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amazon Philips Hue Bluetooth White and Color Ambiance Bulb reviews
Philips Hue Bluetooth White and Color Ambiance is a smart LED bulb that you can control with your phone and voice without a controller — that is unless you want to control it from a remote location or make it work with other smart devices.
Philips Hue Bluetooth White and Color Ambiance ($49.99) is the first Hue smart bulb to come with a Bluetooth radio, which means you can control it without connecting to a Hue Bridge. It has an app that allows you to turn on or off, dim and change colors and color temperature settings, and support Alexa and Google voice commands. It offers a quick and easy way to add smart lighting to your home, but it doesn’t come cheap, and you have to be within Bluetooth range to control it. However, you can pair it with the Hue Bridge if you want to control it remotely and take advantage of the smart home integration and all the other features that make Hue a good smart lighting platform best in class.
Design and Features
It is very similar to the Bluetooth bulb that is included in the A19 Hue White-and-Color-Ambiance Starter Kit, with one huge difference: It is both a Bluetooth and Zigbee radio (all previous Hue bulbs were Zigbee only and requested a bridge). It is an A19 LED bulb with a standard E26 screw base; it is also available in the form of a BR30 luminaire. Dimmable, the bulb can provide 16 million colors, while white temperatures can range from 2000-6500K. It gives an output of 800 lumens, which is probably equivalent to 60 watts. The lifespan is rated at 25,000 hours, which could be up to 22 years.
Although Bluetooth makes for a fairly easy setup, it does come with limitations. You will have to be within 40 feet or so of the bulbs to control them through the mobile application. You can control only 10 bulbs at once and only manage one room at a time. On the other hand, you are unable to benefit from a lot of the features that make the Hue platform special: control lights from anywhere, integrate with HomeKit and other compatible smart home devices, IFTTT, support for Hue accessories like Hue Tap and Hue Motion Sensor, and support for Hue Sync and Hue Entertainment apps.
The good news is that since this bulb also contains a Zigbee radio, it can be paired with the Hue Bridge to become part of your current (or future) Hue ecosystem and take advantage of all the Hue features. In addition to connecting to your home Wi-Fi, Hue Bridge lets you control up to 50 lights and multiple rooms.
Hue Bluetooth offers some cool features despite its limitations, including preset and customizable light scenes and Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. The bulb has its own Android and iOS mobile apps that look similar to the full Hue app. It opens the Lights screen showing the tabs of all your Bluetooth bulbs. Each tab is colored according to the bulb’s current color and has an on/off switch and a dimming slider. All Lights tab that you can dim and turns all your Bluetooth lights on/off at once.
Tap any bulb tab to access a setting that allows you to change the color or white temperature using the color wheel. You can also select a preset lighting scene from a list that includes Bright, Night Light, Reading, Energy, Dim, Relax, and Focus. Each preset is customizable, and you can create your scene with custom colors and brightness levels.
At the bottom of the screen is an Explore button that provides information on upgrading the bridge or smart switch.
A Settings button takes you to a screen where you can configure Power On behavior such as color and brightness default light, such as settings where you can connect the bulb to an Amazon or Google device. Switch the bulb to Hue Bridge, upgrade the bulb’s firmware, restore it to its settings root or delete it. The Bluetooth app is missing the Processes (Wake Up, Home and Away, Go to Sleep) and Timers you get with the Wi-Fi Hue app. It also lacks the Room and Zone, Recreation Area, Accessory Setup, and Homeless Controls settings found on the bridged control app.
where can you get a Philips Hue Bluetooth White and Color Ambiance Bulb online
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance 3-Pack A19 LED Smart Bulb, Bluetooth & Zigbee Compatible (Hue Hub Optional), Works with Alexa & Google Assistant – A Certified for Humans Device (562785): Buy it now
Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Smart Retrofit Recessed Downlight 4″, Bluetooth & Zigbee Compatible (Hue Hub Optional), Smart Ceiling Lighting: Buy it now
Settings and Performance
Philips Hue Bluetooth Scenes Setting up a Bluetooth Hue bulb couldn’t be easier. I screwed it into a light socket, downloaded the Hue Bluetooth mobile app, entered my name and email address, and then tapped Add Light. Within seconds I received a Bluetooth Pairing Request and pressed Pair. The bulb blinks once and is paired instantly. I click Done, and the installation is complete.
Bluetooth Hue bulbs delivered vibrant colors and a wide range of warm to cold whites in our testing and responded instantly to on/off commands using the app. Scenes work perfectly, as do voice commands using Amazon Echo Plus. I had no trouble turning the bulb on and off, dimming and changing its color simply by asking Alexa.
Conclusion
If you would like to try out smart lighting before committing to buying an expensive centrally controlled system such as the Philips Hue White Starter Kit-and our Editor’s Choice for Color Ambiance A19, Hue Bluetooth White, and Color Ambiance bulbs are good to start with. It tested well and was very easy to install-and if you decide to go all the way and hook your Hue to a bridge, you can incorporate it in your Hue ecosystem. However, it lacks numerous features available to hub-connected Hue bulbs.
Suppose you want more connectivity from a single bulb than Hue Bluetooth offers. In that case, the Eufy Lumos White and Color Smart Bulb is a smart choice: it is about $15 less than Hue Bluetooth and uses Wi-Fi to serve you from anywhere without a hub. However, its lifespan is expected to be shorter than that of Hue, and despite having a Wi-Fi radio, it doesn’t offer many options out of the box.
Advantages
Works without a central hub.
Easy to install.
Colorful.
Supports Alexa and Google voice commands.
It can be added to the Hue ecosystem.
Defect
Expensive.
Requires Hue Bridge to remotely access and use other Hue features.