looking to expand your smart lighting setup.

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Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: two-minute review

When I first set eyes on the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer, I saw it as a more advanced alternative to the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which are designed to sit on either side of your TV and add ambience to your home entertainment setup. The Wall Washer can certainly do that – and with more atmospheric results thanks to its wider projection area – but it can do a lot more, too.

Like the Light Bar, the Wall Washer is a discreet-looking device that's designed to be positioned with its light source shining against a wall, rather than into the room, producing a diffuse glow that (as the name suggests) washes your room with color. However, unlike the Play Light Bar, which can only show one color at a time, each Wall Washer contains three lights, stacked vertically, which overlap to form a smooth gradient.

As the video below shows, the three lights can also dim and brighten independently to create shimmering effects, which is a nice feature if you choose to use a single Wall Washer as a table lamp to set the mood as part of a larger Philips Hue lighting setup.

You can use the Wall Washer via Bluetooth, but to unlock all its features (and to justify its price), you'll also need a Philips Hue Bridge. This small hub device plugs into your router and uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to create a mesh network that connects all of your Hue lights, switches, and cameras to one another, and to the internet.

Provided you have that, setting up your Wall Washer is straightforward. Just select the "Add" option within the Hue mobile app, scan the QR code on the base of your Wall Washer when prompted and then choose a room or zone for it (you'll be prompted to create an area if none already exist). If you have more than one Wall Washer, you'll need to add each one separately, but that takes only a few seconds.

Once that's done, you can change the color of each Wall Washer by choosing a shade from the app's color wheel. You can also apply a preset color scheme (known as a "scene") from the Hue library; create your own scene by picking colors or importing a picture; or apply an animated dynamic scene such as the shimmering purple effect above.

You can customize your Wall Washer by itself, or apply a scene to all the lights in a room or zone.

Despite its small size, the Wall Washer projects light a long way, and when it was positioned on a table, I found the color reached all the way to the ceiling. If you like the idea of a Philips Hue Signe Floor Lamp, but don't have the space, the Wall Washer would be a good alternative for around the same price. Although there are only three lights in each Wall Washer, the color gradient is totally seamless, as you can see in the image at the top of this review.

As mentioned earlier, the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer can also sync with your TV, extending the colors from the screen in the same way as a Philips Ambilight TV to create a more immersive viewing experience by effectively blurring the edges of the picture.

To do this, you'll need at least one Wall Washer, plus either a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, or a smart TV that's compatible with the Philips Hue Play Sync app. The app was initially only available for selected Samsung TVs, but in February 2025, Signify (Philips Hue's parent company) launched a version for LG sets as well.

The advantage of using the app is that there's less to setup, and you can use it to sync your Hue lights with content from your TV's native apps. If you use a Sync Box, you can only sync with content from HDMI sources.

As you can see in the video and images above, there's very little latency when using the Wall Washer lights with a Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box connected to a set-top box, and colors look natural rather than distracting. The lighting is effective, even in daylight, and the gradient means the Wall Washers create a more seamless look than the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which can only average out the color on each side of your screen.

The main disadvantage of the Wall Washer compared to the Philips Hue Play Light Bar is that it only stands upright, and it isn't designed to be mounted horizontally. As such, it isn't well suited for use underneath your TV. You'll probably want at least two for a home entertainment setup (and possibly another for elsewhere in the room), which will be considerably more expensive.

If you have just one Wall Washer, it also works well as a wake-up light on your nightstand. The Hue app contains automations that are designed to wake you with a simulated sunrise, with the lamp gradually becoming brighter and the light becoming cooler, reaching full brightness by a set time. I'm very sensitive to light at night, and the Wall Washer is the first lamp I've found that doesn't shock me awake by increasing brightness abruptly. It's more like waking gradually as the sun comes through your tent on a camping trip.

At the end of the day, you can wind down with a sunset automation, which runs the same sequence in reverse. The video above shows the last 20 seconds of a five-minute sleep automation, during which the light color shifts from warm white to orange to red, while gradually decreasing in brightness.

Overall, it's the most versatile smart light I've tested to date, and although it certainly isn't cheap, there's no denying its performance, whichever room you're using it in.

• Performance: 5/5

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: price and availability

• Costs $219.99 / £169.99 for one, or $384.99 / £299.99 for two
• Not yet available in Australia
• Works best with Philips Hue Bridge

At the time of writing, the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is available direct from the Philips Hue website in the US and UK, and from Amazon in the US. It isn't yet on sale in Australia, but FAQ pages on the Australian Philips Hue site indicate that its launch there is imminent.

A single Philips Hue Play Wall Washer has a list price of $219.99 / £169.99 (about AU$340), and if you're planning to use the lights on either side of your TV (as shown in some of the photos here), you can pick up a two-pack for $384.99 / £299.99 (about AU$600).

That makes it one of the most expensive Philips Hue lights around, but it's also the most versatile, serving as a filler light to add ambience, a backlight for your home entertainment system, and a wake-up light. Most Hue lights only fill one niche, so the Wall Washer's adaptability makes its price tag more palatable.

