Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Philips Hue to Launch Brighter Bulbs and Expand Filament Range

To me the Hue lights are one of the best products working with HomeKit, almost never any problems (wish I could say the same for my August Smart Lock) they are just a little too expensive.
I still don't understand why there is so many problems with HomeKit devices.
 
Phillips is lucky nobody else wants to spend a little more money on software to control competing bulbs. There are subtle differences that give phillips the edge, if ANYONE else made a bulb that filled those gaps they would sell the bulb for way less. The bulbs are ridiculously priced for a technology that will be outclassed by much less expensive competitors every 5 years. But you you want all that now then this is what they will tell you....F U, Pay me.
 
MrFootery said:
The relatively high cost of each hue bulb, and the (now ended) need for the additional “bridge” to make them operational, pushed me towards the Nanoleaf Essentials.

The enhanced brightness talked about in the article is appealing, admittedly.
Click to expand...
I opted for Lifx bulbs, but I had no idea that Hue dropped the need for the bridge, I might look into them soonish.
 
alexandr said:
you know they've been out for some time now — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BNM55K...colid=1GW41DJMMQSC&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Click to expand...
Yes. I bought these for our living room around Christmas 2020. But they suck. Could be our wiring, but our eight recessed lights on twin dimmer switches worked perfectly with generic (and horribly dark) 60 watt replacement dimmable Lowes led bulbs. These Hue bulbs will not even fully shut off, and begin flickering at anything below about 80% luminosity, and keep flickering at about 20% when in the off position. Also, disappointingly, the app does not allow control (even on/off) of individual bulbs, at least sans bridge.

The perfect smart led replacement for the 100 watt incandescent lightbulb remains elusive.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
sfkeepay said:
Yes. I bought these for our living room around Christmas 2020. But they suck. Could be our wiring, but our eight recessed lights on twin dimmer switches worked perfectly with generic (and horribly dark) 60 watt replacement dimmable Lowes led bulbs. These Hue bulbs will not even fully shut off, and begin flickering at anything below about 80% luminosity, and keep flickering at about 20% when in the off position. Also, disappointingly, the app does not allow control (even on/off) of individual bulbs, at least sans bridge.

The perfect smart led replacement for the 100 watt incandescent lightbulb remains elusive.
Click to expand...
hm, i haven't had any issues with flickering, but i can see that being very annoying.
which app? the hue app or home? i like to group my lights into rooms, but you can set them up as individual lights too though.
yea, i'm still serif bridge :)
 
CarpalMac said:
Hue Bridge Capability Expansion.

That is the only headline about them I want to see.

I am running three bridges, it is an absolute PITA. Yes there are workarounds, I am already having to do many just for these.

All this other stuff is just noise to me, until they sort that out. And perhaps their still poorly designed app, though that is far less important to me as I use home assistants.
Click to expand...
I have to ask… 180 lights? Is your house visible from space? 🤣 Man, with how not-so-reliable my 40 bulbs are at times, I think I would lose my mind with 180 of them. Plus presumably a whooooole bunch of switches and stuff? You must have the patience of a Monk.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hagar and adrianlondon
BillyBobBongo said:
Considered Twinkly? Simple to set up, cheaper per light unit.
Click to expand...
It’s a cute system, but the colour gamut feels cheap and electronic compared to Hue lights. I tried one, but couldn’t get anything warm and cosy, like retro incandescents. I feel Hue could get a lot closer if they tried, and I wouldn’t mind paying the premium.
 
  • Like
Reactions: castor
6dudes said:
Can anyone comment on the new version 4 of the iOS app? I read an article here saying they redesigned the app and thankfully before it had a chance to update I went to read the reviews. They were all very negative so I turned off automatic updates. That was about a month ago. I keep checking the reviews to see if things have turned around but all the reviews are all still very negative on the new UI, timers, widgets gone and replaced with shortcuts....

Long story short, does the new Hue IOS app still suck or is this a non issue?
Click to expand...

I had no idea that they were going to update the iOS app unit suddenly when I opened it this morning, it had a brand new appearance. I haven't tried it yet but it didn't take me very long to make the same adjustments that I normally do with the app, so it was user friendly enough that I don't have a complaint based upon that very first brief impression.
 
MrFootery said:
The relatively high cost of each hue bulb, and the (now ended) need for the additional “bridge” to make them operational, pushed me towards the Nanoleaf Essentials.

The enhanced brightness talked about in the article is appealing, admittedly.
Click to expand...
Wow those are significantly cheaper. I didn't even know about these, thank you. My Hue bulbs were ridiculously overpriced.
 
tennisproha said:
Tried hue but ended up returning the whole setup because of it’s absurd price and lack of high CRI and broad spectrum. They have good connectivity but the light optics are terrible.
Click to expand...
I agree, the quality light (CRI) and optics of a lot of these all in one solutions is shocking. But I suppose its a trade off for simple lighting control :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: tennisproha
That packaging is confusing. I know they want to communicate that it’s as bright as a 100W traditional bulb, but I’d be shocked to see the big “100W” on the box if I didn’t know better. The actual power consumption is much smaller on the box, but that’s the relevant part. Lumens and watts. The “watts for a 1970s light bulb that produces similar light output” is confusing, like putting engine displacement on an electric car.
 
I don’t get why people are saying they need to replace their bulbs. Is your current lighting setup and brightness not sufficient?
 
Nice try but there’s no way I’ll be replacing any of my Hue bulbs. They cost a load to begin with and I bought them on the basis they’ll last for many years. This isn’t an upgradable product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: apples_arrogance
This is good if you're trying to actually light up a room instead of just doing accent lighting. I use a pair of dimmable 1600 lumen Philips LEDs in a lamp and it's great. I'd consider Hue bulbs just for being able to adjust the color temperature.
 
I was reading some of these responses and thinking to myself, this is nerdy, how could a lightbulb have so many dorky comments? Then I realized, I was on Mac rumors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Phil77354
Should be launched in B22 variant also. Brighter bulbs are very much required.
 
CarpalMac said:
Hue Bridge Capability Expansion.

That is the only headline about them I want to see.

I am running three bridges, it is an absolute PITA. Yes there are workarounds, I am already having to do many just for these.

All this other stuff is just noise to me, until they sort that out. And perhaps their still poorly designed app, though that is far less important to me as I use home assistants.
Click to expand...
Are they not withdrawing support for the Bridge?
 
MrFootery said:
The relatively high cost of each hue bulb, and the (now ended) need for the additional “bridge” to make them operational, pushed me towards the Nanoleaf Essentials.

The enhanced brightness talked about in the article is appealing, admittedly.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by this? You need a bridge still. There are Bluetooth bulbs ( they are also full zigbee too) but they are pointless I think abs was just a simple way to get people hooked in…. BT can only handle 10 bulbs.
 
I really like the Hue bulbs that I have in my home, but I don't have them in every room and each purchase was a very deliberate decision, thinking about what I needed for a particular location and whether or not the cost of the Hue was justified.

They are at the high premium end of the bulb market as far as I'm concerned and I am counting on them to last a very long time in order to make me feel that the investment was worthwhile!
 
  • Like
Reactions: iScone
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back