Philips Hue Dymera: Impressions of the new wall light

The Philips Hue Dymera, a new wall light for indoor and outdoor use, will be launched this month. With a price tag of €219.99, it's once again no cheap buy, but that's why I'd like to provide you with a few more details about the new product today.

For once, however, this is not a real test, because in the short time available I have not found a place on or in the house where I can actually mount the Hue Dymera on the wall. This time I limited myself to connecting the wall light to a simple power supply.

Impressions of the design and technical data of the Hue Dymera

What is immediately noticeable is that the Hue Dymera is wider than it is tall. It measures 23 centimetres horizontally, but is only 16 centimetres high. The wall light is also noticeably rounded on the left and right. The material used is matt aluminium in black.

The Hue Dymera can light upwards and downwards in different colours; I have already shown you the technical implementation of the multi-source-light technology in the Hue app in detail. With a light output of 4,000 Kelvin, the maximum brightness of 1,020 lumens is achieved.

A comparison with Hue Appear and Hue Resonate

Direct alternatives to the new wall light are the Appear and Resonate models, which have a significantly lower list price of 159.99 euros. However, these two models do not allow you to control the light at the top and bottom separately – a major advantage of the Dymera. And there are even more differences.

With up to 1,180 lumens, the maximum brightness of the two cheaper wall lights is obviously significantly higher than that of the Hue Dymera – but only at 4,000 Kelvin, which is probably rarely used in everyday life. With standard white, the tide turns: at 2,700 Kelvin, Appear and Resonate only manage 710 lumens, while the Hue Dymera achieves 970 lumens. That's an increase of around 37 per cent and definitely something that can be emphasised positively.

The Dymera is also a really big lump. While the other two wall lights only weigh just under 1 kilogramme, the Hue Dymera weighs almost twice as much. When you pick it up for installation, you immediately realise what a massive lump it is.

Installation is not a major hurdle

Installation on the wall is not a major hurdle. This is because Philips Hue also uses the simplified installation method introduced a few years ago for the new Dymera. This means that you first mount the wall bracket and can then take your time to do the wiring. Only then is the wall light placed on the bracket and fixed in place with two small screws.

The setup in the app then works as usual. A lamp with two light sources is found, and both the joint and separate controls in the Hue app have been implemented excellently. I would definitely like to see more models of this type in the future.

The bottom line: the extra cost is understandable, but…

Even though I don't have the Hue Dymera permanently mounted on the wall, I have to say that the extra cost compared to models from Philips Hue, such as the Appear or Resonate, is definitely justified. The two light beams can be controlled separately, the brightness in standard white is significantly higher and the overall design is much more solid.

Overall, however, the Philips Hue Dymera is undoubtedly at a very, very high price level. 219.99 euros – that's quite a lot of money. If we're not in a hurry, then I would definitely wait until the new wall light is available from independent retailers, as the price is likely to quickly fall below 200 euros.