Signify unveils Hue smart plug and button, filament bulbs, updated Hue Go

Hue is expanding its lineup once again and on Thursday unveiled new smart plug and smart button accessories for the connected home, as well as retro filament bulbs, an updated Hue Go and more.

Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, continues to grow the Hue brand, with plans to add several new products to an already impressive portfolio. From outdoor sensors to light strips and conventional LED bulbs, the Hue lineup has expanded at a rapid clip over the past year.

New Hue Smart plug

Introduced today are a new smart plug and smart button. The plug acts as a controllable outlet that sits between the wall outlet and an appliance, allowing it to easily be toggled on and off from within the Hue app or via voice control. Similarly, the new smart button functions like a remote control with dimmer for connected lights.

Hue Smart button

There is no word as to whether the smart plug or button work with Apple's HomeKit, but chances are good considering the rest of the Hue lineup does feature integration.

The Hue smart plug will retail for $39.99 and the smart button will sell for $19.99 when they launch in October.

Philips Hue filament range including bulb, tube, and globe shapes.

Signify is also launching a collection of filament-style bulbs. With the retro design, these smart bulbs come in a traditional A19 bulb shape, an ST19 tube shape and a G25 globe shape. All will be available in October for U.S. customers and will run $24.99, $27.99 and $32.99, respectively.

Hue Go now works over Bluetooth.

The original Hue Go debuted as a colorful smart light that runs on an internal battery for free placement throughout the home. A new version of the device was announced today and adds Bluetooth connectivity alongside existing compatibility with the Zigbee communications protocol. This matches the core lineup of Hue lights that received Bluetooth support earlier this year.

Bluetooth makes even more sense for the Go, as it can extends control for use outdoors and when the light is past the range of Zigbee hubs.

The new Hue Go will be available in November for $79.99.

Finally, Signify is updating "White and Color Ambiance" and "White Ambiance" GU10 spotlights with Bluetooth capabilities. The standalone bulbs rate a new design, higher lumen output and, for "White and Color Ambiance" models, richer colors than their predecessors.

The updated GU10 bulbs will launch in September for $54.99.

New white E12 candle bulbs are also on schedule to go on sale this month at a price of $32.99 for a two-pack.

All of the new bulbs work with the Hue app and other Hue accessories, as well as HomeKit when used with the Hue Bridge.

9 Comments

iOS_Guy80 905 comments · 5 Years

About 5 years ago

And the best gets better. By far the most functional, flexible, advanced smart home system in the lighting category.

ihatescreennames 1977 comments · 19 Years

About 5 years ago

iOS_Guy80 said:

And the best gets better. By far the most functional, flexible, advanced smart home system in the lighting category.

I typically use the Home app and Siri to control my lights and by far have more issues with Hue than anything else. I frequently get a message that a light isn’t responding, sometimes that’s accurate and sometimes it isn’t.

For instance, I’ll ask Siri to turn in my bedroom lights, 2 of which are Hue bulbs and the other controlled by a Lutron switch. Sometimes 1 Hue bulb won’t turn on but it will show it is on in Home AND the Hue app. Other times all the lights will turn on but I’ll get a message that some lights are not responding. Again, Home and Hue will show a light (or two) as off which is incorrect. This happens multiple times a week.

On the other hand, I have almost zero issues with my Lutron switches to the point where I can’t recall if I’ve ever had one.

22july2013 3736 comments · 11 Years

About 5 years ago

ihatescreennames said:

I typically use the Home app and Siri to control my lights and by far have more issues with Hue than anything else. I frequently get a message that a light isn’t responding, sometimes that’s accurate and sometimes it isn’t.

For instance, I’ll ask Siri to turn in my bedroom lights, 2 of which are Hue bulbs and the other controlled by a Lutron switch. Sometimes 1 Hue bulb won’t turn on but it will show it is on in Home AND the Hue app. Other times all the lights will turn on but I’ll get a message that some lights are not responding. Again, Home and Hue will show a light (or two) as off which is incorrect. This happens multiple times a week.

I have a failure rate too, of the same nature as yours, even more frequent than yours (daily). I can't believe a product from a company as big as Philips can have such a major problem and people don't talk about it, and websites/reviews don't test it for reliability.

In my opinion both Philips and Apple are to blame. That's because at the first level Philips is responsible for the initial fault, but the Apple Home software has the potential (through the HomeKit API) to fix some of these issues by asking for confirmation from the bulb that it has changed correctly.

As a result I'm looking closely at switching to a different manufacturer of smart bulbs.

22july2013 3736 comments · 11 Years

About 5 years ago

By looking at the wall switch it appears that it can't be used to cover an existing wall switch (one that needs to stay "on" for the smart bulb it controls to work.) Therefore no thanks.

StrangeDays 12980 comments · 8 Years

About 5 years ago

Love my Hue lighting, in from the beginning and no issues yet.

Only thing I want are brighter bulbs, much higher lumen output.

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