Philips Hue Smart Light Starter Kit - Includes (1) Bridge and (4) 75W A19 E26 LED Smart White and Color Ambiance Bulbs - Control with App - Compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit

This are by far the best smart lights on the market as far as I'm concerned. I've tried other brands such as one with N and L in the name and there's just no comparison. The other brands wouldn't stay connected or flicker. In addition, I couldn't ever get the other brands to be bright enough and the color ranges they claim aren't as you would think. Deep colors couldn't be achieved if that was the desire and they always seemed to have a pastel looking tint. The Phillips Hue lights can be very bright or very dim and everything in between. Adding the bridge really gives you a lot of flexibility with schedules, randomness (nice when you want it to look like you're home), color schemes and more. Works great with Apple Homekit. Also, the bridge works with the Phillips Essential bulbs nicely and I can now control the lighting throughout the house. It took me a minute to sort out the instructions but once I understood, setup has been a breeze. I'll be buying more bulbs for all lamps and overhead lighting, including outdoors.

Hue first impressions. The box arrived a few minutes ago and it felt heavier than I expected it to, but maybe, I thought, that was because of the included bridge. Upon opening the box I found three bulbs packaged beside each other. I removed the upper cardboard piece and below it was the fourth bulb along with the bridge, power supply, cords, and instructions. This was where I realized that the weight wasn't only the bridge: these bulbs are wonderfully heavy! I have a pack of four Fovaa bulbs and the whole pack doesn't weigh as much as a single Hue bulb. I haven't even put power to a Hue bulb yet and I already feel confident in what I have purchased. Next I opened the instruction booklet; and as professional as everything else in the box feels, I was disappointed with the instructions. They are basically a collection of stick drawings with no textual guidance whatsoever. I was not daunted, though, since there is so much help available online. The Hue bulbs are more expensive than the bargain brands and I wondered why until I began researching them. Philips uses Zigbee radios in their bulbs and bridges which increases the cost significantly. And after holding one of the bulbs in my hand I could actually feel the difference in quality compared to the other bulbs that I own (Fovaa). Until I actually put these bulbs into service I can't comment on their function, but I expect to be very satisfied with them. My Fovaa bulbs work very well, although when set to blue or green they are not as bright as I think they should be. I am expecting much better brightness with the Hue bulbs. I have read that Wyze makes some really good bulbs in terms of color output that rival the Hue bulbs. Still, the Hue bulbs are constructed differently and are able to do some things that the others evidently cannot do. Once I have these lights going and I have a chance to put them through their paces I will report back with some updates. I'm anxious to try a simulated fireworks display and am hoping that four bulbs are enough to do it. Some of the scenes and animations require more than four bulbs to get the color mixtures right, but I think that a fireworks display could be done using white plus three other colors. At least a small fireworks display. I'll let you know when I have tried it. Edit 2-12-2024 OK, I have the lights up and running and I can give you a little more insight now. First of all, if you look at the many photos of Hue lights you will know exactly what to expect in terms of color. These bulbs have colors that are full and rich yet are mellowed a bit as they are made to provide ambience to a space instead of producing stark coloring. You can get very deep blues, greens, and reds, and still have good brightness. A word that comes to mind is pastel, and yet the colors can be much deeper than pastel; in fact, the room color can become very red, very blue, very green, and yet still maintain some small bit of pastel quality. Again, I'd say look at a lot of the available pictures and you will know. In contrast to this, my Fovaa bulbs give very dark blues, reds, greens with no mellowing at all. There is no way to brighten the Fovaa bulbs when those colors are cranked to the maximum and maybe that is as it should be. Then again, I have read articles that claim Wyze bulbs have more intense colors than Fovaa bulbs (in fact they are ranked close to the top of all bulbs in that category) and also have more brightness; so it may be more a matter of design. If you want absolute, saturated, bright colors with no compromise you might want to try the Wyze bulbs; however, if you want lights that are tailor made for enhancing the atmosphere of your living spaces I can't imagine a better choice than Hue lights. I want to reiterate here just how good the bulbs feel in the hand, and after screwing them in and setting them up how good they look in action. Something else to touch on is that there are numerous apps available in addition to the official Hue app that can add to the functions your Hue lights can perform. The fireworks display I referred to above is in one of those apps: the app is called "hueDynamic" and the fireworks is under the Experiences heading. The fireworks display cycles your bulb colors mimicking real fireworks. The colors ramp on and off at speeds that seem realistic and your room is bathed in a frenzied display of light. Now that I have tried it I probably won't ever use it again, but hey, these lights can do that! Some other, more restful effects on the menu are flickering candles and a fireplace. If I actually had a fireplace I could see myself using that to enhance the natural flicker of flames. The candles...maybe I will use that one, maybe not. The animations can actually be rather distracting. The ambience settings are probably the most useful, but I should tell you that it is better to have the bulbs located next to walls so that the reflected light can add to the overall effect. I have mine temporarily in a ceiling fan in the middle of the living room and looking up at the light you can see all four bulbs with different colors and it doesn't look so good. Eventually they will be relocated to individual lamps around the room where they should provide a much better experience. If you buy any bulbs other than Hue bulbs you will be tied to one single app: the official app from the manufacturer of the bulbs. Or you may be limited to tying in to Alexa and the set of skills available because your choice of bulbs doesn't even have an app. With Hue bulbs you have many choices of apps, and you will find that Hue apps, even the third party apps, have a level of professionalism not found in apps for other bulbs. Yes, Hue bulbs cost more...but you will get what you paid for. Top quality, great looking light, an almost endless list of ways to use them; Hue bulbs are probably the very best you can buy.

