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Back in October 2012, Philips launched its "hue" line of iOS-compatible LED light bulbs, giving users the ability to set and control light colors and intensities right from an iPhone app. With various "recipes", users can select from preset and customized lighting scenes to fit a variety of situations, from reading to relaxing to concentrating and more.

Philips has expanded the Hue family several times since the initial launch, including a "Friends of hue" accessory line of light strips and table lamps, as well as new BR30 light bulbs for recessed lighting fixtures.

The Hue family is set to expand again, with Philips today announcing three new upcoming products. The first is known as "hue lux", a light bulb similar to the existing hue bulb but which can only emit white light. While hue lux lacks the color options available with the original hue, users can remotely control the brightness of hue lux, set schedules, and more.

hue_lux.jpg
hue lux
Hue lux launches this summer with a starter kit consisting of two hue lux bulbs and a required bridge device to set up the hue network for $100. Additional hue lux bulbs will be available for $40 each, compared to the $60 price tag for the original hue with colors.

hue_tap.jpg
hue tap
The second product Philips is announcing today is "hue tap" a round mountable switch to make it easy to control hue lights without needing to access the hue iPhone app. The hue tap includes four buttons to store lighting recipes that are accessible with a simple tap. The hue tap requires no wiring or batteries and is powered simply by the kinetic energy from users tapping on the switch. The hue tap will be available in the second half of this year and will be priced at $60.

hue_3d.jpg
hue luminaires: "Tempest" table (left) and "Entity" pendant (right)
For the more adventurous, the final hue products being announced today are new 3D-printed luminaires. Available in both table and hanging pendant versions, the lights serve as art pieces that integrate with the hue system with palettes of over 16 million colors. Pre-orders for the luminaires begin on March 31, with the pendants priced at 2999 euros and table lamps priced at 2499 euros.

Article Link: Philips Expanding 'Hue' LED Lighting Line with White Bulbs, Tap-Powered Switch
 

iolinux333

macrumors 68000
Feb 9, 2014
1,798
73
If you get a good prism setup and look at the actual spectrum of light that LEDs produce, you can immediately see why they still can't hold a candle to incandescent. They're a little better than fluorescent though. The spectrum of florescent lighting is criminal.

I'll just buy my black market filament bulbs thank you; if they shut that down, I'll just go back to gas mantles (literally, where I grew up there was no electricity and that's what we used).


LEDs have their place - long lived flashlights is their place - I suppose that backlights for iPhone displays is a necessary evil given the realities of chemical batteries, but they don't belong in the home or workplace.
 

fruitpunch.ben

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2008
599
174
Surrey, BC
It's a no-brainer that they're doing this, but $40 a bulb is just too expensive! You can get good quality, good warranty, 25 year white LEDs for around $10, even from Philips. I'd maybe pay $10 for the privilege of using my iPhone to control them. But a $30 surcharge per bulb? It's just too much. I'm really disappointed.
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,043
7,286
Although still a bit expensive (non-smart dimmable LED lightbulbs go for about $10-20), $40 is a good start.

But what's the wattage and output? I assume 800 lumens output.
 

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,537
398
Middle Earth
I'm in. #1 aggravation with my hue is the need for smartphone control. #2 I don't need color everywhere.

Now I just need mr16 Hue for my track lighting.
 

ceesthoen

macrumors newbie
Mar 27, 2014
12
16
Germany & Spain
Living Whites

To me this seems successors of the Living Whites (although they are not LED based) bulbs and their remote that works with Hue bridge as well, the LV remote can also control all Hue bulbs
 
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RMo

macrumors 65816
Aug 7, 2007
1,252
280
Iowa, USA
Is there a link to an official Philips announcement or anything? I'm curious about the specs on the new bulbs, specifically their brightness (lumens) and color temperature. I'm guessing the latter is fixed, much as I would love the ability to switch between cool and warm white. I hope the former is brighter, which is the only problem I have with the existing bulbs right now (in some situations).
 

