Philips Announces New Hue Bulbs, Hue Bridge 2.0 With HomeKit Compatibility

[xodh]

John Lewis and currys do not have them in stock yet

I have checked with Selfridges and Maplin, and like you "....hue who?" I am sure there is a joke in there somewhere, but the retailers have not been told anything? Hopefully, Amazon will have availability soon, as I see they have the new lightstrips that they list from today.

 

[Dan08]

What is better about the new lightstrip?

It just seems to get a lot brighter than my old one, and the colors are a bit more vibrant. You can also buy lightstrip extensions now so you don't have to plug in another lightstrip if you have a long space to cover. If I remember correctly it can be extended to about 33ft (10m).

 

[AndrewS]

What is better about the new lightstrip?

The new Lightstrip Plus is an enhanced version of the Lightstrip, adding brighter, tunable white light in addition to the 16 million color options of the original.
The Lightstrip Plus measures in at 1,600 lumens (old lightstrip is 120 lumens), and the new version allows multiple strips to be chained together to reach a length of up to 10 meters.

 

[tonyoevans]

Anyone managed to get one in the UK yet?

 

[Mr. Y]

In the US (specifically New York) Best Buy, Apple, and Amazon do not carry the stand-alone Bridge 2.0 although Best Buy and Amazon will allow you to purchase the new kit (at $199, which incl. Bridge 2.0 and three White + Color bulbs). I'm a little amazed at Philips, as they seem not to be as on top of things as other companies are with product launches. I'm also amazed that pre-existing customers seeking to upgrade have to wait a month, and as their website clearly states, not everyone wanting to upgrade at the discount will be able to do so, since supplies are limited within an already limited window.

 

[protobiont]

The new Lightstrip Plus is an enhanced version of the Lightstrip, adding brighter, tunable white light in addition to the 16 million color options of the original.
The Lightstrip Plus measures in at 1,600 lumens (old lightstrip is 120 lumens), and the new version allows multiple strips to be chained together to reach a length of up to 10 meters.

Thanks. That's a LOT brighter.

 

[xodh]

In the US (specifically New York) Best Buy, Apple, and Amazon do not carry the stand-alone Bridge 2.0 although Best Buy and Amazon will allow you to purchase the new kit (at $199, which incl. Bridge 2.0 and three White + Color bulbs). I'm a little amazed at Philips, as they seem not to be as on top of things as other companies are with product launches. I'm also amazed that pre-existing customers seeking to upgrade have to wait a month, and as their website clearly states, not everyone wanting to upgrade at the discount will be able to do so, since supplies are limited within an already limited window.

I think it similar in the UK. Various members on this forum have contacted the Philips referred retailers, to no avail. The retailers at the customer front end are not aware of any new products. Even speaking to Philips themselves say they have no information available other than the new bridge "should" be available from today, and cannot say who has live stock?

Like you, I am disappointed at Philips, as they seem to have completely botched this launch.

 

[Alchemist]

I'm not very informed on HomeKit stuff, despite being very interested in it, because information on the subject is hard to come by. What I want to avoid in a future HomeKit enabled home is a bunch of different hubs for different systems. Here's my question - what is stopping a single HomeKit hub that would control ALL HomeKit devices? Why is it necessary to have a hub specifically for the Hue lights? Also, I thought there was some suggestion that the new Apple TV would be a hub for all things HomeKit. Can anyone clarify?

 

[Coleman2010]

In the US (specifically New York) Best Buy, Apple, and Amazon do not carry the stand-alone Bridge 2.0 although Best Buy and Amazon will allow you to purchase the new kit (at $199, which incl. Bridge 2.0 and three White + Color bulbs). I'm a little amazed at Philips, as they seem not to be as on top of things as other companies are with product launches. I'm also amazed that pre-existing customers seeking to upgrade have to wait a month, and as their website clearly states, not everyone wanting to upgrade at the discount will be able to do so, since supplies are limited within an already limited window.

Amazon carries the stand along hub.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[swindmill]

I'm not very informed on HomeKit stuff, despite being very interested in it, because information on the subject is hard to come by. What I want to avoid in a future HomeKit enabled home is a bunch of different hubs for different systems. Here's my question - what is stopping a single HomeKit hub that would control ALL HomeKit devices? Why is it necessary to have a hub specifically for the Hue lights? Also, I thought there was some suggestion that the new Apple TV would be a hub for all things HomeKit. Can anyone clarify?

There is a lot of uncertainty about what HomeKit will eventually do. I do understand that it is really just a framework that allows enabled devices to communicate with one another, so if those devices require hubs, HomeKit won't change that. It's not intended to be a hub platform, like Smartthings, for instance, so the AppleTV can't be a hub for HomeKit devices. I think what you heard was that AppleTV could allow communication with HomeKit devices from outside your network. I don't think that is even necessary with iOS9.

All that said, I'm also in the dark as to what HomeKit will really offer. If Apple could just make an app that pulls everything together, it would be much more useful than it appears to be now.

 

[Coleman2010]

I went to Best Buy last night and bought the starter kit and the light strip. Migrating from the old hub to the new was simple but time consuming. The process takes awhile.

Seri voice control works. "Hey series, set the lights to blue and dim to 50%." That works. Commands for all lights works very well. But when I try do voice commands for single rooms it's buggy.

The name for the lights need to be simple so you don't have to say a long complex phrase when you're targeting individually lights.

 

[AbSoluTc]

I went to Best Buy last night and bought the starter kit and the light strip. Migrating from the old hub to the new was simple but time consuming. The process takes awhile.

Seri voice control works. "Hey series, set the lights to blue and dim to 50%." That works. Commands for all lights works very well. But when I try do voice commands for single rooms it's buggy.

The name for the lights need to be simple so you don't have to say a long complex phrase when you're targeting individually lights.