I’ve owned Philips Hue lights for years with almost zero issues, so when my mother’s birthday approached, this starter kit was an easy choice. The order arrived quickly, and she was absolutely ecstatic when she opened it. She loves how easy the setup is and how many features the system offers. Being able to have lights turn on and off automatically when she comes and goes gives her a real sense of convenience. Even better, she can control the lights while she’s out of town, which helps make the house look occupied and gives her added peace of mind. Overall, the product works flawlessly, and my mom couldn’t be happier. If you’re looking for a reliable smart lighting setup or a thoughtful gift that’s actually useful, this starter kit is perfect.

Product works as expected, app functionality is good. Integration with smart home features also work well. Important to note that this product does not connect to apple HomeKit without the presence of an Apple TV or HomePod to act as a hub.

Wow - what a great product - easy to install, a ton of features and just works... I have heard how good these were over the years but finally tried one myself.. Love it and the pre-configured scenes are amazing.. I cared about HomeKit so I got the units with the bridge... Perfect!!

I'm so happy with this kit!! I had to save up for it, but after trying other cheaper options and having horrible experiences, these are well with the cost of entry!! The lighting color and quality is excellent! The customization is wonderful with the app. The connectivity works right out of the box with minimal fuss. Really happy with Phillips hue and I will be expanding my ecosystem.

I received a used product. The brigde was already linked to another network and I had to factory reset it. The box was torn and the sticker seals look like they were previously removed. I paid a decent amount of money just to get some crappy packaging and a used product sent to my place. Update: Amazon resolved it, and now I'm happy with my product. It has a lot of great functionalities to discover, and takes some time to fully understand it. However, if you don't have cute lamps and specific setups, getting the basic or essential packs could be a better option. Putting a color lamp in the socket of your walls/ceiling in a regular house or apartment doesn't look as good as they show in the videos. Overall, if you have the money and can afford it, it's actually a great product and I recommend it.

Light quality is good. App mostly works. However, I'm very disappointed in user experience when lights are turned off via standard light switch. If you turn the light off any lighting changes are missed. I used one of the basic schedules (Golden hours) to change the color of my lights from bright white in the day to dim red in the evening. This however falls apart when the lights are turned off during a transition. So I come back at night, turn my lights on, and get blinded because they are set to a hard white from the daytime instead of an warm evening glow. This seems like an obvious thing to make work but isn't supported well. I worry what other things will not be designed well..