Parasprite

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2013
1,698
144
It's a no-brainer that they're doing this, but $40 a bulb is just too expensive! You can get good quality, good warranty, 25 year white LEDs for around $10, even from Philips. I'd maybe pay $10 for the privilege of using my iPhone to control them. But a $30 surcharge per bulb? It's just too much. I'm really disappointed.

I'm just waiting for a reasonably priced one bright enough to read for hours at a time.

So...well... I suppose this product is extra-not targeted to me then, huh?

----------

Is there a link to an official Philips announcement or anything? I'm curious about the specs on the new bulbs, specifically their brightness (lumens) and color temperature. I'm guessing the latter is fixed, much as I would love the ability to switch between cool and warm white. I hope the former is brighter, which is the only problem I have with the existing bulbs right now (in some situations).

I also clicked all the article links assuming one would eventually lead to something other than MR. Lots of details in there actually; it is one thing I do actually appreciate about this lineup.

There website on the other hand is like a cross between a Windows phone and the Borg. :eek:
 

NightFox

macrumors 68040
May 10, 2005
3,234
4,456
Shropshire, UK
From the spec:

"<2 sec start up from wall switch"

Really? I press the light switch on the wall and have to wait up to 2 seconds for the light to come on? Seriously?

Please tell me I've misread this - I already went down the Hue avenue once but returned them when I realised the issues that only being able to control them from an app meant for my intended usage of them (primary, as opposed to secondary lighting in my living room). This light switch would potentially have resolved that, but now I'm not so sure...

Edit:

On reading the specs again, maybe it's referring to powering them up from a standard wall switch as opposed to the special Hue wireless wall switch thing. Let's hope so.
 
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Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
From the spec:



Really? I press the light switch on the wall and have to wait up to 2 seconds for the light to come on? Seriously?

Please tell me I've misread this - I already went down the Hue avenue once but returned them when I realised the issues that only being able to control them from an app meant for my intended usage of them (primary, as opposed to secondary lighting in my living room). This light switch would potentially have resolved that, but now I'm not so sure...

<2 is less than 2
 

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
3,327
3,015
It's a no-brainer that they're doing this, but $40 a bulb is just too expensive! You can get good quality, good warranty, 25 year white LEDs for around $10, even from Philips. I'd maybe pay $10 for the privilege of using my iPhone to control them. But a $30 surcharge per bulb? It's just too much. I'm really disappointed.

I am in the same boat as you. The idea of Hue is awesome, but the reality is less so due to price. However, like all things, it start expensive and get cheaper over time. There are the early adopters that pay the high price (um, not me in this case). Then as they ramp up production and sell more, the price comes down. As you stated, I think the adoption point for me is at about $20 per bulb. When we get there I may indeed jump on this bandwagon.
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
Sorry for my narrowed-thinking, but I'm not getting the point of all this.

It's a spin on led lighting. Over here in Europe led lighting will soon be the only way to go as other forms of lighting are becoming illegal. So if you have to have led why not spice it up.
 

RightMACatU

macrumors 65816
Jul 12, 2012
1,423
1,132
192.168.1.1
Awesome idea... love it... I'll do my whole house...

How much did you say?

I'll have a box of 12 of those incandescent light bulbs for $5 please
:D
 

RMo

macrumors 65816
Aug 7, 2007
1,252
280
Iowa, USA
I also clicked all the article links assuming one would eventually lead to something other than MR. Lots of details in there actually; it is one thing I do actually appreciate about this lineup.

Looks to me like that's just for the current Hue bulbs (see: "16 million colors" for all), nothing about the Lux in there ... yet.

However, I hadn't seen that page before, and I think it's interesting that the BR30 and A19 bulbs have the exact same beam specifications. I'd expect the A19 bulbs to be wider and the BR30 bulbs to be a bit narrower since BR30 bulbs are normally a bit more directional, but I guess not. I still think the A19 bulbs scatter light a bit more widely than the BR30s, though, having used both and even comparing them (and what they do to the wall/ceiling nearby) in a downward-pointing fixture. Yes, I care a lot about light bulbs... :)
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
So not even fluorescent lighting?

