Philips opens up preorders for 'Hue Lux,' its new white light smart bulbs

Philips is now letting people preorder its new smart lightbulb kit the Hue Lux on its website as well as other online retailers like Apple.

Philips first smart bulb kit was the Hue, which offered three LED smart bulbs that could change a plethora of different colors as well as a bridge that let you “talk” to (a.k.a. control) the bulbs via your smartphone or tablet. The bulbs can be set up to dim or turn on/off at a certain time, and they have an API that allows third-party developers to do interesting things with home lighting. The new Lux kit offers a bridge and just two bulbs that only provide classic white light, which is more than sufficient for most people. Personally, I’ve had the Hue system for well over a year now and I typically never choose to display light that’s too far from the standard white/yellow “dumb” bulb color.

The new Hue Lux bulbs are also a bit cheaper than the original color smart bulbs at $30 each, while the entire kit will set you back $100. The $30 price for single bulbs is a little more than half of what you’d expect to pay for a regular LED white bulb, but if you already have the bridge spending more seems like the way to go, especially since LED bulbs stand to last 25 years before needing to be replaced.

Philips said the Hue Lux kit and single bulbs will be available in early September. Check out the demo video below for a closer look at the Hue Lux smart lighting system