Which Philips Hue lights do I need? A simple guide to the smart light range — plus where to buy

Looking to get started with smart lighting? Philips Hue is probably the brand you're looking at. It's the most prominent name in this market, and with good reason: it makes high-quality and ultra-versatile smart lights, and offers a huge range of products to suit different needs.

Philips Hue lights can, however, be rather pricey — especially if you're looking to kit out several rooms at once. The Amazon Prime Day sales can be a really good opportunity to pick up some Hue kit at a more affordable price, and luckily there's one about to start. The event officially runs through June 23-26, but there are discounts popping up already — and a number of other big retailers are running their own rival sales at the same time.

Below you'll find an explainer on your different Philips Hue bulb options, plus the best deals I've spotted in each category, from Amazon and beyond.

What are the three categories of Hue smart light?

Hue has three light types: White, White ambiance and White and color ambiance.

White lights emit a dimmable, warm (yellow-toned) light, at a set color temperature of 2,700 Kelvin. It's designed to be cosy and relaxing; Philips says these lights are well suited to bedrooms and living rooms.

White ambiance lights offers more variety. They can emit 50,000 different shades of white light, from warm (yellow-toned) to cool (blue-toned), and like the White lights, they're dimmable too. You could opt for an energizing shade that mimics natural daylight, or a warm orange tone to help you wind down for sleep, and there are even preset 'recipes' like Concentrate or Read for different tasks.

However, the lights most closely associated with Philips hue are the White and color ambiance bulbs. These can emit any one of millions of RGB colors, including all the white tones covered by the White ambiance bulbs. (You can read more in our article explaining Philips Hue bulb types.)

Philips Hue starter kits

Philips Hue bulbs are available as part of 'Starter Kits', which include bulbs (in any of the three light categories detailed above) and a Hue Bridge. The Bridge is essentially the communication hub that all your smart lights connect to, and which unlocks the lights' full gamut of features.

A starter kit is designed to be the most straightforward way to get set up with smart lighting in your home, and will often also be the most cost-effective, too.

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Philips Hue bulbs

At the heart of the Philips Hue range are its light bulbs. It makes a wide range of shapes and styles — spotlights, candle-shaped or flattened-off, and regular bulb-shaped bulbs. Most are available in any of Philips Hue's main light categories: White, White ambiance, and White and color ambiance. They'll also be available with different connections to work with different light fittings; double-check your setup before buying.

How bright are the bulbs?

Depends which one you buy. The Standard Philips Hue White ambiance / White and color ambiance bulbs emit 800 lumens, which is about the same as a 60W incandescent bulb or a 12W LED bulb. Philips also makes a Filament range (550 limens) and a Lightguide range (500 lumens).

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Philips Hue lamps

Philips Hue makes a selection of indoor and outdoor lamps. I say lamps, but it's really everything from spotlights to light bars to pendant lights, wall washers and wake-up lights — I'm essentially using this as a catch-all term for anything where the bulb and its casing are sold together.

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Philips Hue lightstrips

Another main category of Philips Hue light is the LED strip light. These are designed to sit behind your TV, under shelving or behind mirrors to enhance room features and create atmosphere. There are even options that are weatherproof, and can be used outside. You can purchase different lengths (some kinds can be trimmed further), and they have adhesive backing to enable you to simply stick them on a clean, flat surface.

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Philips Hue accessories

Finally, Philips Hue makes a selection of accessories to work with its lights. The key one is the Bridge — if you're just purchasing individual lights rather than a Starter kit, you might need to pick one of these up separately in order to unlock the full potential of your smart lighting setup. The brand also makes physical switches and buttons that offer a different way to access your lights' functions outside of the app.

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