There is a date in the eu for cfl's to stop being used because of mercury content but I can't remember what it was and tbh I'm using halogen replacements at the moment because cfl's are crap
 

rshanahan

macrumors regular
Dec 24, 2007
162
0
North East, MD
Fail on the round surface mount switch, well, unless you like sticking things on the wall. I'm glad they addressed the issue of not having a way to control lights w/o IOS device.

Why not produce a replacement for a standard light switch, where you actually HAVE power to run and make it a mini-controller (read decor form factor).

I am still on the 'not for me' side of the fence to to the 1 fundamental flaw in the hue bulb design (I say the bulb, not the system).

My friend invested quite a lot in bulbs, bedrooms, living areas, etc. Nine so far.

Here's the problem. Power outage, regardless of the state of each bulb when the power went out, the turn on at full white brightness when the power returns. Imagine at 3am you are in bed and you have a power interruption, then your entire house lights up.

Sorry, that is not for me. The bulbs need some sort of nvram to remember the state of the bulb if they lose power.

I have some Hue bulbs in use around the house (starter kit) and so far that's all I'm investing.
 

k1121j

macrumors 68000
Mar 28, 2009
1,716
2,754
New Hampshire
Cool

i have the light Srips and 5 bulbs i must say they are awsom. tho switch is something i have been waiting for i have not found a single app that i find simple to control groups of bulbs for simple on off capability with the philips app being the worst.... i have a family and there are at least 5 devices/ people controlling the bulbs having to setup each device separately is a pain and the philips app assumes that you want to control every bulb by default and the sync feature seems to be buggy... other then this the switch eliminates that problem for the most part.....either way i love em also Quck Hue seems to work best for me
 
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Lightbow

macrumors newbie
Nov 6, 2013
4
0
Brooklyn, NY
Tech Specs?

Is there a link to an official Philips announcement or anything? I'm curious about the specs on the new bulbs, specifically their brightness (lumens) and color temperature. I'm guessing the latter is fixed, much as I would love the ability to switch between cool and warm white. I hope the former is brighter, which is the only problem I have with the existing bulbs right now (in some situations).

I'd love to see specs as well. I'm getting conflicting information about whether the new lux supports various color temperatures or is fixed to warm white. Also, lumen information. Once I get the specs, it'll be easy to update Lightbow to support the new lights. Anyone out there with early access, I'd love to hear what model numbers these new lights report over the API.
 

parseckadet

macrumors 65816
Dec 13, 2010
1,489
1,268
Denver, CO
I'm on the fence about the switch. I get what they were trying to accomplish, and I agree that being able to set it up for four different scenes is nice. And while some people will want that, others will want something that replaces a simple wall switch, similar to the WeMo switch. http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F7C030/

What worries me too is that it seems Philips is saying that their strategy to lower the cost on Hue is to reduce functionality. I have a sneaking suspicion that Philips could have lowered the cost of the Hue bulbs by now, considering they've been out for over two years I think.

The biggest shortcoming with Hue, and the biggest advantage, is that all the control is in the lights. That's great for doing things like adjusting the color and brightness of each bulb, no so great when you realize you have to replace every bulb in a room to get the full effect. For the price of replacing all the lights in one room with Hue, you could setup a whole house with WeMo.

I put Hue in my home office, which required 4 lights for the ceiling fan, and one for a desk lamp. If all I was looking for was home automation I could have done it with a single WeMo. I chose Hue because this is a multi-purpose room for me. During the day it's my work space, and I need light that matches natural sun light, while at night it's the closest thing I have to a man cave and I wanted to have a bit of fun. These are not factors that apply to the rest of my house, and the only thing that has stopped me from installing WeMo everywhere else is because the switch replacement isn't compatible with three-way switches.

One personal wish, that is probably really low on their priority list, is that they would come out with more socket types. My ceiling fans use E17 lights, which are smaller than the E26. I was able to find some adapters, but they cause the lights to stick out the glass globe. I'm ok with it in my office, but I wouldn't want that in the rest of the house.
 
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