Philips has just made an interesting announcement in which they explain that the line of smart bulbs from the Hue series will not need a bridge to be controlled from our devices. In this sense it is very good news since most of the products compatible with HomeKit Apple do not need this bridge and that is why they are much more comfortable and simple to use and install.
In this case, the Philips bulbs that we have today are based on the Zigbee network, which means that they need a bridge to communicate with each other and with our devices. The new models of these bulbs will come with Bluetooth to control them directly without the need for a bridge.
Prices and availability of bridgeless Philips Hue bulbs
In this case the new products are available in the United States for a few hours and we meet the traditional A19 bulbs and BR30 recessed ones. The new bulbs come in three different versions, the white one which is priced at $ 14,99, and is ideal for soft dimming; the White Ambiance which is priced at $ 24,99, which allows you to customize your shade of white light y the White and Color Ambiance which is the one that most users really like We are hooked on this "domestic" domotics since we can put it in any color and it has a price of $ 49,99.
For now we do not have a date for the launch in the rest of the world but it is expected that the company will soon begin to market them. As confirmed by Philips they are ready to launch mMore products with this Bluetooth technology at the end of this year and by the beginning of 2020. Definitely very good news for avoid having to buy the bridge that makes the product more expensive.
The bad thing that at the moment it is not compatible with Siri although it does with Alexa and Google, it is a shame since I have enough of philips and I see this system as more stable, the bad thing is the money invested since the new system attracts me more than have a bridge.