For comparison, the Philips Hue Play Light Bar has a list price of $89.99 / £64.99 / AU$129.95 each. If you're considering the Wall Washer as a wake-up lamp, the Philips Hue Twilight (which also has a front-facing LED for reading) costs $279 / £249 (about AU$430).

If you want to use the Wall Washers with your TV, you'll also need a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and Philips Hue Bridge, so factor these into your budget calculations if you don't already own them.

• Value score: 4/5

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: specifications

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: design

Each Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is nearly cylindrical, and measures 6.2 inches / 15.7cm tall and 3.6 inches / 9.1cm in diameter. This is considerably shorter than the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which stand at 11.5 inches / 29.2cm high; but the design of the Wall Washer and its improved LEDs means that it can throw light over a larger area.

The Wall Washer has an aluminum case (rather than plastic for the Play Light Bars), and has a smart-looking matte finish. It's available in black (shown here) or white, so you can pick an option that will blend well with your décor.

The back of the Wall Washer has a flat surface, and contains three Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance lights arranged vertically. That might not sound like much, but the lights overlap in such a way that they shine a super-smooth gradient onto your wall, with no banding whatsoever.

This technology, called ColorCast, is the same used by the Philips Hue Twilight wake-up lamp – and like the Twilight, the Wall Washer can be dimmed to an extremely low level for use at night.

You can connect up to three Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights to a single power supply, although they're only sold in packs of one or two.

• Design score: 5/5

Should you buy the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is right for you, here are two other options to consider.

How I tested the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer:

I connected the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer to my Philips Hue Bridge, and used it in various rooms in my house (alone, and as a pair). First I connected it to a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, which was linked to a digital set-top box, and experimented with viewing different films and TV shows to assess color-matching and latency. The screengrabs above show content from TechRadar's YouTube channel for copyright reasons, but I tested the lights with a wide variety of media.

I also used a single Wall Washer as a fill light together with a pair of Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance bulbs in ceiling fixtures. I experimented with applying different scenes to all the lights in the room, and creating new ones.

Finally, I tested a single Wall Washer on my nightstand, using the Wake Up and Sleep automations to assess how smoothly the color and brightness of the light can change, and how dim it can become before switching off. I compared its performance to a purpose-made wake-up light.

For more details, see how we test, rate, and review products at TechRadar.

First reviewed July 2025.

Right now, Amazon has cut the prices of heaps of Philips Hue lights and bundles, including starter kits with the Philips Hue Bridge that's the foundation of any Hue smart lighting setup. The best offer is the Philips Hue Solo Lightstrip Starter Kit, now just $55.99 (was $99.99) at Amazon. That's an epic saving of 44% off the list price.

Rather have bulbs? You can snag the Philips Hue A19 Starter Kit for a record-low price of $97.49 (was $139.99) at Amazon, with two screw-fitting bulbs that are perfect for upgrading your ceiling fixtures or lamps, plus the Hue Bridge.

I've rounded up all the best deals in this sneaky sale for you below, but you can also browse all today's Philips Hue offers at Amazon yourself if you prefer.

Today's best Philips Hue deals

Philips Hue bulbs and strips are some of the best smart lights you can buy, but they can be very expensive if you pay full price. With these deals they're much more affordable, so if you've been thinking about upgrading your lamps and ceiling lights, there's never been a better time to take the plunge.

Can't see the bundle you're looking for above? Check below for more of today's best offers on Philips Hue starter kits, including ones with more affordable White Ambiance bulbs (which offer different white light temperatures but no colored lighting). Our guide to Philips Hue bulb types explains more.

Amazon offered some reasonable deals on Philips Hue smart lights in last week's Prime Day sales, but I've just spotted an offer that blows them all out of the water. Right now, you can pick up a three-pack of Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 bulbs for just $79.99 (was $134.99) at Amazon. That's cheaper than they've been in months, and almost as low as last year's Black Friday price.

These are some of the best smart lights around right now. They fit into any standard screw fitting ceiling light or lamp, and can be set to thousands of different colors using the Philips Hue app. A pack of three usually hovers around the $110 mark at Amazon, so this is a great saving.

To get the most out of these bulbs (including setting schedules, connecting them to switches, and operating them via a smart speaker) you'll also need the Philips Hue Bridge, which connects all your Hue products via a Zigbee mesh network, but you can also control their color and switch them on and off using Bluetooth alone.

Today's best Philips Hue deals

Getting the Bridge and bulbs separately with these two deals is much cheaper than buying them bundled together as part of a starter kit. so don't miss out.

Amazon Prime Day is the perfect time to stock up on Philips Hue bulbs, grab new lights for your setup, or get started with your first room. There are some spectacular deals in the US right now, but my favorite by far is the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K for a record-breaking $244.99 (was $349.99). It's the first time this new version of the box (which launched last year) has dropped below $300.

