Philips Hue Bluetooth LightStrip Plus Kit

Philips Hue Bluetooth LightStrip Plus Kit

I have a dozen Hue products, and was pleased even as an early adopter, but Philips really has to do something about their pricing to stay competitive.

Their products do not support Thread or Matter, so they’re not the most advanced products on the market. That also means they’re a closed system that doesn’t integrate with other smart home products (like Nanoleaf Shapes or Essentials can, Razer Chroma matching colors between PC and accessories RGB, etc), plus you have to wait for Philips to make their version of new features (And they may never make an aesthetic match). These lightstrips do not allow the user to individually address each LED, so you can’t do a multicolored rainbow, zone brightness, or animations. Keep in mind Philips’ Hue Zigbee wireless access point is in the controller, not extended along the entire strip, and if you don’t have Philip’s proprietary hub/Bridge ($59) then this only works with Bluetooth, unable to be controlled by an Alexa or HomePod, Google dot etc.

On the price end, this is $59 here instead of the $99 on Philip’s own website. I just bought two Lenovo brand lightstrips with tunable pure white + RGB LEDs that are comparable except they don’t use Zigbee or need proprietary hubs, are 5m instead of 2m, and they were just $12 each. Generic flexible “light tubes” with diffusers built-in, each LED able to be tuned and animated over Wi-Fi, for about $25. For a self-healing network superior to the Hue’s proprietary Zigbee, lights supporting Thread (like Nanoleaf products) are even more responsive and also less expensive than the comparable Philips option (though the Nanoleaf Shapes and Sticks are unique, and can serve as border routers, while not being a closed system like Hue).