Skip to main content

Bathe your home in the perfect shade of white light with Philips Hue’s latest

Not all light is created equal, and no one understands that better than Philips Hue. The lighting company has made its line of White Ambiance products available to customers in the United States so we can finally enjoy light the way we want it. Thanks to the new range of White Ambiance fixtures and table lamps and the White Ambiance candle bulb, you’ll be able to set your favorite shade of white light to match any mood or time of day.

“To put it simply, consumers can have one light to support all of their daily activities,” said Mark Cieri, Philips Lighting’s vice president and general manager for home systems. “Think about all of the moments you enjoy in your kitchen. Select a cool daylight scene for your morning coffee to energize for the day ahead. Help your child focus on their homework with a bright white light. Then, create a cozy ambiance for dinner under a warm cozy light to wind down.

“With Philips Hue White Ambiance, you can personalize your lighting and truly feel at home.”

Promising varied shades of white light that can help you alternately wake up, energize, concentrate, read, relax, and go to bed, Philips Hue promises a product line that is as useful as it is elegant. Whether you need a light fixture or a table lamp, you’ll be able to bathe your rooms in soothing light. Both the White Ambiance Wellner and Wellness table lamps feature a White Ambiance A19 light bulb (800 lumens) for customizable white light to enhance any activity. And as a whole, the Philips Hue connected lighting system is compatible with 80 percent of sockets found in common households worldwide. The full range of this new lighting system will begin at $100, and will be made available in mid-June.

If you don’t need a new lighting fixture and simply want to swap out your old bulbs with this more advanced version, the Philips Hue White Ambiance candle bulb boasts a smaller E12 base, which means it’ll fit in a ceiling fan, chandelier, or decorative table lamps. The bulbs will be made available for pre-order in June for $30, or you can pick them up in stores and online in July.

Of course, all Philips Hue products can be controlled by way of the Philips Hue app, wireless dimmer switch, motion sensor, and yes, even your wearable. And thanks to compatibility with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home, you can also control these lights with your voice.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
How to use Philips Hue lights with geofencing
The Philips Hue app.

Smart lights are one of the greatest inventions since ... well, since Edison invented the light bulb. With smart lights, you can automate the lights in your home, access vast color spectrums, and create easy holiday lighting displays. One of the easiest ways to automate your lighting and create a safe entryway and a bright, welcoming home, is to use geofencing with smart lights such as Philips Hue.
What is geofencing?

A "geofence" is the virtual boundary you set for yourself and your devices.

Read more
Investing in illumination? Here’s why budget bulbs may be your best bet
Woman having glass of wine with Govee Smart LED light bulb on.

Adding automated lighting to your home is one of the best ways to enter the world of smart devices. Smart light bulbs and switches typically utilize Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (along with Zigbee and other wireless protocols) for initial setup and controls. These same wireless pairing methods are how you manage your home's smart lights, often by way of a companion app that you download to your preferred phone or tablet.

Smart lights are one of the best ways to earn your smart stripes for a few reasons. The installation process is usually straightforward and the results of your investment are visible right away. Open the app, pick which bulbs you want to turn on, and the bulb(s) should illuminate instantly. The same goes for things like brightness adjustment and color changes -- and let's not forget voice commands. Once you've taught Alexa and Google Assistant the skills needed to integrate your lighting, you'll be able to fire off voice commands to power your bulbs on/off.

Read more
Philips Hue vs. Philips WiZ Smart Light Bulbs
Philips Hue sync box.

If you're just getting started with smart light bulbs in your home, Philips Hue is one of the names likely on your radar. This brand has become synonymous with smart home lighting thanks to robust app support, a wide range of functions, and a routinely growing product lineup. What may confuse you when taking the plunge on a purchase is seeing another Philips brand on the store shelf called WiZ. In 2019, Signify (the lighting company spun off from Philips proper) acquired WiZ to bolster its lighting lineup. Unfortunately, WiZ and Hue smart light bulbs operate differently, so you really need to go all-in with one or the other to have a properly unified smart home lighting setup.

Hue uses a wireless standard called Zigbee, which has been around for a while as a means for low-power connections. Zigbee devices run on a different frequency than Wi-Fi and require their own physical hub. This hub connects to a Wi-Fi router, which in turn connects to your phone. The internet connection also allows for remote connectivity, so lights can turn off automatically as you leave the house, for example. Since its launch, Hue has added Bluetooth to its bulbs, so the hub isn't strictly necessary. Though the Bluetooth range is basically limited to within the same room as you, this can save the bit of time it takes to connect to the hub via Wi-Fi.

Read more