Philips today announced a new HomeKit-compatible Hue-branded lighting product, the Philips Hue White Ambiance. Like the standard Philips Hue lighting set, the White Ambiance ships with a HomeKit hub and bulbs, but it's aimed at people who want adjustable white light without a multitude of color options.

The Wi-Fi-connected White Ambiance bulbs feature "every shade of white light," from 6500k daylight to 2200k warm light, and they can be adjusted automatically throughout the day using light recipes, routines, and HomeKit scenes in the recently released Philips Hue app. The bulbs, rated at 800 lumens at 4000k, can also be controlled through HomeKit using Siri voice commands.

philipshuewhiteambiance

"We know how important white light is in the home; it is similar to natural day light and can help us to focus, feel more alert as well as wind down at night" says Sridhar Kumaraswamy, Business Leader Connected Home Systems at Philips Lighting. "With Philips Hue white ambiance, we are delivering a high quality connected light bulb that delivers the full spectrum of white light at the swipe of a finger, allowing consumers to fully benefit from the impact that white light can have on their wellbeing when at home."

Philips' White Ambiance Hue starter kit includes two Philips Hue white ambiance bulbs, a HomeKit-compatible bridge, and one wireless dimming switch that allows lights to be controlled from anywhere in the house without the need to open the iPhone app. The new Hue starter kit joins the standard kit that includes bulbs adjustable to any color or any shade of white and a simpler kit with white bulbs that are unable to be adjusted to different shades.

huewhiteambiance2
At $129.95 for the entire kit and $29.95 for a single bulb, the Philips Hue White Ambiance kit is more affordable than the standard Hue lighting kit, which is priced at $199 for the initial bridge and bulbs and $59.95 for individual bulbs. The White Ambiance starter kit is available from the Philips website starting today.

Top Rated Comments

Glassed Silver Avatar
122 months ago
I don't want to sound ignorant (I'm sure there are people who would absolutely love this), but personally I don't see the need for coloured lights, unless it's for design elements. I like the good ol' fluorescent lights.

But regardless, I would still be interested in trying it one day (no money though right now).
As an owner of Hue bulbs (full color) let me tell you that - at least for me personally - changing the light color to match my mood or daytime is HUGE.

Only once I got Hue I realized how the light's color changes everything in a room and how you perceive things.

I can only really put it vaguely, because light color really is all about feelings at the end of the day.
Well that and then there's the fact that light does change your life quality.

Being able to switch from warm light to colder light is one thing, being able to slowly fade in or out lights is another, especially around bedtime or when waking up, but then there's also the need for less lights you need total in a room, because suddenly your normal lighting can be the party lighting.

Fully programmable and expandable.
Suddenly your lights are as powerful as your imagination, because you can deploy scripts, external services such as IFTTT and more.
You can use light to notify you about things, like bad weather, reminding you to take an umbrella.

Yes, you could have that on your smartphone, but over the years I've grown immensely tired of notifications.
Any way to reduce notifications I have to interact with is great.
Less notifications I have to dismiss again and again, depending on how loyal of an Apple user I am.... RIGHT, APPLE ('http://photos.reportinglive.com/p/2013-06-10/f1370890554.jpg')?

Glassed Silver:mac
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
garirry Avatar
122 months ago
As an owner of Hue bulbs (full color) let me tell you that - at least for me personally - changing the light color to match my mood or daytime is HUGE.

Only once I got Hue I realized how the light's color changes everything in a room and how you perceive things.

I can only really put it vaguely, because light color really is all about feelings in the end of the day.
Well that and then there's the fact that light does change your life quality.

Being able to switch from warm light to colder light is one thing, being able to slowly fade in or out lights is another, especially around bedtime or when waking up, but then there's also the need for less lights you need total in a room, because suddenly your normal lighting can be the party lighting.

Fully programmable and expandable.
Suddenly your lights are as powerful as your imagination, because you can deploy scripts, external services such as IFTTT and more.
You can use light to notify you about things, like bad weather, reminding you to take an umbrella.

Yes, you could have that on your smartphone, but over the years I've grown immensely tired of notifications.
Any way to reduce notifications I have to interact with is great.
No less notifications I have to dismiss again and again, depending on how loyal of an Apple user I am.... RIGHT, APPLE ('http://photos.reportinglive.com/p/2013-06-10/f1370890554.jpg')?

Glassed Silver:mac
Yeah, you've got an excellent point. Never thought like this before. Thanks.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
122 months ago
Without simple reasonably priced wall switches I'll never be interested in this type of bulb. I could never convince the wife it was an improvement.
Two words: Lutron Caseta. They provide everything and more that Hue provides, and you wire them to the switch instead of needing specialized bulbs. That means that once you have a Caseta wall switch installed you can put whatever bulb you want in the socket and control it.

I have Hue and Caseta devices in my home, and if I had to give up one of them it would definitely be the Hue.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MillieWales Avatar
122 months ago
Does anyone know if I purchase this new light kit will I be able to add additional color bulbs to it?
Yes the bridge is the same whichever starter pack you buy and all the Hue bulbs are compatible.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
122 months ago
I was traveling for business last week and one night i get a text message from my wife, "can you please turn on the living room lights." Let me tell you that I will be purchasing those wall switches this weekend. :D

I have been waiting to see how the HomeKit thing goes and stopped investing in Hue, but with these bulbs at $30 and the wall dimmers, I may just get back in the game.
The hue tap and dimmer switches are great! We now have hue taps next to every regular light switch. They make hue usable for a family.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Leaks Reveal What Apple Products Are Coming Next

Friday October 3, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest leaks about the next-generation iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Studio Display, and Vision Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, an apparent unboxing video of an updated iPad Pro with the M5 chip was shared online. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Apple's 2025 Product Roadmap: What's Still Coming

Wednesday October 1, 2025 3:56 pm PDT by
Apple's two big yearly events, WWDC and the iPhone launch, are done and over with, but there are still some new products that we're expecting to see before the end of the year. Apple TV The Apple TV hasn't been updated since 2022, so it's due for a refresh. It doesn't look like Apple is going to change the design of its set-top box, but we can expect a faster chip Apple code suggests...