• Check out Amazon's full Prime Day sale

If you're just starting out with Philips Hue, you can grab a Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Starter Kit for only $96.07 (was $159.99) including two bulbs, a dimmer switch, and the Philips Hue Hub to connect them all to your Wi-Fi router and one another. Need extra bulbs? You can grab three A19 White & Color Ambiance bulbs for a mere $79.64 (was $134.99), which makes them just $26.55 each. A real Prime Day bargain.

Want to know more? Read on for more of today's best Prime Day deals on Philips Hue lights, lamps, and accessories. I'll be updating the guide throughout the sale with more offers, so if you don't see what you want, bookmark this page and come back shortly to see what's new.

Quick links

Amazon Prime Day Philips Hue deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: 50% off TVs, Ring & Fire Sticks
• Back to school: deals from $5.99
• Beauty: 80% off toothbrushes & skincare
• Headphones: $120 off Bose, Apple & Sony
• Health: electric toothbrushes from $24.99
• Kitchen: 54% off Ninja, Nespresso & Keurig
• TVs: cheap TVs from $59.99
• Vacuums: Shark, Bissell & Dyson from $49.99

Amazon Prime Day Philips Hue deals in the UK

• Amazon Devices: up to 50% off Kindle & Ring
• Appliances: Ninja & De'Longhi from £19.99
• Headphones: Bose & Sony from £14.99
• Health: up to 68% off Philips, Remington & Oral-B
• Home: fans from £12.99
• TVs: cheap TVs from £99.99
• Vacuums: Shark and eufy from £99

Amazon's Prime Day sale in the US - quick links

• Amazon Devices: 50% off TVs, Ring & Fire Sticks
• Apple: AirPods + iPads from $99
• Back to school: deals from $5.99
• Beauty: 80% off toothbrushes & skincare
• Headphones: $120 off Bose, Apple & Sony
• Health: electric toothbrushes from $24.99
• Kitchen: 54% off Ninja, Nespresso & Keurig
• Laptops: record-low prices from $175
• Tablets: iPads and Samsung from $54.99
• Toys: 40% off Lego, scooters & Toniebox
• TVs: cheap TVs from $59.99
• Vacuums: Shark, Bissell & Dyson from $49.99

Amazon's Prime Day sale in the UK - quick links

• Amazon Devices: up to 50% off Echo & Ring
• Appliances: Ninja & De'Longhi from £29.99
• Gaming: Nintendo Switch 2 – in stock now
• Headphones: Anker & Sony from £15.98
• Health: up to 68% off Philips, Remington & Oral-B
• Home: fans from £12.99
• Laptops: Lenovo, Asus and HP from £159.99
• Phones: up to 20% off Apple & Samsung
• Tablets: Lenovo & Samsung from £119
• Toys: up to 50% off Lego & Mattel
• TVs: cheap TVs from £109
• Vacuums: Shark and eufy from £99
• Wearables: up to 25% off Huawei & Samsung

Amazon Prime Day is the perfect time to expand your Philips Hue smart light setup, and there are some epic deals available right now, including the stunning Philips Hue Signe Gradient Table Lamp for $164.99 (was $219.99) and a complete starter kit of Philips Hue Lily Outdoor Spotlights for just $199.99 (was $339.99)

• Check out all the great home tech deals in the Prime Day sale

We're particularly big fans of the Signe lamp here at TechRadar, and our reviewer Jennifer Oksien loved the way it creates a "beautiful light show" with virtually no effort.

"During my time with the Philips Hue Gradient Signe table lamp, I've looked forward to entering my bedroom of an evening to see the light not only already switched on (without me having to do anything), but also the gentle colors filling my side of the room," she said.

Check out our full list of Amazon Prime Day deals for more unmissable offers on smart home tech, and much more.

Amazon Prime Day deal: Philips Hue lights

The Festavia String Lights are another TechRadar favorite, with our tester Josephine Watson calling them "bold but minimalistic". She found they weren't quite as festive as some dedicated Christmas smart lights, but were a great addition to a home already fitted out with Hue products.

"If you already own a Philips Hue-based smart lighting setup, the Hue Festavia lights are a no-brainer, allowing you seamless synchronization and lots of great features," she said.

Her main complaint was the price, which is normally far more than you'd expect to pay for a set of string lights, but thanks to this early Prime Day deal, that's no longer an issue.

More early Prime Day home tech deals

Amazon's early Prime Day sale in the US - quick links

• Amazon Devices: 50% off TVs, Ring & Fire Sticks
• Apple: AirPods + iPads from $99
• Back to school: deals from $5.99
• Beauty: 80% off toothbrushes & skincare
• Headphones: $120 off Bose, Apple & Sony
• Health: electric toothbrushes from $24.99
• Kitchen: 54% off Ninja, Nespresso & Keurig
• Laptops: record-low prices from $175
• Tablets: iPads and Samsung from $54.99
• Toys: 40% off Lego, scooters & Toniebox
• TVs: cheap TVs from $59.99
• Vacuums: Shark, Bissell & Dyson from $49.99

