Bluetooth works greatFirst. You better be intuitively competent with stuff like this because the instructions are absolutely APPALLING. I have NEVER seen anything worse. No words. Just pointless meaningless diagrams designed to save money because they don't have to provide translations for all the language markets they sell into. Well it may save money but it's rubbish and whoever did the instruction drawings should be utterly ashamed of themselves. Got the 2 lights (on different floors) working by trial and error using the Bluetooth App. Tried to connect via Alexa but after connecting one lamp I decided it was a complete gimmick so I removed the Alexa connection and just stuck with the Bluetooth App. which is just fine. All in all, a good buy at £11.50 each. At ... MoreBluetooth works greatFirst. You better be intuitively competent with stuff like this because the instructions are absolutely APPALLING. I have NEVER seen anything worse. No words. Just pointless meaningless diagrams designed to save money because they don't have to provide translations for all the language markets they sell into. Well it may save money but it's rubbish and whoever did the instruction drawings should be utterly ashamed of themselves. Got the 2 lights (on different floors) working by trial and error using the Bluetooth App. Tried to connect via Alexa but after connecting one lamp I decided it was a complete gimmick so I removed the Alexa connection and just stuck with the Bluetooth App. which is just fine. All in all, a good buy at £11.50 each. At 806 lumens they're just about bright enough for outside Patio & Balcony lights (now I don't need to go indoors from outside to turn on the outside lights - I simply do it from my phone.

A good start for a smart lighting system

These bulbs are a great introduction to smart lighting, but for the full benefits you might need the Philips Hue bridge as well. Set-up is really easy: just screw in the bulbs to your lamps or other fittings, download the Philips Hue app to your phone and you can quickly connect via Bluetooth. Through the app, it's easy to set the light colour, dim and brighten it, or use preset scenes; the colours are vibrant and the light level is far more controllable than a regular dimmer. But going into an app to change the lighting or just to switch it on and off isn't all that convenient - and if you switch the bulb off using the regular light switch, it reverts back to a default bright white light next time you switch it on again. Alexa or Google users can use voice control, ... MoreThese bulbs are a great introduction to smart lighting, but for the full benefits you might need the Philips Hue bridge as well. Set-up is really easy: just screw in the bulbs to your lamps or other fittings, download the Philips Hue app to your phone and you can quickly connect via Bluetooth. Through the app, it's easy to set the light colour, dim and brighten it, or use preset scenes; the colours are vibrant and the light level is far more controllable than a regular dimmer. But going into an app to change the lighting or just to switch it on and off isn't all that convenient - and if you switch the bulb off using the regular light switch, it reverts back to a default bright white light next time you switch it on again. Alexa or Google users can use voice control, but Apple users like me have to also buy the Hue bridge for that. This is probably the main drawback - the biggest benefits come from having an entire smart lighting system, which can be expensive. But once you've started, it becomes more tempting.

Calm, soothing and just the right ambiance.

I have a few other brands of smart home technology now at home and love the convenience of it. I have a 'thing' about lights and lighting and love having lamps in every corner and not having to walk into a room that doesn't have some sort of light.The Philips Hue White Ambiance Ligh Bulb is great for creating that cozy lived-in feeling! I really struggle to find the right light bulb that gives off enough light to complete tasks but isn't in your face glaring. This completes both of those requirements easily.The app and the Bluetooth settings were really simple to navigate and I think it took just over five minutes to set up both bulbs. I have one in the ceiling light of my office space so I can have it a little brighter when needed and one in a lamp in my living ... MoreI have a few other brands of smart home technology now at home and love the convenience of it. I have a 'thing' about lights and lighting and love having lamps in every corner and not having to walk into a room that doesn't have some sort of light.The Philips Hue White Ambiance Ligh Bulb is great for creating that cozy lived-in feeling! I really struggle to find the right light bulb that gives off enough light to complete tasks but isn't in your face glaring. This completes both of those requirements easily.The app and the Bluetooth settings were really simple to navigate and I think it took just over five minutes to set up both bulbs. I have one in the ceiling light of my office space so I can have it a little brighter when needed and one in a lamp in my living room. I really like how you can change the tone from bright to warm when you just want to illuminate the space a little bit more without putting the light fully on. There's nothing nicer for me than watching the TV with a nice warm background. I also like how depending on the setting you wanted you don't actually need the app to turn the bulb on and it acts like any other bulb.The only negative I can give, and I am unsure if it's something that I could actually fix myself, is that it doesn't save the setting I had it on last so when the lamp is turned back on it reverts back to its original setting.

