Philips to Sell iOS-Controlled LED Light Bulbs Exclusively Through Apple Stores

NewImage
Philips has announced a new iOS-controlled LED lighting system that can emulate nearly any color, as well as personalize the lighting experience with a wide array of dimmer and scheduling options. The company believes the new bulbs could reinvent "the way we think about and experience light in our homes."

Building on its innovation capabilities, today Philips unveils hue, the world’s smartest web-enabled LED home lighting system. Philips hue signals a new era in home lighting both in the way we think about and experience light in our homes. It allows you to create and control the light using your smartphone or tablet.

[...]

Philips hue can be setup in minutes. The intuitive app allows you to remotely control your home lighting to help secure your home, personalize your home lighting experience with custom settings and program timers to help manage your daily schedules, all through the convenience of a smart device. An intuitive and seamless system, Philips hue is upgradeable and future-proof, with the potential for more features to be downloaded and enjoyed in the future.

Philips is also working on new features including geo-location to automatically turn lights on or off when users approach or leave heir homes, as well as integrating with other media including sound and video.


The bulbs will be sold exclusively via Apple Stores beginning tomorrow. Hue is $199 for three bulbs plus the wireless link that can support up to 50 bulbs. Additional bulbs are available for $59 each.

Apple has been pushing app-enabled accessories heavily in its online and retail stores, offering products as varied as thermostats, weight scales, blood pressure monitors, a meat thermometer and a pet-tracking GPS collar.

Update: The starter pack ($199.95) and individual bulbs ($59.95) are now available in Apple's online store.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

RobertD63 Avatar
163 months ago
You guys all can hate, and talk about how over priced they are, but I want it. I'll pay that for lighting that can be put on a sleep timer, adjusted to a color I select from a picture or color picker. I'll take 1 kit please.
Score: 83 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CausticPuppy Avatar
163 months ago
Ah, it's about time. I can't count the number of times where I was wishing I had a way of changing the color of my lights using a phone. :eek:
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Small White Car Avatar
163 months ago
Ugh. I hate the tendency of Macrumors posters to take every cool new things and deride it because it's not instantly cheap and instantly everywhere. As if those factors will never change over time.



Only one passenger? Super slow? Less space than a Nomad. Lame.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turtlez Avatar
163 months ago
shouldn't this be posted on April 1st?
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Caliber26 Avatar
163 months ago
It actually sounds like a cool thing but I'm not sure I'm ready to fork out that kinda cash for novelty lighting.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WhoDaKat Avatar
163 months ago
Thats $199 for 3 bulbs? Um, how long do these bulbs last? They'd better be forever at that cost.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)