Amazon's early Prime Day sale in the UK - quick links

• Amazon Devices: up to 50% off Echo & Ring
• Appliances: Ninja & De'Longhi from £29.99
• Gaming: Nintendo Switch 2 – in stock now
• Headphones: Anker & Sony from £15.98
• Health: up to 68% off Philips, Remington & Oral-B
• Home: fans from £12.99
• Laptops: Lenovo, Asus and HP from £159.99
• Phones: up to 20% off Apple & Samsung
• Tablets: Lenovo & Samsung from £119
• Toys: up to 50% off Lego & Mattel
• TVs: cheap TVs from £109
• Vacuums: Shark and eufy from £99
• Wearables: up to 25% off Huawei & Samsung

If you've ever thought about getting started with Philips Hue smart lights, or you want to expand your existing setup, this is the time. Right now, the Philips Hue Go Table Lamp is just £99.48 at Amazon (was £139.99), which is the cheapest it's ever been.

• Check out all today's smart home deals at Amazon

When we reviewed the Philips Hue Go here at TechRadar, we were impressed by its stylish and slim design that "takes its design cues from traditional bedside table lamps", and its versatility. It can be used on a wired charging base or wirelessly from an internal battery, and emits soft light that you can switch between different presets, or adjust to your heart's content through the Philips Hue app.

Amazon Prime Day is coming next week, but this deal won't last that long. In fact, 60% of stock has already sold, so you'll need to be quick to grab the Go before it's gone.

Early Prime Day deal: Philips Hue Go Table Lamp

The Hue app is what makes this lamp really special, and sets it apart from other smart lights from brands like Govee and Wiz.

"You can either use the colour wheel to choose from 16 million shades, use some of the many ready-to-go 'scenes' (multiple themed colours through which the light will cycle) in Philips Hue’s library, or even create your own custom scenes using the colour wheel or your favourite photos," said our reviewer.

You can also use the app to set the lamp to illuminate on a schedule, change to different colours depending on the time of day. You can even sync it with other lights, or link it to sensors and switches if you have a Philips Hue Bridge hub connected to your router. The options are endless, and it's never been cheaper to get started.

More early Prime Day home tech deals

Amazon's early Prime Day sale - quick links

• Amazon Devices: up to 56% off smart home gadgets
• Appliances: 60% off Ninja and Tefal
• Gaming: gaming headsets from £22.99
• Headphones: Sony, Apple Bose from £19.99
• Health: up to 63% off Philips and Oral-B
• Laptops: Lenovo, HP, and Acer from £159
• Phones: Google and Samsung from £129
• Smart home: Ring & Blink cameras from £15.99
• Toys: up to 60% off Lego and Barbie
• TVs: cheap TVs from £139.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark and Dyson
• Wearables: up to 25% off Fitbit and Garmin

Leveling up your lighting is one of the easiest ways to start building a smart home, and it can have a lot of benefits. For instance, you can control smart lights hands-free using voice commands, or set them to turn on and off when you're away on vacation and so deter thieves.

That's only scratching the surface of what they're capable of, though, so we spoke to Giuliano Ghidini, Business and Marketing leader at Signify, to find out more about the benefits of installing smart lights at home, and where the tech is going next.

Signify is the parent company of Philips Hue and WiZ, which are the brands behind many of the best smart lights we've tested here at TechRadar. Hue is the one that comes to mind when most people think of smart lights, while Wiz is a more budget-friendly option.

"Hue stretches across indoor and outdoor, and has different variants of products in all those categories," says Ghidini. "Hue offers a more comprehensive range so you can cover all rooms, and thanks to the technology it’s based on, Zigbee, with a Hue hub you have very good coverage indoor and outdoor, and very high reliability without putting too much stress on your Wi-Fi network."

Wiz came later, and is a more affordable brand with a smaller range of lights, which connect directly to Wi-Fi.

"We wanted to bring high quality at a more affordable price point. It allows us to finally bring smart lighting to more houses in the UK and the world," says Ghidini.

Why smart lighting?

Ghidini says a lot has happened in the seven years since he joined Signify, with smart lighting shifting from something seen as very technical to products you'll find in ordinary department stores.

Once sold exclusively by retailers specializing in computer hardware, Hue has now gone mainstream and even has a dedicated space in the flagship John Lewis shop on London's Oxford Street.

"So first of all, it’s very important to talk about smart lighting knowing it's not only the light bulb," he says. "For some people it's still a connected bulb, but when you look at Philips Hue and Wiz, we have products in all categories, both indoor and outdoor, and we have other products as well.

"So when you talk about convenience, you can talk about how we use lighting for security, outdoors and indoors. For example, you can have lights flashing red if there is an intruder or motion is detected where you don’t expect it.

"You can set scenes depending on the time of the day to change the mood for a party, for instance. And lighting can sync with music, or for wellness. For example, you can wake up with the right light and that helps you to have a more relaxed and better start of the day. You can use it for entertainment, integrate the lighting that you have in the living room with what happens on your TV.

"It all started with just a connected light bulb, and what you can do now is quite amazing."

What's next

So what's coming up next in the world of smart lighting? Ghidini isn't giving anything away just yet, but it sounds like convenience is going to play a big role.

