Among the biggest brand names in smart home today is Philips Hue—the smart light developers that just keep on innovating. And this year is no different, as is evidenced by the new Philips Hue line of outdoor lights unveiled at CES Las Vegas. These include the Econic (a pedestal style pathlight), the Lily XL (a spotlight), and the Appear (a wall fixture). All three of these lights are expected to hit North America in March. Read on if you’d like to learn more about Philips Hue’s always convenient and colourful lineup!
Note: There were also a few other lights unveiled by Philips Hue at the show, but the ones mentioned here are what I’m focusing on for now. This is because the others do not yet have a specified release date for Canada and the USA, and it’s not entirely clear if or when they’ll be coming.
Philips Hue Smart Outdoor Lights
Philips Hue lights are probably the most popular smart lights on the market today. They’re affordable, use far less energy than the lightbulbs of the past, and they glow in over 16 million different bright and vibrant colours. They also have a ridiculous lifespan of many thousands of hours (this varies a bit depending on the bulb, but the range is in the neighbourhood of 15,000 – 25,000 hours).
Perhaps best of all, as smart lights they are fully app controlled right from your compatible (nearly any iOS or Android based) smart phone, meaning you can easily manage your lights from anywhere in the world (where you can get an Internet signal) and at any time you like. You can even set your Philips Hue lights on timers to have them come on and go off at predetermined times, including when you’re not at home (a great security feature as you can give your home the appearance of being occupied even when it’s not).
The line of Philips Hue outdoor lights unveiled at this year’s CES also has a few new innovations. For instance, there’s the addition of Bluetooth so that a separate and clunky hub (the Hue Bridge) will no longer be necessary. Philips Hue has recently been getting into Bluetooth lighting, and now it seems that they’re expanding them even further. This is a welcomed upgrade that will hopefully eventually extend to their entire product line.
Another innovation announced at this year’s CES is an update to the popular Hue App. Not only will the app now show the remaining battery level for wireless accessories like the Hue Dimmer Switch, but it will also permanently incorporate the extremely useful Zones feature. This will provide users with even more functionality over their Philips Hue products by allowing them to control designated zones within their home rather than room by room. For instance, a zone can be just part of a room (like one corner), multiple rooms, an entire floor of your home, or any other area you wish to designate. Just another of the many great conveniences from Phillips Hue!
For more Smart Home innovations from this year’s CES, stay tuned to the Best Buy Canada Blog.
