Check out Philips Hue’s new light show (and its Spotify partnership)

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The Signe floor lamp and a light strip add ambiance.
The Signe floor lamp and a light strip add ambiance.
Photo: Signify/Philips Hue

Signify, the parent company of Philips Hue, put the word out last week that funky new lighting products are coming. Some are out now and some will light up later. A new partnership with the music platform Spotify has launched, too.

Several items offer the gradient technology Philips Hue added last year to its Play Lightstrip.

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Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube

Thanks to Hue’s compatibility with HomeKit, the lighting brand quickly became a favorite of Apple fans with “smart” homes. The latest upgrades add several new options.

Designed to sit above or below a TV and blend with the colors coming from it, the new Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube adds multiple light and color options in one fixture. It’s available in black or white color schemes to match home theater setups. The company said the Tube should arrive in “early 2022.”

Upgraded versions of the Philips Hue Signe floor and table lamps and the Philips Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip also will sport gradient lighting functionality, displaying multiple colors at once.

On October 1, you can get the Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip for $169.99, with an extension available for $69.99. The Philips Hue Gradient Signe floor and table lamps launch on October 12, priced at $200 (table) and $300 (floor).

New Hue Filament options

In other lighting updates, Philips features a new White Filament E14 Candle Bulb. And Hue Filament bulbs in general are now available in White ambiance, allowing users to select any shades of light from warm to cool light. Previously they were limited to a warm yellow light.

White and Color Ambiance bulbs are coming in new, brighter options at 75 watts (1,100 lumens) and 100 watts (1,600 lumens).  The White, White Ambiance and Color Ambiance 100-watt bulbs come out on October 12, priced at $19.99, $39.99 and $59.99 respectively.

Updated app, Spotify partnership

Signify’s latest update to its Philips Hue app adds dynamic scenes, in which a room’s lights slowly transition through different colors according to the scene.

The update also includes a new Philips Hue Spotify integration. It allows Philips Hue lights to change colors and brightness based on Spotify songs as they play. Philips Hue invites you to help test out the new integration prior to its wider release.

The Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube blends with your TV's colors.
The Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube blends with your TV’s colors.
Photo: Signify/Philips Hue

Coming in fall 2021

Starting sometime this fall, the Philips Hue app gets a new Hue scene gallery. Its scenes are designed to run for 24 hours. They change as time passes, altering brightness over the course of the day as the sun would do.

Signify also plans a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box software update adding compatibility with the latest game consoles’ 120Hz refresh rates. The Sync Box can support 120Hz with 1080 pixel and 1440 pixel resolution, while 4K will remain limited to 60Hz.

Coming in 2022

Along with the new Light Tube, new Philips Hue Infuse Ceiling Lights are scheduled for release in 2022. They’ll offer white and colored light with indirect light on the ceiling.

What’s available now?

Some of the new products are available now. The White, White Ambiance, and White and Color Ambiance 75-watt (1,100 lumen) bulbs are priced at $14.99, $24.99 and $49.99 respectively, for one bulb.

The White Ambiance Hue Filament Bulbs and the Filament candle are priced between $29.99 and $49.99.

Where to buy: Philips Hue

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