"Smart lighting is basically connected lighting," he says. "With that connectivity, you can do many things – connect your lighting to other smart home systems to make your home more secure, for instance. You can connect to a specific scene to help your general wellness, or in order to improve the ambience of your living room, bedroom, and kitchen – all the different rooms in your house."

It's not just about the technology, though – smart lighting is also about making your life easier, and there are exciting developments afoot on this front.

"The integration of these products with other platforms is very important – for example, Google, or Amazon Alexa. Then you have access to an extended number of use cases as well, where you control lighting not only with your phone but also with your voice. In some cases the control is done on your behalf because you have intelligent systems. We just launched an AI system that will do it for you."

Ghidini isn't giving anything else away for now, but promises something exciting is coming soon. We'll keep you updated as soon as we know more.

You might also like

• 3 cool things you didn't realize your Philips Hue lights could do
• I tested the wireless Nanoleaf Solar Garden Lights, and they're a fun way to light up your yard all night long
• Philips Hue is launching a stylish new smart light to 'wash' your walls with color – early Amazon listing reveals all

Philips Hue Motion Sensor: two-minute review

The Philips Hue Motion Sensor, as the name suggests, is a palm-sized device that triggers your smart lights when it detects movement. That's not all, though – it also works as a home security sensor, alerting you to potential intruders while you're away. Just tap a button in the app to 'arm' the Motion Sensor (plus any other Philips Hue cameras and sensors in your home) and it'll enter security mode, making your lights behave differently and sending you a phone notification if something happens in your absence. For example, your lights could turn red or flash, while the app lets you call an emergency contact with a tap.

The Motion Sensor requires a Philips Hue Bridge to work, so it's best if you already have an established smart lighting setup. If you're not familiar with the Bridge, it's a small hub that connects to your Wi-Fi router, and uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to connect all your Philips Hue devices in a mesh network.

It has a list price of $44.99 / £39.99 / AU$69.95, which means it's not the cheapest motion sensor around, and if you're not going to use its security functions then you might be better served by a simpler Zigbee device instead. However, the Philips Hue Motion Sensor's extra security features mean it could even be a cornerstone of your security system, and from that perspective it's excellent value.

The sensor is a small, lightweight device and comes ready to go, with two AAA batteries already installed. To connect it, just scan the QR code on the back using the Philips Hue app, then hold the 'setup' button until the LED on the front flashes orange to pair it, as instructed on screen.

Once the sensor is paired, you'll be prompted to assign it to a room, then asked which lights you want it to control. These lights don't have to be in the same location; for example, you may want to have a light activated in your study if motion is detected in the porch so you don't miss a package delivery (provided it's under cover – you'll need the Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor if it's going to be exposed to the elements).

The sensor can turn lights on and off, but you can also use it to adjust their brightness, and even apply scenes.

Like the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch the Philips Hue Motion Sensor allows you to set different actions for your lights depending on the time of day.

During my tests this worked perfectly, and helped me and my partner avoid being dazzled at night. I installed the sensor in our hallway and kept the lighting level low after 11pm so we could find our way to the kitchen for a drink of water without being jarred into full wakefulness after bedtime.

As I mentioned earlier, the Dimmer Switch also functions as a security device (either by itself or with other Hue sensors and cameras), the app lets you decide what events it should trigger when it's set to 'armed'. By default, it will make connected Philips Hue lights flash when motion is detected, but you can also simply make them turn on, or have them change color. An intimidating red might be a good option.

The sensor doesn't have a siren of its own, but if you have a Philips Hue Secure camera, it can play an audible alert when the sensor detects movement.

During my tests the app reliably sent me a notification whenever my partner wandered by and the system was armed – and he informed me that the living room lights turned pink as well. After increasing the sensitivity a little, the sensor was able to detect him entering the living room even when mounted on a wall at the other end of the room, opposite the door.

It's worth noting that although you can change the direction of the sensor by simply shifting it on its magnetic mount (as described below) and dial its sensitivity up and down, the absence of a camera on this sensor means it's not possible to create custom zones that won't be monitored, so you might need to spend some time experimenting with the settings so it picks up movement near doors and windows.

That's not a major issue though, and the magnetic mount can even be fitted to the ceiling, making it simple to keep an eye on potential entry points.

Philips Hue Motion Sensor: price and availability

• Costs $44.99 / £39.99 / AU$69.95
• Often discounted, particularly in sales events

The Philips Hue Motion Sensor is available globally direct from Philips Hue, and from third-party retailers including Amazon.

It has a list price of $44.99 / £39.99 / AU$69.95, but is often available at a steep discount, particularly during sales events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. You'll find today's best prices in your area listed below.

You can also find it bundled together with the Philips Hue Bridge and a set of smart light bulbs as part of a Philips Hue Starter Kit.

Philips Hue Motion Sensor: design

• Can be mounted on a wall or used free-standing
• Magnetic wall mount allows you to angle the sensor
• Only available in white

The Philips Hue Motion Sensor is a discreet white device with a magnetic back containing a single screw, which you can undo to replace the two AAA batteries powering it. The sensor can be mounted on a wall or ceiling, or simply placed on a piece of furniture if you'd prefer not to drill holes.

