Design & Construction

Philips Hue has for the most part been dominating the lighting market since the start of time and the Hue Play has seen its success as being a gamer's and movie addict favourite ambient light. The Hue Play is a long rectangular light bar that emits lights from the front. The back is a black plastic body that houses 2 screw inserts for various mounting use cases. There is the option to use it pasted directing on the back of a monitor or TV screen using the included 3M tape mount or the standing mount that allows you to do vertical or horizontal mounts. All these mounts are included in the package and can be easily set-up or changed according to your needs. There are no controls on the Hue Play bar itself or the power brick so set-up can only be done using the Philips Hue app.

Lighting Performance & Quality

Moving on to lighting performance, the Hue Go features an equivalent of a 42W bulb and outputs 530 lumens. The projected lifespan of the bulb is around 25,000 hours and the colour ranges from 2000-6500K. Out of the box. the lamp needs a Hue Bridge to connect the lamp to Wi-Fi. To set-up the lamp, you will require the Philips Hue app, which will guide you through the process and register the speaker for you. The app is available on both the App and Play Store. In the app, you may hook up your Hue Play by pressing the Hue Bridge once to enter pairing mode. You can then eventually add it to any of your room and set it up to work together with other bulbs as well as Entertainment Areas. When used with the Hue Sync app, the lightbar will flash to change colours according to the movie or video lights and elevate the watching experience. It simply works flawlessly and syncs up quickly with no lag at all. In the app, there are lighting presets that you can choose from and you can find more in the Hue Labs tabs. You can also fine-tune the brightness and colour ambience to your liking. If you are into setting up routines, you can make customs to turn on lights at specific timings or when you arrive home. There is also the option to do software updates and link it to a Hue Dimmer Switch. After set-up, you can link your Hue account and add the Hue Go to your preferred smart home app of Apple Homekit, Google Home or Amazon Alexa.

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Connectivity & Portability

In terms of connectivity, the Hue Play's single power brick supports up to 3 light bars without any compromises to the brightness. I am glad to report that the Hue Go blends into interiors and hides away behind furniture or TV screens.

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PROS​

• Modern & Minimalistic Design

• Multiple Light Recipes

• Physical Button Controls

• Bluetooth Control

• Stable Software Updates

• Dimmer Switch Compatibility

• Customisable Brightness & Colour Change

• Google Home, Amazon Alexa & Apple Homekit Compatible

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CONS​​

• Not Water-Resistant

 

The Bottom Line

Overall, the Philips Hue Play is a great addition for any gamers or movie enthusiast room. The Hue Play works well with the rest of the Hue ecosystem, making it useful as both a lamp and synced background movie and gaming lighting.