If you’ve built a smart home ecosystem over the last few years, there’s a good chance a Philips Hue bulb or lightstrip is blinking away somewhere in your house. The brand is synonymous with high-quality, reliable smart lighting. But as with all technology, progress waits for no one. In a move that signals a significant shift in its product strategy, Signify, the parent company of Philips Hue, has officially announced the discontinuation of several legacy smart lighting products.
This decision, part of a broader portfolio refresh, marks the end of an era for some of the fixtures that helped define the smart lighting revolution.
Which Philips Hue Products Are Being Phased Out?
The list of discontinued products primarily targets older generations and specific models that lack the latest technological advancements Philips Hue is now standardizing across its lineup. While official retailers will sell remaining stock, production has officially ceased for these items.
The most notable departures include:
- Popular White Ambiance Bulbs (Older Generations): Certain versions of the beloved A19 and BR30 bulbs that offered tunable white light—from cool daylight to warm glow—are being retired. These were the gateway for many into more advanced lighting beyond simple on/off or dimming.
- Select Lightstrip Plus Models: The Lightstrip Plus, a favorite for under-cabinet lighting and accent features, is seeing specific older models phased out. These are being replaced by newer versions that offer better brightness, more vibrant colors, and enhanced connectivity.
- Older Bloom and Iris Table Lamps: The iconic, sculptural Bloom and Iris lamps, known for their powerful color saturation and ambient mood lighting, are seeing their original versions discontinued. These designs are classic, but their internal tech is long in the tooth compared to today's standards.
For a complete and detailed list of all affected model numbers and specific products, the official announcement from the Hue blog provides a clear breakdown. This is an essential resource for anyone looking to see if their current setup might be affected.
Why Is Philips Hue Discontinuing These Products?
This isn’t a move made lightly. Discontinuing popular products is always a balance between innovation and legacy support. For Philips Hue, the reasons are multifaceted:
- The Push for Matter: The new smart home universal standard, Matter, is a huge driving force. Newer Hue products are built with a dedicated chipset to support Matter over Thread, ensuring seamless compatibility with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, and Samsung SmartThings without relying on multiple proprietary hubs. Older bulbs simply lack the necessary hardware.
- Technological Advancements: Newer LEDs are more energy-efficient, brighter, and capable of producing a wider and more accurate range of colors. Retiring older models allows Philips Hue to streamline its manufacturing around these superior components.
- Simplifying the Lineup: For consumers, the sheer number of similar-looking Hue SKUs can be confusing. Pruning the older products creates a clearer, more focused lineup where buyers can be confident they’re getting the latest tech.
What Does This Mean for Current Owners?
Here’s the most important part: don’t panic.
If you own any of the discontinued products, they are not about to suddenly stop working. Philips Hue has a stellar reputation for supporting its products long after they’ve been discontinued. Your lights will continue to connect to your Hue Bridge (v2 or newer) as normal. You will still be able to control them via the Hue app, receive software updates for the foreseeable future, and integrate them with your voice assistants as you always have.
The main impact will be on the secondary market and expandability. You won't be able to buy new-in-box replacements of these exact models once existing stock sells out. If you have a fixture with multiple bulbs and one dies beyond its warranty period, you’ll likely need to replace it with a newer-generation model, which should still be compatible with your older ones.
A Glimpse at the Future: What’s Replacing Them?
This sunset makes way for a sunrise of new products. Philips Hue has been aggressively launching its latest generation of lights, all featuring:
- Matter & Thread Ready: Out-of-the-box compatibility with the Matter standard.
- Brighter Output: Higher lumen counts across the board for more vibrant illumination.
- Richier Colors: Expanded color gamuts for more nuanced and dramatic lighting scenes.
- Improved Connectivity: More robust and responsive wireless performance.
The message from Philips Hue is clear: they are all-in on a future-proofed, universally compatible smart home. While it’s always bittersweet to see classic products go, this strategic consolidation ensures the ecosystem remains at the forefront of innovation, offering users a more powerful, reliable, and integrated lighting experience for years to come.
For those looking to expand their system, it’s now a clearer choice than ever to invest in the new generation, safe in the knowledge that it’s built for the next era of the smart home.
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