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Philips Hue Line Gains New Gradient Lightstrip, Revamped Hue Iris and More

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Signify today announced a series of new products that are coming to the HomeKit-compatible Philips Hue line of lights, including a new lightstrip, an updated version of the Hue Iris, new low-cost white bulbs, and more, as outlined below.

The Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip is designed to integrate with the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box that connects Hue lights to TVs, consoles, and other devices to match lighting to the content being displayed on the TV set. The Gradient Lightstrip is designed specifically with television sets in mind and it comes in three lengths to accommodate common TV sizes: 55 inch, 65 inch, and 75 inch.

huelightstrip1.jpg

It sticks on the back of a TV set and is able to display color gradients, a first for a Philips Hue product. Prior lightstrips were always limited to a single color and did not support multi-color usage, but the LEDs in the Gradient Lightstrip are individually addressable.

For use with media, the Gradient Lightstrip needs either the Hue Play HDMI sync box or the Hue Sync PC or Mac app, which allow it to match the colors on the TV set for an immersive home theater experience. It features a 45 degree light projection and Signify says the light gradient is "perfectly blended." The Gradient Lightstrip can also work as an ambient lighting option without being synced to a TV through one of the above mentioned options, but it's not the primary function.

huelightstrip2.jpg

The Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip will be available starting on October 16, 2020, but it can be pre-ordered today from the Hue website. The 55-inch version is priced at $199, the 65-inch version is priced at $219, and the 75-inch version is priced at $240.

In addition to the new Gradient Lightstrip, there's a newly revamped Hue Iris that's coming soon. Priced at $99.99, the Hue Iris is a table lamp that offers richer colors, lower dimming, and increased brightness compared to the prior version of the Iris.

The Iris offers up to 570 lumens of brightness when it is used as a white light lamp, and it has a fabric wrapped cord. It comes in limited edition colors that include gold, rose, copper, and silver. It can be paired with a Hue Bridge or used over Bluetooth, and it will be available for purchase on October 19, 2020.

hueiris.jpg

Alongside these two major product releases, Signify is updating the Philips Hue E12 Candelabra bulbs with Bluetooth, and introducing the Globe and Edison Filament bulbs in new larger form factors. The Hue Ensis pendant light is being released in a new black finish, and there's a new small form factor E14 Lustre bulb ideal for smaller lamps.

Signify in the future plans to bring the new gradient lighting technology to additional products in the Philips Hue line, and there's also an upcoming integration with August and Yale smart locks for doing things like turning on the lights right when the lock is activated.

For more information on today's announcements, make sure to check out the Philips Hue website.

Article Link: Philips Hue Line Gains New Gradient Lightstrip, Revamped Hue Iris and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/09/03/philips-hue-gradient-lightstrip/
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I love my ambient light tv. Could never pick anything else again. It matches the colors so perfectly and gives you the illusion, that the tv is even bigger as it is
 
Oh man, the Gradient Lightstrip has some potential. Price seems out of whack though, individually-addressable LED strips are not that expensive, fundamentally. And I’m not a huge fan of their Hue Play HDMI sync box - it means using their HDMI switch for everything and no longer being able to control the (nominally) TV inputs with your TV remote. And their sync box costs a lot too. For the combined price, you might as well get an HDFury Diva and the associated ambient LED lighting. Hmm... I guess it’s something to watch, once it’s released.
 
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I love Hue, among other places I have 4 lights mounted all around behind the TV and the effect is amazing especially when syncing with the screen. I bet the strip is even better.
 
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I remember having a plasma tv by Phillips circa 2006 that had built in ambient lights. It was pretty cool and worked decent.
 
arvinsim said:
I think the problem with Philips is that there are many alternatives that doesn't require a hub.
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But they don't come close to the ease and reliability of Hue.

I use a few systems at home including Philips Hue, Ikea Tradfri, YeeLight's, Sonoff smart switches and some other random smart brands.

The integration possibilities of Hue are tremendous and it just works. Ikea's system is ok and does work but it's very basic and the actual quality of the bulb is very poor in comparison. Not as bright and doesn't offer the same temperature accuracy. It also does dim as much as the Hue gear so 1% is much brighter than Hue's 1%.

The other stuff is ok, but they all use different systems, they don't integrate across platforms natively, and for that I've had to use a Raspberry Pi and Home Assistant to bring everything together into HomeKit. It works, but is temperamental.

I have to confess, I want this new gradual strip badly!!! I'll most likely buy it to replace the "standard" strip I have behind my TV....the old one can go behind my bedroom telly... :D (The wife is going to love me)
 
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Nonentity said:
The new Bluetooth Hue bulbs don’t require a hub.
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True but the experience is very, very limited. Also, a pain to open up the app every time you want to make a change. My MIL uses one as a nightlight for my son when he stays over and it's a pain to use.
 
Fingers crossed that I will finally be able to buy the candelabra bulbs here in Japan. Not sure why they haven't been available here as of yet.

Also, the lightstrip has the potential to make watching concert videos very cool. Would love to try it first, though, to make sure it was worth the cash.
 
tharitm said:
Is it me or Hue is slowly getting over priced now.
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It has always been on the pricy side. But I own quite a few Hue lamps, strips & bulbs and it is pretty sweet what you can do with it once you get the hang of it. But it's an investment, for sure.

That new strip is very expensive though. 199$ just for the 55" strip?
A 55" Ambilight equipped 4k UHD TV is sold here for 700$.
 
Oh cool! These look great. It would be fun to put a bunch of these around and create a really nice room lighting set-up.

(checks price of strip and the needed hub that has to go with it)

Okay, it's not that cool. I'll just string up a string of LED Christmas lights for $10.
 
Phillips Hue brand is out of their mind with their prices. What a complete joke. Everyone here should take a look at Govee branded led lights. I've been using them in my house for at least the last 3-4 years and they absolutely rock. For instance, their dreamcolor line (which has gradients, multiple colors throughout the strip, music modes, etc...for a 32.8 foot long strip is only $50 on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/DreamColor-G...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
 
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Not to mention that my Govee lights work perfect with Alexa, have full app controls and they are super bright. Beautiful rich colors and you're not paying out the ass for them.
 
arvinsim said:
I think the problem with Philips is that there are many alternatives that doesn't require a hub.
Click to expand...

The hub is the best bit!

Bluetooth only are useless when out of range, wifi devices are ok when you have only a few, but if you kit out your house with various smart stuff, your wifi can get pretty congested pretty fast. Hubs like Phillips, Smart Things, Hubitat etc keep it nice and separate.
 
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I didn't realize Philips finally made an HDMI sync box. It seemed the only company that had that before was Dreamscreen and they packed up shop.
 
Anyone know if you can connect the strips together like the old ones? I have a 120" projector screen I would want to put these behind....
 
I try to buy my hue products when they go on sale, like a target, best buy, Home Depot. If you hunt around you can find good prices on Hue items because they move slower than other lighting products. And Black Friday and Cyber Monday is aways a good time.
 
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