Philips Hue was one of the first brand to enter the smart light segment many years back, before the market was even ready for such products. But coming into 2019, the space has evolved and even countries like India are now warming up to using them for regular households.
Which is why, it’s good to see that Signify, makers of the Philips Hue bulbs, will be coming later this year with products which will cost much less than what you were paying for them till now.
And the company is doing this by removing the middle ware (the hub) and instead fitting the bulbs with Bluetooth receiver, which will offer seamless link with an app on the mobile. This way, Philips Hue bulbs can compete with other brands like Yeelight, Wipro and Mi Light among others in the Indian market.
Philips Hue bulbs have been a pricey affair till now, because of its insistence to keep using a hub to power and control the bulbs. Not really sure why the company didn’t think of using Bluetooth receiver on the bulbs before, especially when they could have help the brand bring down the cost of the product.
By going with this approach, Philips Hue bulbs will now appeal to buyers, who’re just starting off with setting up a smart home ecosystem. Affordability continues to be the sore point for buyers in the segment but the company, with its easy brand recall in the market, can easily change that perception for the consumer.
Having said that, moving away from using a hub, to Bluetooth receiver means that the bulbs will only work with the paired up phone over a short distance.
Which wasn’t the case with hub, that allowed users to control/monitor the Hue bulbs remotely as well. This means, you need to be careful about switching the lights off before you’re headed out.
Either ways, we’re glad that Philips is finally on board to become an affordable smart light option for consumers across the globe and hopefully India as well.
This is the same company which has also managed to offer high-speed internet through luminaires, for offices and bigger space.
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