Philips introduces new ambient Hue Lights that automatically simulates the sun

Philips Hue light bulbs are amongst some of our favorite smart home accessories. While the product line has often been imitated, the majority of its competition has failed to capture the ease of use and quality. There are Hue bulbs that can replicate nearly any color imaginable and traditional options as well.

One area that has yet to be addressed, however, is ambient lighting. While Philips already offers dawn simulation lighting, smartphone connectivity is not available. Today, the two converge in a new product that focuses on consumers waking up with more energy. Additionally, Philips has announced a new ‘Routines’ feature in its app that memorizes your daily schedule and adjusts lighting to mimic the sun. More below.

Philips has been banking on the success of its Wake-Up Lights for a few years now. The ability to be naturally awaken with light has many benefits over a traditional alarm. It’s really a no-brainer that Philips would bring its Hue functionality to this popular style of lighting.

The new Hue White Ambiance can replicate every shade from cool daylight (6500k) to warm white (2200k). This allows users to create any type of desired environment for energy or relaxation. When blended with the new Routine feature in the iOS and Android app, it will be possible to clone the movements of the sun each morning or night. Chris Worp, who runs Philips home lighting sector, explains further:

“With Philips Hue white ambiance, we want to give people control of the impact that white light has on their wellbeing at home, particularly around day to day routines. By having every shade of white light at your fingertips, you can choose the perfect light you need to feel better, whether you want an energizing light for exercising or a dimmed nightlight for winding down to sleep.”

The new software features offer automatic settings provided by Hue to help you get going in the morning or fall asleep at night. For example, ‘wake up’ will gradually increase in the brightness until a certain time in the day. On the flip side, ‘go to sleep’ prepares the body for sleep with a slowly dimming bulb. There is also a nightlight mode for young children. Users can create custom recipes via the iOS or Android app as well for a routine that aligns with their own needs.

Philips will offer the new White Ambiance as individual bulbs or in a HomeKit-ready bundle with the new bridge and a dimmer switch. Final pricing has yet to be announced. In the meantime, you can check out all of Philips’ Wake-Up light offerings if you’re interested in a dawn simulation light today.

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Enjoy good days and good nights with Philips Hue white ambiance

Frankfurt, Germany – Philips Lighting, a Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) company and global leader in lighting, unlocks the power of white light with Philips Hue white ambiance. Inspired by the sun, this connected light can gradually brighten to help you wake up naturally and gently dim to help you drift to sleep more peacefully. Delivering every shade of white light from cool daylight (6500k) to warm white (2200k); and with easy access to light recipes that help you to relax or feel energized throughout the day via the app on your smart device or the Philips Hue dimmer switch in the starter kit, Philips Hue white ambiance enhances every moment at home effortlessly.

“Light impacts us both physically and emotionally, we experience this every day when waking up and going to sleep,” says Chris Worp, Leader of Philips home lighting business. “With Philips Hue white ambiance, we want to give people control of the impact that white light has on their wellbeing at home, particularly around day to day routines. By having every shade of white light at your fingertips, you can choose the perfect light you need to feel better, whether you want an energizing light for exercising or a dimmed nightlight for winding down to sleep.”

Philips Hue white ambiance was designed with your daily routines in mind, and truly comes to life with the new ‘Routines’ feature which will be in the upcoming Philips Hue app. Imitating the rise of the sun, ‘Wake up’ routine gently increases in brightness to naturally wake you up in the morning on time. Replicating the sun setting, ‘Go to sleep’ routine gradually dims until it is off, preparing your body for falling asleep. For those with young children who have to get up in the middle of the night, ‘Nightlight’ is a new light recipe which delivers a low level of light whilst also minimizing exposure to blue light, lessening the disturbance to your sleep cycle. The proven light recipes in the Philips Hue app are designed to help you throughout the day when concentrating on work, reading, relaxing, to get energized or unwind at night.

With Philips Hue white ambiance, you can also create striking and beautiful white light effects that impact the look of your home. If you have an open plan living and kitchen space, use these connected lights to subtly divide the space – opt for a crisp white light effect in the kitchen area and a warm white light in the living room area. Change the ambience of a hallway from practical when returning home to welcoming when guests arrive instantly through a subtly change in the shade of white light.

With more ways to control Philips Hue in the home than ever before, Philips Hue white ambiance starter kit comes with two Philips Hue white ambiance bulbs (800 lumens at 4000k), a bridge that supports Apple HomeKit and also a Philips Hue dimmer switch. This means that you can control all your Philips Hue lights via the Philips Hue app on your smart device, Siri voice control and Apple Watch. Anyone else, including children, can use the portable Philips Hue dimmer switch to turn your lights on, off or access the light recipes.

Delivering exciting new lighting experiences in the home is at the heart of Philips Hue, and the key to this is working with other apps, products and platforms. Philips Hue lights seamlessly work with Nest Learning thermostat, Nest Cam, Nest Protect and other smart home devices such as Amazon Alexa to truly transform how you experience and interact with light in your home. Through the developers program Philips Hue now has more than 600 third party apps that interact with it. SleepCycle app works as an alarm clock which wakes you when you are in the lightest sleep phase by simulating a natural sunrise with Philips Hue. Sunn app keeps your body clock in sync with nature by adjusting the color and brightness of Philips Hue light from sunrise to sunset.

Philips Hue white ambiance lamps will be available from spring 2016 and integrated luminaires will be available from fall 2016 across Europe and North America.

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