FabianYesterday I shared the first images of the new Philips Hue Play floor lamp and table lamp with you. Today we’re moving on to the next new product, even if it’s not quite as spectacular. For the sake of completeness, however, I don’t want to leave out the upcoming update to the E14 candle bulb (equipped with an E12 base in some countries).
After the “standard” E27 bulbs from Philips Hue received an update with several improvements last fall, it’s now the E14 candle bulbs’ turn. In principle, this is the same hardware upgrade.
These are the improvements to the Philips Hue E14 candle bulb
What this means for you: A new wireless chip has been installed, enabling direct pairing via Matter over Thread with a compatible smart home system of your choice. In addition to Bluetooth for direct connection to your smartphone, Zigbee is of course still included for use with the Hue Bridge or Hue Bridge Pro.
In addition, the updated E14 candle bulbs can now display a wider white spectrum. While the old generation is limited to 2,000 to 6,500 Kelvin, the next generation ranges from 1,000 to 20,000 Kelvin. This means significantly warmer and also much cooler whites can be displayed. Based on my experience with the E27 bulbs, however, I have to say that the differences in this area are rather marginal.
There might still be room for improvement in terms of maximum brightness, which has so far been specified at 470 lumens. That’s exactly what’s listed on the packaging that appeared on amazon.com yesterday. However, I have information indicating that the brightness has increased to a maximum of 500 lumens. At the same time, Philips Hue has improved efficiency, with maximum power consumption dropping by more than 1 watt at the same brightness level.
