Philips today announced that its connected smart bulb lighting system, Philips Hue, is getting a new addition in the form of the E14 candle light bulb. Customers will be able to buy the new bulb in both color and white ambience versions in the U.S. later this year, and in Europe in April. The common candle bulb will fit a wide array of household lighting fixtures, and Philips said this means that Hue "can now be used in over 80% of light sockets commonly used in households around the world."

philips hue candle

“The candle has been one of the most requested products by Philips Hue customers. We’ve spent time ensuring it is of the highest quality and available in both white ambiance and white and color ambiance. It is an important next step to ensure seamless integration in all rooms, giving you the freedom to personalize lighting throughout your home,” says Sridhar Kumaraswamy, Business Leader Connected Home Systems at Philips Lighting.

Otherwise, the candle light bulb will function the same as previous Hue products, connecting to the company's smartphone app through the Philips Hue Bridge accessory and allowing users to customize lighting colors, set schedules and geo-fences, and turn the lights on and off. According to Philips, candle light bulbs are mainly used in decorative lamps made for the bedroom, and with the white ambience bulb's dimming features users can get a better night's sleep and wake up more energized.

The new accessory is a 40W equivalent bulb with 470 lumens of brightness and will be priced around $40 for a single bulb when it launches in the U.S. later in 2017. Philips didn't mention if it would debut a Hue Starter Kit with the new candle light bulbs, but if it does the package would likely cost the same as current starter kits, which currently run between $70 and $200, depending on the type and amount of bulbs included.

Top Rated Comments

Born Again Avatar
113 months ago
love my hue lights with ALEXA

Home kit - lol

"oh but it's so secure!" :rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
usarioclave Avatar
113 months ago
Time to Hue-enable the chandeliers...and now my outdoor lights will match my porch lights. Life is great!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
davidoloan Avatar
113 months ago
This is great except for one thing, the price. Chandeliers have so many bulbs. To do one room will cost me $360.

Still, Hue lighting has been one of my favourite tech discoveries, bought on a whim, has turned out to be brilliant.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tinmania Avatar
113 months ago
I know that Philips wants to sell bulbs, and that is okay. I use HUE and have a LOT of lights under control with it. But for the love of god I wish they would release a HUE switch. My bathroom, and several other places in my home, have 8 or so bulbs that really only need to be on or off. Why should I need to add 8 HUE bulbs, and go through the effort of programming them all, when one single switch would be fine. My garage has fluorescents, so it is completely out of HUE's capabilities. Switches please!



Mike
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RMo Avatar
113 months ago
Is it really a 40W bulb, or simply equivalent to 40W?
Like many people, MacRumors misquoted the press release, which states that the bulb is a "40W equivalent" (emphasis mine). This is how people compare CFLs, LEDs, and other energy-efficient bulbs to the light output of incandescents people are used to since most people aren't used to comparing lumens, which is the actual measure of light output rather than energy used to produce it (explaining for others, not for you since you obviously know). MR did include the correct 470-lumen output in their summary, though it's worth noting (as Philips also did but MR and most others leave out) that, as with most Hue products, this is the maximum output and only achieved around 4000K (a sort of medium cool white).

Philip's existing 40W equivalent candelabra LEDs range from about 4.0-5.5W, so I suspect this one will be at or just a little bit higher than this. 9to5Mac says 6.5W, though I can't find that in the press release.

That being said, this is a form factor that I suspect many people have been missing. I was, too, until I moved and don't have any of these bulbs anymore. :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
113 months ago
My big beef with these Hue lights (and a lot of newer LED bulbs) is that they go with these really weak "60W equivalent" brightnesses (usually ~800 lumens) -- that's pretty dim.

We use two Philips non-smart LEDs at 1600 lumens each in our living room lamp. It's nice, bright light, and it's dimmable so you can always scale it back at night.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Says U.S. Passport Feature on iPhone is Coming Soon

Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday. On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year." Apple's...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone XX? 6 Features Rumored for Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday October 27, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by
For the 10th anniversary iPhone that came out in 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone X with Face ID, notch, and minimized bezels, providing more display space than ever before. The 20th iPhone anniversary is approaching and Apple wants to take the iPhone X design even further. We're two years away from the 2027 iPhone, but it's tough for Apple to keep major changes under wraps. We've rounded...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...