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Philips Hue has announced a comprehensive update to its smart lighting portfolio, introducing the more accessible Essential range alongside significant expansions to its strip lighting and security offerings. The updates, released under the “Reimagine Your Home” campaign, aim to broaden the appeal of smart lighting while adding advanced features for existing users.
I have written a more detailed article on the Philips Hue Bridge Pro here.
Philips Hue Essential Range Makes Smart Lighting More Accessible
The new Philips Hue Essential range addresses one of the most common barriers to smart lighting adoption: cost. These products maintain the core Philips Hue experience whilst offering simplified lighting performance at more affordable price points.
The Essential lineup includes A19 bulbs starting from £19.99 for single packs, GU10 spotlights from the same price point, and versatile strip lights. All Essential products run on identical software and connectivity protocols as the main Philips Hue line, ensuring complete compatibility across the ecosystem.
Essential bulbs offer full white and colour spectrum control, dimming capability down to two percent of total brightness, and plug-and-play setup. Users can control these lights via the Hue app or leading voice assistants, with the option to automate lighting based on daily routines or preferences.
Starter kits provide an entry point for newcomers, with the Essential E27 two-piece starter kit plus Hue Bridge V2 priced at £69.99. Three and four-piece variations are available for £79.99 and expanded setups respectively.
Strip Lighting Receives Comprehensive Overhaul
Philips Hue has completely revamped its strip lighting range, introducing seven new models that significantly expand both brightness capabilities and application scenarios. The updated lineup moves beyond decorative use cases, with some strips now bright enough to provide primary room lighting.
Premium OmniGlow Technology
The flagship Philips Hue OmniGlow strip light represents the most advanced offering, utilising chip-scale-package (CSP) technology to deliver uniform, spot-free lighting. With up to 4,500 lumens of brightness, OmniGlow strips can effectively illuminate entire rooms whilst maintaining smooth colour gradients across their length.
OmniGlow strips will be available in three lengths: 3m at £119.99, 5m, and 10m variants, launching in Q4 2025 for the UK market.
Expanded Strip Light Portfolio
The new range covers virtually every application scenario:
- Philips Hue Flux strip light provides customisable decorative mood lighting for indoor spaces, available from £59.99 for 3m lengths.
- Philips Hue Flux ultra bright strip light delivers enhanced brightness with accurate white reproduction and rich colours, suitable for both functional and decorative applications at £84.99 for 3m.
- Outdoor variants include the Flux outdoor strip light (£129.99 for 5m) and neon outdoor strip light (£119.99 for 3m), both offering IP-rated weather protection for year-round outdoor use.
- Essential range strips provide budget-conscious options with the standard Essential strip light (£49.99 for 5m) and Essential flex strip light (£84.99 for 5m) for customisable neon-style installations.
Most strips offer cutting, extending, and reusing capabilities, supported by purpose-built accessories including extensions, connectors, and mounting brackets.
Festavia Range Expands Outdoor Lighting Options
The popular Festavia permanent lighting range gains two new products designed for year-round outdoor ambiance. Festavia permanent string lights mount along building facades or rooflines, providing customisable lighting for any occasion without requiring seasonal installation and removal.
Available in 9m (£99.99) and 18m (£249.99) lengths, these IP65-rated lights offer full app control with dynamic scenes and effects suitable for holidays, celebrations, or everyday ambiance.
The new Festavia globe string lights feature unique lightguide-style bulbs that create distinctive filament-effect illumination. These complement the permanent range with elegant lighting for balconies, pergolas, and outdoor entertainment areas. Pricing starts at £139.99 for 7m lengths, with 14m and 21m options available.
Both Festavia products support Spotify synchronisation for music-driven light displays and maintain weather resistance for continuous outdoor operation.
Enhanced Security Through Hue Secure Expansion
Philips Hue has significantly expanded its Hue Secure portfolio with new hardware and software features that integrate lighting with home security monitoring.
New Video Doorbell and Smart Chime
The Hue Secure video doorbell (£139.99) provides 2K high-resolution monitoring with a 180-degree fisheye lens and Starlight night vision technology. The doorbell integrates with existing Philips Hue lights, automatically activating them when motion is detected or when someone rings the bell.
Two-way communication allows users to interact with visitors remotely, whilst integration with the broader Hue ecosystem enables customised lighting responses to doorbell activity.
The accompanying Hue Smart Chime (£49.99) ensures users receive audible notifications throughout their home when the doorbell rings. The chime offers customisable sounds and can trigger nearby Hue lights for visual alerts, with scheduling options for quiet hours and different tones based on time of day.
Expanded Camera Portfolio
New 2K wired cameras (£149.99) deliver enhanced image quality with plug-and-play installation via included PSU-C power supplies. These cameras integrate with Hue Secure’s advanced features including automatic light and sound alarms triggered by detected activity.
Software Enhancements and MotionAware
Hue Secure receives several software updates, including free 24-hour video history access (previously requiring subscription), smoke alarm signal detection with emergency lighting responses, and planned AI-powered facial recognition for 2026.
The new MotionAware feature, exclusive to Hue Bridge Pro users with Hue Secure subscriptions, transforms existing Philips Hue lights into motion sensors. Over 95% of Hue lights support this functionality, creating an extensive detection network that can trigger alerts and lighting responses when movement is detected throughout the home.
Bridge Pro and Technical Improvements
As covered in detail here, the Hue Bridge Pro provides the foundation for advanced features with support for up to 150 lights and 50 accessories. The new bridge enables MotionAware functionality and offers improved performance through its enhanced processor and memory configuration.
Standard Philips Hue A19 bulbs receive significant updates, including up to 40% efficiency improvements compared to previous generations and dimming capability down to 0.2% of total brightness. All new bulbs, including the Essential range, now support Matter over Thread connectivity alongside existing Zigbee and Bluetooth protocols.
Partnership and AI Development
Philips Hue announced a partnership with Sonos to integrate smart lighting with audio systems. Initial implementation will allow Sonos Voice Control users to operate Philips Hue lights through voice commands, with further integration planned.
AI capabilities continue expanding following the early 2025 debut of the generative AI assistant, now available in most markets. The assistant creates lighting scenes based on user mood, style, or occasion descriptions. Upcoming features include AI-powered automation creation and enhanced Hue Sync PC app functionality that uses AI to extract relevant on-screen events for more responsive entertainment lighting.
Availability and Pricing
Most products launch in September 2025, with Essential A19 bulbs, GU10 spotlights, and starter kits immediately available. Strip lights follow varied schedules, with Essential strips arriving in December 2025 and premium options including OmniGlow launching in Q4 2025.
Hue Secure products including the video doorbell and smart chime become available in October 2025, whilst Festavia permanent string lights arrive in December 2025.
The updates represent Philips Hue’s most comprehensive product refresh in recent years, addressing accessibility concerns through the Essential range whilst expanding capabilities for advanced users through enhanced security features and improved connectivity options. The combination of more affordable entry points and sophisticated new features positions the ecosystem to appeal to both newcomers and existing smart home enthusiasts.
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