It measures 6.9 x 2.8 x 2.2 inches / 174 x 72 x 55mm (H x W x D) and weighs 2.8oz / 80g.

The mount (which comes with two screws and a wall plug) is a small circular magnet. Once it's screwed in, you simply place the sensor on top, then tilt it to face the direction you want to monitor. During my tests the sensor felt most secure when facing straight on, but it never felt likely to fall off when tilted.

Unlike other Philips Hue accessories (such as the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch) you can't attach the Motion Sensor to your wall using 3M tape. The mount has a slightly rubberized finish that doesn't work well with adhesives, and the strength of the magnets means the tape would likely pull away when you remove the sensor unit.

Unlike some Philips Hue accessories, the Motion Sensor is only available in white. However, since it's likely to be mounted close to a white ceiling, that's not too much of an issue.

The sensor isn't weather-resistant, and therefore can't be used outdoors. If you want a sensor for detecting movement in your yard, you'll need the Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor, which is also wireless and can be mounted on a wall or used free-standing.

Should you buy the Philips Hue Motion Sensor?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Philips Hue Motion Sensor: also consider

How I tested the Philips Hue Motion Sensor

I connected the Philips Hue Motion Sensor to my home smart lighting setup, which includes several bulbs, switches, and a pair of Philips Hue Play Light Bars. I started by installing it in my hallway so I could test its sensitivity and time-based functionality (specifically triggering dimmer illumination at night). I then moved it to the living room to test its security features, triggering alerts on my phone and setting the main ceiling lights to pink while my husband was home to monitor the effects.

Whether they're automated to help you wake up in the morning or colorfully curated to supply a little dopamine boost, smart lights make a fabulous addition to any home.

When it comes to considering which smart lights to buy, Philips Hue is often the first brand to come to mind, and understandably so, as it makes some of the best smart lights around. Its quality products and overall market presence have made it immensely popular, so it’s not all that surprising that its prices are at the premium end of the scale.

While brands like Nanoleaf may be the first to come to mind for many when considering a Philips Hue alternative, I’m here to sing the praises of another low-cost manufacturer of smart lighting loveliness – Govee.

Founded in 2017, Govee offers a huge range of both fun and functional smart lighting products, and regularly releases exciting new products that leave me wanting to rearrange my lighting setup so that I can incorporate newer pieces without looking like my home belongs in Cyberpunk 2077 (not saying I wouldn’t enjoy that, mind you). Aside from all the pretty lights, Govee produces some other great smart home essentials, including sensors, air purifiers, and fans, too.

I could waffle on for hours about my favorite Govee features, but to save us all some time, I’ve summarised my top three reasons why Govee makes a perfect lower-cost alternative to Philips Hue.

1. There’s something for everyone

Whether you want to go big and bold with vivid and colorful displays or want practical lighting solutions that you can automate to suit your schedule, their impressive range of products means that Govee will likely have something that ticks your boxes.

One product that’s equal parts fun and functional is the highly rated Govee Table Lamp 2. This RGBICWW lamp boasts over 60 scene presets, a load of customizable settings, and is Matter compatible, too. I have two of these lamps at home, and I love how easily I can switch up the mood with this little light, moving from a brighter, cooler white light for working hours, to mood-brightening colorful scenes for the evening, before finishing the night on a warm-toned white.

Even the reasonably priced Govee RGBIC LED Strip Light has a satisfying amount of customizable features. These include brightness adjustment, AI scene creation, and color palettes that can be applied across the entire strip or fine-tuned segment by segment.

2. The companion app is reliable and user-friendly

It’s all well and good having a fancy bit of kit capable of impressive lighting effects, but if the companion app is overly complex, clunky, or lacks features, it’d quickly dull any sparkle. Fortunately, the Govee Home app isn’t guilty of any of these; instead, it provides a delightfully straightforward and engaging user experience. It’s simple to navigate between different features, and I really liked that I could streamline the layout by arranging the modes for easy access. Another customizable element I appreciated was the quick action button that sits at the top of the page, giving me easy access to a choice of functions, including color and effect sections, auto-play, and a timer, amongst others.

3. Their prices are more palatable than Philips Hue

I think I’ve made it clear already that there are savings to be made when opting for Govee over Philips Hue, but to demonstrate my point, I’m going to lay out a couple of examples of the cost difference between similar products from both brands.

Say you’re thinking of upgrading your ceiling lights, a two-pack of 800 lumen RGBWW smart bulbs from Govee costs around $24.99 / £18.99, whereas the same from Philips Hue could set you back around $89.99 / £84.99. The price difference is pretty vast straight off the bat, and the chasm widens further when you factor in an additional $59.99 / $49.99 for a Philips Hue Bridge, which you’ll need if you want to use the full suite of features, such as controlling your lights away from home, something which Govee offers for free via the Govee Home app.