Can you tell me how it works to move the bulbs over to another hub? Was there any issue?

I am planning on getting another kit because I don't feel like waiting until November and I can use more bulbs

 

[Mr. Y]

Amazon carries the stand along hub.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I noticed that, but it has been and remains listed as "currently unavailable", although you can get the bridge with the bulbs through Amazon. I wonder when they will stock the stand alone bridge. I'm at a crossroads. I would really love to start using homekit, and I don't mind paying the full retail for the bridge, but do I also then buy more bulbs just because it is the fastest, most widely available option now?

 

[Mr. Y]

I went to Best Buy last night and bought the starter kit and the light strip. Migrating from the old hub to the new was simple but time consuming. The process takes awhile.

Seri voice control works. "Hey series, set the lights to blue and dim to 50%." That works. Commands for all lights works very well. But when I try do voice commands for single rooms it's buggy.

The name for the lights need to be simple so you don't have to say a long complex phrase when you're targeting individually lights.

Which Best Buy?

 

[AbSoluTc]

Anyone have a UPC or Product number for the new kit? I am trying to find it locally and explaining that there is an old version is kind of hard. A number would help.

 

[280428055]

All new Hue products are available beginning October 6 from Apple retail stores, Best Buy, and Amazon.

I had some free time today so I ran by the Apple Store to pick up a new bridge. As usual the store was packed with people and empty with what I wanted. I asked one of the sales people and he just looked at me with a blank expression and said if it wasn't on the shelf they don't have it. I mentioned that is was supposed to hit the shelves today and perhaps it just hadn't been put out yet and asked if he could check just in case. He didn't. After leaving I dropped into Best Buy and found that they also didn't have the bridge, but they did have the 2.0 starter kit, and the shelf sticker was showing a $30 mark down. When the clerk rang it up it came up with the original $199 price so I mentioned the sticker on the shelf was $169 - which she checked out and honored. Now to cancel my amazon preorder...

 

[ssimonvii]

Picked up a starter kit at best buy. The siri integration is pretty underwhelming to say the least. You can not group lights, so for example, you can't say "turn on kitchen lights". You can set a scene, but from what I can tell, you can not turn off a particular scene (e.g. only turn off kitchen light scene).

 

[Coleman2010]

Can you tell me how it works to move the bulbs over to another hub? Was there any issue?

I am planning on getting another kit because I don't feel like waiting until November and I can use more bulbs

After setting up the new hub in the iOS app on the bottom left of the app there are 4-6 notices. One of the messages asks if you want to migrate the lights from the old hub to the new hub. During the migration you have to push the button on the bottom of the new hub to reset it since the lights it ships with are already bound. After the reset all of the settings and lights are added to the new hub, the last step is hitting the factory reset button on the hold hub so the hubs do not conflict. After that, click on the notices on the bottom left and set Seri voice control.

The setup is easy. Just time consuming waiting for it to process.

 

[Coleman2010]

Which Best Buy?

Best Buy's all over NYC has stock.

 

[Coleman2010]

Anyone have a UPC or Product number for the new kit? I am trying to find it locally and explaining that there is an old version is kind of hard. A number would help.

The new models at Best Buy
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips...=4373916&productCategoryId=pcmcat345400050005
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips...=4373913&productCategoryId=pcmcat345400050003
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips-hue-dimmer-switch-white/4373904.p?id=1219740704638&skuId=4373904

And at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-45621...e=ptl&linkId=02b99252280efbec0add6c779b7e999b
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-80028...e=ptl&linkId=f5199831ff00c0e8ed5310cf377b0eb7
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-80029...e=ptl&linkId=42d159c5fad587d80793a6adb026971d

 

[AbSoluTc]

Thanks for the info. Went and picked up a few sets.

 

[s1m]

Might have to wait a few months before Australia catches up with the US as usual on this.

 

[NightFox]

I've found a few UK stockists for the starter kit with the Edison screw fitting (amazon.co.uk and John Lewis) but I can't find the starter kit with the B22 bayonet fitting anywhere. The listing for the Edison kit on Amazon even specifically says the B22 version isn't available as a starter kit, but the Philips Hue site for the UK lists it as a product.

Pretty frustrating as like the majority of households in the UK all my light fittings are bayonet, and adapters are a bit of a cludgy solution.

 

[AbSoluTc]

I had some free time today so I ran by the Apple Store to pick up a new bridge. As usual the store was packed with people and empty with what I wanted. I asked one of the sales people and he just looked at me with a blank expression and said if it wasn't on the shelf they don't have it. I mentioned that is was supposed to hit the shelves today and perhaps it just hadn't been put out yet and asked if he could check just in case. He didn't. After leaving I dropped into Best Buy and found that they also didn't have the bridge, but they did have the 2.0 starter kit, and the shelf sticker was showing a $30 mark down. When the clerk rang it up it came up with the original $199 price so I mentioned the sticker on the shelf was $169 - which she checked out and honored. Now to cancel my amazon preorder...

I might have to go to another best buy and get the difference. The one I bought it at was 199. The other one I called said 169. Save myself 30 bucks.

So far the integration is really nice. I can turn on, off, dim, change light color and set scenes. This is really freaking cool! Almost sci-fi like. May sound silly but it's an awesome time to be alive!

The higher lumens is nice but hard to tell between the old/new bulbs which is good. Won't look odd.

My only issue is similar to the video I saw on here where all the lights respond but siri says some of them seem uninterested. I have 5 bulbs that are not active (they were taken out of lamps) so I am wondering if that's what she is seeing because they are listed in the app but with a !, which is fine.

Now to setup my new light strips!

 

[ssimonvii]

Can you not group lights? How can I turn on or off my group of "kitchen lights". I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!