Philips Hue White Single Smart Bulb LED [B22 Bayonet Cap] - 1100 Lumens (75W Equivalent). Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Homekit

Update to my first review, below... I bought a second Philips smart bulb, this time a bayonet fitting rated at 15.5 LED (100w equivalent) for my main living room ceiling light. This is a room that does not receive much quality daylight and so a bulb is required for most days. I have to say that I was overwhelmed by the quality of this Philips 15.5 LED bulb. The light it gives off is whiter and clearer, and it is far more powerful than the original 100w equivalent LED that it has replaced. After checking, this Philips bulb has a higher lumen value which, naturally, affects the light output. Indeed, it is so much brighter that I have it set dimmed by 10% and it is still much brighter than my old LED in that position. Obviously, the bulb linked to Alexa seamlessly and, whilst I still feel these Philips smart bulbs are over-priced, given the huge improvement to my room's lighting I am glad I invested in this bulb. Original review follows... A Philips smart bulb rated at 9w LED (equivalent to 75w). This is a neatly designed bulb that fits a lamp perfectly. The light itself is very bright when on full, but it is a warm light, rather than a cold one, which is ideal for living rooms and bedrooms. Setting up with my Alexa Echo was simple. First download the Philips app as per the instructions and then link the bulb to the Alexa app. Job done, and only took a few minutes. Alexa controls the lamp now with no issues at all, on or off, increase or decrease brightness as required. My only real issue with this product is the price, it is far too expensive for what it does, especially when the market is now flood with much cheaper smart bulbs that do the same (and more). They might be a little more complex to set up as smart bulbs with Alexa but the results are the same. If the Philips bulbs were more competitively priced I would certainly buy a lot more but, at the moment, I would be wary of continually spending so much money on a 9w LED smart bulb.

Easy to control via Alexa or via a Hue dimmer or via mic in remote control for my Amazon FireStick. Works well with my Hue bridge. Very bright when at 100 %, which is what I wanted, can't stand gloom. Easy to set up a schedule on Alexa or SmartThings if you want. Uses Bluetooth. Thus avoids password security issues associated with cheap wifi bulbs from endless randomly generated brand names on Amazon. They aren't cheap, but they do last, so I stick to the Philips Hue brand. I might have tried a colour one, but they were just too expensive, and I doubt I would have used the colour choices much anyway.

A nice lightbulb, using it with an Echo and Alexa it frequently loses connectivity, but it can be used via the Phillips app quite reliably.

I still think that a lot of the Philips Hue product line is bonkers over-priced, especially given the fact that they are still made in China, and it is such a shame, because the system works so! well and integrates with Alexa easily. But Amazon have very regular sales of Hue products, so if you time your purchases carefully (Prime Day/Black Friday), you can get into the Hue ecosystem relatively cheaply. The bulbs used to be 60W equivalents, and lots of us found that to be a little too dim at max brightness. But Philips obviously listened to the customers and they now offer these 75W equivalent bulbs, and even a new 100W option. This 75W is 1100 lumens and the more powerful (and more expensive) 100W equivalent, is 1600 lumens. For the average hallway and landing, these 75W bulbs are excellent. In fact, I only ever crank them up to full brightness, if I am doing tasks like vacuum cleaning. The lowest (nightlight) level, is very easy on the eyes, without being too dim. I have the Philips Home Bridge and have the house set up to go into nightlight mode at dusk. Sometimes I will just walk around the house at that dimmed level, as you can see everything and don't need to keep assaulting your eyes by turning bright lights on and off. I think Philips were forced to bring their bulbs down to a more sensible price, given that Ikea now sell a line of smart bulbs that will work with the Hue Bridge unit. No matter, it means that the regular white bulbs are now fairly affordable, and for an indoor replacement, these 75W versions are excellent.

Works perfectly with the bridge and smart switches in two rooms without having to rewire the rooms separately simple

Perfect

It says in the item description that you don't need a Hue Bridge for this bulb to work. However, from what I've found from using the bulb, it's not strictly true. When using the Hue Bluetooth app, it works perfectly fine. The problem with it is using the bulb with Alexa. Once you set the bulb up with the Hue Bluetooth app, you go to the Alexa app, where you choose the device you want to connect. It gives you the option - If you've already set your device up in the Hue Bluetooth app, tap here. I believe then it connects to Alexa via Bluetooth. It never kept a stable connection and always stopped responding, Turning Alexa on and off didn't make any difference. Here's what I found when I tried getting online help and disabling/enabling the Hue Alexa skill: To link your Philips Hue account to your Alexa app, you need to have a Hue Bridge to complete the setup. There didn't seem to be any option to skip this step. To enable or disable the Hue Alexa skill, you need to complete account linking, and it says you need the Bridge for this anyway. So without the Bridge, this was pretty much useless for me. Having said that, if you already have a Hue Bridge and use multiple bulbs or other Philips smarthome devices around your house, it makes sense to buy this. I only intend to use 1 bulb at the moment, so if you're dipping your toes into smarthome devices like me, don't buy this and then have to buy the Bridge separately, if you're not going to use it for anything else. Just buy a Wi-Fi bulb instead, much easier to setup I found. So yes, you do need a Hue Bridge for this to work properly with Alexa. Had it said this in the item description I probably wouldn't have bought it. For the bulb itself (for the time it did work), the brightness was great, and the colour wasn't too light either.

The Philips Hue White Smart Light Bulb Twin Pack LED is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to add some smart lighting to their home. These bulbs come with a B22 bayonet cap, which makes them easy to install in most standard light fixtures. One of the standout features of these bulbs is their brightness. They offer 1100 lumens, which is equivalent to a 75W bulb. This makes them perfect for lighting up larger spaces or areas where you need a lot of light. The bulbs also have a warm white color temperature, which creates a cozy and inviting atmosphere in any room. The bulbs are smart enabled, which means you can control them using your smartphone or tablet. This is a great feature, as it allows you to adjust the brightness and color temperature of the bulbs without having to get up from your seat. You can also set schedules and routines, so the bulbs turn on and off automatically at specific times. Setting up these bulbs is straightforward, thanks to the user-friendly Philips Hue app. You simply need to connect the bulbs to your home Wi-Fi network and follow the instructions in the app. Once the bulbs are connected, you can start enjoying the benefits of smart lighting. Overall, I highly recommend the Philips Hue White Smart Light Bulb Twin Pack LED for anyone who wants to upgrade their home lighting. These bulbs offer excellent brightness and color temperature, and the smart features are a great bonus. With their easy installation and user-friendly app, these bulbs are a great choice for anyone looking to add some smart lighting to their home.