So, if you’re keen to get started on your smart lighting setup, but have been put off by the cost of building a Philips Hue system, then Govee is well worth considering, not just because their products are more affordable, but because they’re feature-packed and efficient, too.

• The long-awaited Philips Hue AI assistant is now available in some countries
• It will be launched in the UK in July, and globally by the end of August
• The Philips Hue Play Wall Washer light is on sale today in the US and UK

If you want to have more fun with your smart lights, there's good news – the long-awaited Philips Hue AI assistant is finally here, letting you pick lighting scenes or create brand new ones with simple voice commands. Signify, the company behind Philips Hue, first teased the assistant back in January, and last week a few iPhone users found themselves with early access, but the launch is now official.

The assistant is available now for users in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg whose app is set to English, and will be rolling out to Hue users in the UK in July. According to Signify, the global rollout is planned for the end of August.

With the AI assistant, you can either say or type what type of lighting effect you'd like to see, or what mood you want to set, and the app will either suggest something from its existing gallery of presets, or create something brand new if there's nothing that quite fits the bill.

Clean sweep

That's not all – Signify has also launched a new lamp that bathes your walls with a gradient of light. We got our first peek at the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer earlier this month when it was listed on Amazon ahead of its official release date.

Now it's available to buy, and despite measuring just 3.6 x 3 x 6.2 inches / 9.1 x 7.6 x 15.7cm (that's even smaller than the Philips Hue Play Light Bar), it promises to drench your whole wall with a smooth gradient of colored light that you can customize via a 3D drag-and-drop interface in the app, allowing you to set the direction and brightness of the light to suit your room.

The Wall Washer works with the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box or Hue Sync desktop app for PC, allowing you to synchronize lighting effects with movies, TV shows, and games.

Alternatively, you can use it alone, or synced with other Philips Hue smart lights to help create a mood. It uses the same ColorCast light system as the Philips Hue Twilight lamp (one of the best smart lights we've ever tested), projecting a smooth gradient onto nearby surfaces. The video below gives you an idea of the overall effect.

The Wall Washer also looks appealing when switched off. Unlike the Hue Play Light Bar, which has a plastic case, the Wall Washer is finished in black or white matt aluminum.

The Wall Washer is available now in the US and UK, priced at $219.99 / £169.99 for a single light, or $384.99 / £299.99 for a pack of two. It's due to launch in Australia in September, but official pricing has yet to be announced.

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• The Philips Hue AI assistant is now rolling out for iOS users in Benelux
• If you live somewhere else, you can use VPN to try it early
• The assistant lets you make custom lighting scenes with voice commands

The new Philips Hue AI assistant is starting to roll out now, letting you create custom lighting scenes to set a mood using natural language.

Signify (the company behind Philips Hue) revealed that it was working on an AI tool for its smart lights at CES 2025 in January, and promised that the new assistant would make it easy to create "personalized lighting scenes based on mood, occasion, or style".

The company has now got the ball rolling with an initial launch in the Benelux countries, but if you live elsewhere, then you can get around the geographic restriction by using one of the best VPNs to relocate yourself virtually in Belgium, Luxembourg, or the Netherlands.

Make it personal

Fabian over at Hueblog.com, who is based in Germany, managed to get the assistant working by using a VPN to switch his IP address to one of the supported countries and changing his language setting to English.

With that done, he was able to use simple voice commands to look for existing lighting scenes or create whole new ones. That'll be music to the ears of anyone who's struggled to track down seasonal lighting schemes for their best smart lights at Christmas or Halloween, or doesn't want to spend time flicking through the presets to find something suitable for the moment.

The only drawback is that, for the time being, the AI assistant appears to be exclusive to iOS. Despite attempting the same for all three Benelux countries, I was unable to access the tool on Android, and a Hueblog reader based in Belgium reported the same problem.

The Hue AI assistant has only just started to launch, though, and I expect Android owners won't be left in the dark for long. I'll bring you more news about its availability over the coming weeks.

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• A new update for the Philips Hue mobile app is rolling out now
• The app now suggests adding new sensors and switches to a zone during the setup process
• This avoids a problem where lighting scenes are unavailable later on

If you've ever struggled to set up new sensors and switches for your Philips Hue lights, help is at hand. A new app update is rolling out now that automatically suggests adding accessories to a zone when you connect them for the first time, so you don't miss out on any features later on.

A zone is a set of lights and other accessories that you want to control together as a group. They don't necessarily have to be in the same place or include all the lights within a room. For example, you might want to create a zone specifically for your home entertainment lighting, or one that includes all the lights on a particular floor.

Previously, assigning new devices to a room or zone was an optional step within the Philips Hue app, which you might miss if you were in a hurry. If you did, you wouldn't be able to use all of the switch or sensor's functions afterwards. For example, you may be unable to view all the available scenes (ready-made lighting profiles).

The new app update was spotted by the editor of Hueblog.com, who says he's often contacted by readers stuck in this frustrating 'accessory trap'. From now on, the app will suggest creating at least one zone during the setup process so you don't suffer that problem, and will note that you can always hide zones in the future if you prefer.

