Philips Hue has taken a more accessible route into living-room ambient lighting with two new Play models that are built for screen-sync effects. The new lineup brings the company’s familiar premium look to TV, film, and gaming setups at a price that sits far below the Hue Gradient Signe range.
That shift matters because Philips Hue has long been a strong name in ambient lighting for entertainment spaces, but price has often kept some buyers away. With the new Play lamps, the company is lowering the entry point to its sync ecosystem without changing the core appeal that made it popular in the first place.
Two new lamps aimed at screen syncing
The new products are the Philips Hue Play Table Lamp and the Philips Hue Play Floor Lamp. Both are designed to cast color onto nearby walls so the light can move in step with what is happening on screen.
They work with the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and are also compatible with the Philips Hue Sync app for TV and PC. That keeps them firmly positioned as entertainment-first lighting rather than general-purpose room lamps.
Philips Hue has also kept the design deliberately restrained. The lamps use a slim vertical form with LED lighting wrapped along part of the body and a black cone-shaped base.
That approach helps them blend into a media setup beside a television or in a room corner. Visually, the new lamps sit close to the more expensive Hue Gradient Signe family, even if the internal hardware has been simplified.
Lower prices come with clear trade-offs
The Philips Hue Play Table Lamp is priced at $79.99, while the Philips Hue Play Floor Lamp costs $149.99. Both are available now.
Those prices are the main headline because they place the new Play models well below the Gradient Signe line. Philips Hue appears to have trimmed costs by making a few obvious compromises, especially in brightness and base options.
Unlike the Hue Gradient Signe models, the new Play lamps do not come with three base color choices in black, white, and oak. Buyers only get a black base with the new design.
The Table Lamp delivers 400 lumens, which is significantly lower than the 1,040 lumens offered by the Hue Gradient Signe Table Lamp. The Floor Lamp reaches 1,040 lumens, while the Hue Gradient Signe Floor Lamp goes up to 2,550 lumens.
Even so, the lower output makes sense for the intended use. These are accent lights meant to paint the wall around a TV, so the real draw is the sync effect rather than raw brightness.
Different sizes for different spaces
The Philips Hue Play Table Lamp stands 23.6 inches tall, while the Floor Lamp measures 53 inches. That gives users two distinct options depending on how much space they have around a television setup.
The smaller model fits better on a cabinet or side table, while the taller version is better suited to a sofa edge or a corner in a family room. In both cases, the slim profile is meant to keep the lamp from competing visually with the screen.
The Candle bulb also gets a refresh
Philips Hue did not limit this update to entertainment lighting. The company also refreshed its Candle bulb, with energy efficiency improving by 40%.
The new Candle bulb adds full-spectrum daylight technology, which lets it shift from a soft candle-like glow to a more daylight-style output at midday. It can also reach up to 500 lumens.
The bulb keeps its flame-inspired shape, which makes it suitable for decorative fixtures, pendant lamps, and wall sconces. It uses an E12 socket and now includes Matter support for broader smart-home compatibility.
Seen together, the new Play lamps and the updated Candle bulb show a clear product strategy. Philips Hue is widening access to its sync lighting while also improving a decorative bulb that fits more naturally into everyday smart-home use.
For buyers who want ambient TV lighting without moving into the higher-priced Gradient Signe tier, the new Play series is the most direct option in this update. The revised Candle bulb, meanwhile, strengthens the brand’s decorative lighting lineup with better efficiency and Matter support.
