Review of the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube

At the end of the month, Philips Hue will launch another new Gradient product: The Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube. It is an LED tube that will be available in a total of four different versions: An 87.7 centimetre small “Compact” version in white or black for 179.99 euros and a 137.7 centimetre long “Large” version in the same colours for 199.99 euros each.

What Philips Hue wants to offer with this tube is first of all quickly explained: it is intended to be used together with the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip on the underside of the TV. Due to the flexible mounting options, you can simply place the Light Tube on the furniture underneath the TV or simply screw it to the wall. Certainly an option that also looks wonderfully good thanks to the new gradient functionality. From my point of view, however, this is pretty one-sided marketing.

The manufacturer has in fact integrated a pretty cool feature that makes the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube really flexible. The tube can be rotated almost completely, 340 degrees to be precise. So you can always align it exactly the way you need it.

Want some ideas? How about a really smart light above the bed? For reading, you could set white light and directly shine it on the bed; for a cosy atmosphere, turn the tube towards the ceiling and display a colour gradient. With up to 1,800 lumens at an illuminated length of 125 centimetres or up to 1,540 lumens at an illuminated length of 75 centimetres, the Gradient Tube is also perfect for installation in the kitchen. In short: It cuts a good figure wherever a straight Gradient Light Strip is too naked.

The Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube in detail

Let's take a look at the details. The two stands have a non-slip surface on the bottom. You can also remove the underside with a small Allen key and then mount it on the wall with screws thanks to appropriate holes. Afterwards, you simply place the Gradient Tube on the bracket on the wall and tighten the two small screws again.

The power cable is permanently connected to one side. Placed on a sideboard, the power cable is routed to the back when the connection is on the left side. On the wall, the cable is led away downwards if the connection is on the right.The actual orientation is only important when used in an entertainment area, but here you can specify exactly how the tube is set up or screwed on: horizontally, vertically, with the cable to the left, right, up or down.

In addition to the entertainment mode, normal use is of course also possible via the Hue app, just as you know it from any other light source. In addition, there is of course the Gradient function, where currently three colours can be freely selected.The software in the controller of the Gradient Tube then automatically creates a colour gradient, which can consist of up to ten different colours in the long version, and six different segments in the small Gradient Tube. Dynamic scenes are also supported, which will become even better with the coming app update.

Flexibility is the big plus

In the end, you decide what you want to do with the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube. Do you just put the tube under the TV and use it as Philips Hue intended? Or are you creative and find another application? Thanks to the possibility of wall mounting and the rotatable tube, there are hardly any limits to your ideas.

Of course, the price is a problem. 179.99 euros is, of course, quite a statement, but the surcharge for the large model, which is 50 centimetres wider, is rather low at 20 euros.And even if the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube is not quite as bright as the Hue Gradient Signe, you pay 100 euros less for a comparable length (125 illuminated centimetres) – and only do not have the stand.

Fortunately, you still have some time to think about it, because the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube will officially launch on October the 26th.

Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube

$219.99 / £189.99 / €219,99

Bring the cinema home with the Play gradient light tube large in white. Place or mount beneath a TV to cast a blend of colourful light. Rotate the tube to shine it in any direction – a perfect complement to surround lighting.

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