Philips Hue Play Gradient boosts entertainment with multiple colours at the same time
The Philips Hue lineup has been expanded with a new light strip that has a clever trick up its sleeves to boost home cinema experiences.
The new Philips Hue Play Gradient might look like the old light strip, but this new version can now take on multiple colours at once in different parts of the strip, whereas the old product could only do a single colour.
This colour changing trick is down to the way that Gradient has been designed, which individually addresses LED elements on the strip, as opposed to a single controller. So, why bother?
Well, Philips is aiming the new product at people that want to boost their TV experience with the Hue Sync box, which takes an HDMI signal and matches the colour of the Hue lights to sync. With the new Gradient light strip attached to the back of a TV, you’ll get lighting that more closely matches what’s on-screen – think of it as like adding Ambilight to any TV.
There are a few restrictions on the Gradient. Because of the individually-addressed elements, it can’t be cut to size unlike the regular one. Instead, you need to buy it in the right version to suit your TV, with only larger models supported: 55-inch (for TV sizes 55- to 60-inches), which costs £159.99; 65-inch (for TV sizes 65 to 70 inches), which costs £179.99; and 75-inch (for TV sizes 75 to 85 inches), which costs £199.99.
The Gradient can only be fully controlled by a Sync box, and you can’t set multiple colours using the Hue app. The Gradient will be available on 6 October.
Philips Hue has also announced a range of new bulbs, including an expansion of the Filament range that launched last year with large bulb and Edison models: G125 (available in B22 & E27) £34.99, and ST72 (available in B22 & E27) £29.99. Both are available from September 29.
The Philips Hue White Luster E14 bulb is the smallest Hue bulb you can buy, and is designed for smaller lamps. It will be available from September 29 and will cost £14.99 for one, or £24.99 for a two-pack.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
