


Since June 2019, all Philips hue bulbs are available with Bluetooth. The White and Color Ambiance range features the same adjustable white light, and can produce 16 million colors. The White bulbs produce a white light with a set color temperature of 2700 K, while the White Ambiance bulbs can produce a range of color temperatures between 2200 K and 6500 K, from a warm soft white to a bright day light. All bulbs are dimmable, but each type is designed for a different use. There are three different Philips Hue color types available: White, White Ambiance, and White and Color Ambiance. In January 2019 they announced outdoor sensors and lights. In July 2018, an outdoor version of the Philips Hue suite was introduced, and in October 2018 a suite of entertainment-focused, free-standing light fittings. The initial system had bulbs capable of producing up to 600 lumens while the newer systems have bulbs that produce up to 1600 lumens. Commands are delivered to the bridge via a wired Ethernet connection which transmits the commands to the devices over the Zigbee mesh network. Hue system components can be controlled via any internet device, but most typically smartphone apps over cellular or WiFi networks, or a Home automation voice command interface. Hue HDMI sync, used the Zigbee Home Automation protocol but now also use Zigbee 3.0. Smart switches, motion detectors, and other accessory devices e.g. Products released prior to 2019 use the Zigbee Light Link protocol, a compatible subset of Zigbee 3.0, to communicate, while lighting products released after 2019 use either Bluetooth, or Zigbee 3.0. The Hue system was released in October 2012 as an Apple Store exclusive and was marketed as the first iOS controlled lighting appliance. Early adopters were forced to buy a V2 bridge in order to use their light bulbs other than as configured before the server cutoff, a limitation not typically amenable to the technologically adventurous tinkerers who best typify the early adopters of new home automation products. Functionality like grouping lights into rooms and scheduling scenes that depended on Philips servers to pack the instructions into a form the bridge executed could no longer be created. The first-generation bridge received a final software update in April 2020 and disabled support from the Philips web servers. In 2016, Philips released a new square shaped v2 bridge with increased memory and processor speed which replaced the round v1 bridge. The Hue Bridge is the central controller of the lighting system which allows the bulbs to "communicate" with Apple HomeKit and the app. Hue Lightstrip Outdoor strip light Operation
