Philips hooks up with Spotify, drops a houseful of fresh Hue smart lighting

Hue is the Hoover of smart lighting. Not because it’s brill at busting dust, but because it’s synonymous with everything that glows and goes online. And the latest additions to its illuminated line-up look set to cement its status from September. The headline news is Spotify integration, which means metadata-based mood lighting for a synchronised harmony of tunes and tones. Heading up the hardware haul is a Play gradient tube (from £160), designed to sit atop your TV for colourful ambience à la Ambilight. Then there’s a big batch of updated bulbs: the Filament collection now supports warm-to-cool white ambience, while gradience has been added to Philips’ freestanding Signe lamps (from £175) to match its lightstrips. Standard bulbs have been boosted, too, with more powerful 60W, 75W and 100W variants. Rounding out the announcements is a Surimu roof panel (£240), which diffuses light for floor-to-ceiling saturation. Suck on that, vacuum fans.

Chris Rowlands Freelance contributor

About

Formerly News Editor at this fine institution, Chris now writes about tech from his tropical office. Sidetracked by sustainable stuff, he’s also keen on coffee kit, classic cars and any gear that gets better with age.

Areas of expertise

Cameras, gear and travel tech