Entry into the Hue ecosystem

As a single bulb, this allows you to control it via the Hue app. I'm using this to dim a floor lamp which was previously only on/off. It's also handy to tune it to a warm or cool light depending on the mood / time of day.Being able to change the colour is fun, but a bit gimmicky. I'm not sure we'll be changing colours that often.The real clever stuff happens when these bulbs are integrated into the rest of the home - through automations. On its own, the bulb doesn't integrate with the rest of my smart home setup (Apple HomeKit, Hive). For that, I need the Hue Bridge. So on its own, the bulb is of limited value, as it can only be controlled through the app.But if you're adding this to an existing set up, and you need an extra bulb, then this is for you!

Fantastic light system

This was my first time using a wireless lighting system and thought it was great! The bulbs are easy to install - fitting them is just the same as installing any standard lightbulb. And they can be turned on and off as a normal lightbulb can be via the light switch. However, on downloading the Philips 'Hue' app (I downloaded it from iOS appstore as am a iPhone user) I was able to 'connect' to my lightbulbs and control them from my devices.You can not only turn them on and off via the app, but you can also dim/birghten, set timers and control the 'ambience' with a huge amount of options to 'set the mood'. Settings include a range of defaults from 'Midsummer Sun' to 'Golden Pond' or there is the option to customise your own lighting preference. My lightbulbs were ... MoreThis was my first time using a wireless lighting system and thought it was great! The bulbs are easy to install - fitting them is just the same as installing any standard lightbulb. And they can be turned on and off as a normal lightbulb can be via the light switch. However, on downloading the Philips 'Hue' app (I downloaded it from iOS appstore as am a iPhone user) I was able to 'connect' to my lightbulbs and control them from my devices.You can not only turn them on and off via the app, but you can also dim/birghten, set timers and control the 'ambience' with a huge amount of options to 'set the mood'. Settings include a range of defaults from 'Midsummer Sun' to 'Golden Pond' or there is the option to customise your own lighting preference. My lightbulbs were fitted in the lounge and the dining room - the ability to dim the lights in both rooms has been a great improvement.You could tinker for hours on the range of settings and moods - I ended up landing on 2 i liked per room and just using those.

Finally - The light I have been searching for!

Now then. If you're able to read my other reviews, you'll appreciate I've been through quite some mission trying to find the right Philips Hue lighting products for my home.My criteria were simple; I needed bulbs that were of good quality and capable of displaying a colour range (gamut) that's would be close to their lightstrip plus product which I have already invested in and am very pleased with. Sounds simple, but the quest has not been so easy in practice.I initially chose the HUE Bloom units, which displayed the colours, but we're insufficiently bright and the lighting elements are permanently housed in cheap, plastic lamps, which are flimsy and lightweight. I returned them.Next, I purchased the Philips HUE GU10 spot bulbs.Based on internet research, ... MoreNow then. If you're able to read my other reviews, you'll appreciate I've been through quite some mission trying to find the right Philips Hue lighting products for my home.My criteria were simple; I needed bulbs that were of good quality and capable of displaying a colour range (gamut) that's would be close to their lightstrip plus product which I have already invested in and am very pleased with. Sounds simple, but the quest has not been so easy in practice.I initially chose the HUE Bloom units, which displayed the colours, but we're insufficiently bright and the lighting elements are permanently housed in cheap, plastic lamps, which are flimsy and lightweight. I returned them.Next, I purchased the Philips HUE GU10 spot bulbs.Based on internet research, one (literally) glowing video review suggested that these GU10 bulbs were capable of the same colour gamut, but were more powerful. However, as these are simply bulbs, they would require lamp holders to house them (sold separately).I purchased 4 holders from another vendor (at a not-inconsiderable additional expense) which appeared to be suitable, along with 4 GU10 bulbs.Unfortunately, there were two problems. Firstly, the Philips HUE GU10 bulbs are much deeper than a regular GU10 spec bulb, which means that they protrude from the holders enough to be visually unappealing, not to mention vulnerable to potential damage. Not a deal breaker, but worthy of mention.Most importantly however, the colour gamut of the HUE GU10 bulbs is severely compromised in the green and cyan spectrum, only capable of producing a very weak green, which verges on the yellow and dark blue, with nothing available in teal, lighter blues or emerald greens. When I say nothing I mean it, the light just reverts to white, so when using with the spectrum device in the HUE app, be prepared for bitter disappointment. It is not a fault.I contacted Philips to complain who advised me that what I needed were the A19 type bulbs with 'Richer colour', the review for which you are reading now.Having returned the previous items for refund, I purchased a double pack in B22 (bayonet) and another double pack in E27 (Large Edison screw).I am finally delighted to report that these bulbs will mimic the colour gamut of the lightstrip plus, producing wonderful arrays of greens, cyans and everything else with style. They are plenty bright enough and consume around 9 watts each, which is superb.I would recommend these without reservation and hope this review prevents you from undergoing the same rigmarole I had to undertake before finding the right product.