Simpler setup

There is also a change to the setup process when you're installing a new Philips Hue security camera. As Notebookcheck explains, the app now offers you the chance to set up motion-controlled lighting during the initial setup process.

Both of these are relatively minor changes, and there's still no news about the upcoming Philips Hue AI assistant. However, they address some common problems that you might face when extending your Philips Hue setup and make your best smart lights even better.

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This year's Memorial Day sales are a great time to buy into the smart home revolution with smart lighting, and Philips Hue smart lights are certainly the most popular choice.

These innovative lights screw in place like regular bulbs, but can interface with your smart speaker of choice, such as Alexa devices, Google Home, or Apple's Homekit. Turn them on or off or change color with a voice command, or even schedule specific programs.

• Check our Amazon's full Memorial Day sale

Amazon is offering a four-pack of Philips Hue 75w 1100 lights at a bargain price, reduced from $179.99 to $139.99 at Amazon. This will allow you to fit multiple lights in multiple rooms, seamlessly controlling your lighting to the minutiae as you move around your home.

However, Best Buy is also getting in on the bundle deal act, offering just two Philips Hue 75W 1100 lights, along with smart security contact sensors for doors and cupboards, a bridge, and an indoor motion sensor. All this is reduced from $299.99 down to just $249.99 at Best Buy.

Check out the deal in full below, and scroll down to check out more Philips Hue deals in your region.

Today's best Philips Hue deals

If you've already got one of the best smart speakers such as an Amazon Echo device, one of these kits is an awesome way to take your smart home experience to the next level.

As well as the security and convenience, you can have some fun: turn them an eerie green for a Halloween party, for example, or use a Hue bridge and Hue HDMI Sync box to sync your lights to your TV for atmospheric lighting.

More Memorial Day Philips Hue deals

The best Memorial Day sales - quick links

• Amazon: 50% off TVs, lawnmowers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $117
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Casper: up to 30% off all mattresses
• DreamCloud: up to 60% off mattresses - deals from $399
• Home Depot: 35% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lowe's: up to 40% off grills, appliances, tools & patio
• Nectar: mattress deals from $349, up to 50% off
• Purple: up to $700 off mattresses + free base
• Samsung: up to $1,500 off select appliances
• Target: 50% off patio furniture & accessories
• Tempur-Pedic: up to $500 mattress sets
• Walmart: grills, mattresses, cheap TVs & vacs from $69

If you're not a morning person, I've got good news – the award-winning Philips Hue Twilight wake-up lamp is now just £199.99 at John Lewis (was £249.99). That's the cheapest it's ever been, and much cheaper than Amazon's current price.

The Philips Hue Twilight currently holds a prime position in our guide to the best smart lights thanks to its set of two light sources (a lamp on the front and a gradient LED strip on the back) that gradually ramp up the brightness and change from warm to cool to wake you up like a natural sunrise. Even the best wake-up lights can sometimes be jarring if you're a light sleeper, but this premium lamp raises the brightness so gradually, it's like being gently roused by the sun during a summer camping trip.

Our reviewer Josephine Watson was thoroughly impressed when she tested this stylish lamp. Her only significant complaint was the price, but with £50 off, it's much more affordable right now. Check out our full Philips Hue Twilight review for more details.

Today's best Philips Hue Twilight deal

During the day, you can use the Philips Hue mobile app to set the lamp to any color you like, or apply one of the app's many preset scenes to set a particular mood. If you have other Philips Hue bulbs or lamps in your bedroom, you can apply the same scene to all of them, for an immersive lighting effect.

This type of multi-light setup requires a Philips Hue Bridge, which connects your Hue smart lights to each other, and to your home Wi-Fi network. You'll find today's best deals on the Philips Hue Bridge below.

The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K has just dropped to a record-low price in the Hue Bright Days sale.

The deal brings the Sync Box 8K down to just $244.99 (was $349.99) – and if you've not already signed up to the Philips Hue newsletter, registering now will knock an extra 15% off, cutting the total price to $208.24 for an enormous total saving of $141.75.

If you're not familiar with the Sync Box, it connects to your TV and any HDMI source, and makes movies and games more immersive by allowing compatible Hue lights to mirror the colors on the screen. For full details, take a look at our full Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K review.

The Sync Box 8K launched in September 2024, and was a much-needed upgrade that plays nicely with 4K and 8K content at refresh rates up to 120Hz. That was the good news. The bad news was the price tag, which was even higher than that of the 4K box, and prohibitive for many movie buffs and gamers. But not any more.

Today's best Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K deal

The Philips Hue system currently holds the number one spot in our roundup of the best smart lights, and for good reason. Whether you pair it with a Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip, a pair of Hue Play Light Bars, or a Hue Gradient Signe Lamp, the Sync Box 8K will add a whole new dimension to your home cinema experience.

If you need some lights to go along with your Sync Box, we've rounded up some of today's best offers for you below. You'll also want to take a look at the full Philips Hue Brights Days sale, which includes some great mix-and-match offers on lights and accessories.