Great smart bulb to add ambience to a room

I already had a Philips Hue filament bulb in a another lamp in my lounge so was excited to try this colour changing bulb in the Philips Hue range. The bulb can work straight out of the box as a standard bulb via the light switch however you'd want to set this up ideally using a smart device, you need to download the Philips Hue app and with Alexa/Google to make the most of this bulbs intelligent features. I don't have a Philips Hue 'Bridge', I'm not sure what additional functionality this would provide, I imagine it would allow you to configure your home set up further.These bulbs are extremely easy to set up and even easier if you are adding to existing Hue set up. Plug in, download app and connect. It's that simple. Again you just add it to your Alexa devices if ... MoreI already had a Philips Hue filament bulb in a another lamp in my lounge so was excited to try this colour changing bulb in the Philips Hue range. The bulb can work straight out of the box as a standard bulb via the light switch however you'd want to set this up ideally using a smart device, you need to download the Philips Hue app and with Alexa/Google to make the most of this bulbs intelligent features. I don't have a Philips Hue 'Bridge', I'm not sure what additional functionality this would provide, I imagine it would allow you to configure your home set up further.These bulbs are extremely easy to set up and even easier if you are adding to existing Hue set up. Plug in, download app and connect. It's that simple. Again you just add it to your Alexa devices if you want to add Alexa voice control. Then you're away! The colours are a great way to add ambience to a room. You can select brightness, cool/warmth, colour or a mood. In the app you can use a preset mood or custom these yourself. These are LED so have a great lifetime of approx. 25000 hours.I'll definitely be looking to add more of these bulbs to my home - they would be great in any living space or bedroom.

Performs exactly as it should...

Replace a normal light bulb with one of these, down-load the app to your phone (or pay extra for the bridge to connect it to Alexa or similar) and you can 'dial-up' any conceivable colour of light. Its super easy to do, and does indeed enable you to create various ambiances, but husband and I got bored of this game quite quickly and stopped bothering. However, our 25 year old daughter then took possession and loves them. She's installed 2 bulbs in the living room of a shared rental flat, and reports she's found a shade of white that makes the walls look much cleaner(!), and the many varieties of colours are very useful for entertaining. So we have a satisfied customer.

Want to fill my house with these now

I'm really impressed by this product and how easy it was to set up. I have a Google Nest Mini and it was very simple to connect via Bluetooth straight out of the box. The only downside I'd say is that it can't be connected directly to the Apple HomePod, you'll need the bridge for this. I love the colour choices and the dimming capabilities, especially at night when trying to drift off to sleep. It's nice being able to voice command the lights to dim whilst lying in bed without having to leave the duvet.I would recommend downloading the Phillips Hue App with this as it gives you more control over colour settings and brightness levels. You can also add presets in the app which I found pretty useful when wanting different types of light at different times of the day ... MoreI'm really impressed by this product and how easy it was to set up. I have a Google Nest Mini and it was very simple to connect via Bluetooth straight out of the box. The only downside I'd say is that it can't be connected directly to the Apple HomePod, you'll need the bridge for this. I love the colour choices and the dimming capabilities, especially at night when trying to drift off to sleep. It's nice being able to voice command the lights to dim whilst lying in bed without having to leave the duvet.I would recommend downloading the Phillips Hue App with this as it gives you more control over colour settings and brightness levels. You can also add presets in the app which I found pretty useful when wanting different types of light at different times of the day eg. Warm and less bright at night, Or a bright white light when I', trying to look for something. I'm slightly surprised that the energy efficiency is not that great on this product considering it is LED. Perhaps that is something that can be brought down in the future. Will definitely be buying more of these and considering getting the bridge too to connect with Apple devices.