We love Philips Hue. While they’re not cheap, some of us have first-generation bulbs — now some seven years old — and they are still working just as good as they did on day one. Now in their fourth generation, they’re better and cheaper than ever on Amazon.
The site is selling a starter pack which includes the hub and three white and color ambiance bulbs for just $100 with one-day shipping for Prime Members, a savings of 38%. From what we can tell, this is the lowest price ever for the Hue Starter Pack.
But don’t just consider this deal if you’re starting out. Those with Hue already may want to purchase the kit to get these bulbs at a little more than $33 apiece, which is $9 cheaper than buying them separately. You could donate the hub to a family member or friend to get started on their own Hue system.
The latest-generation lights are better than ever in producing accurate colors, especially greens and blues. The new Hue bulbs also support several different white light settings. Choose a blue-tinted cool white to help you concentrate, or a yellow-shaded warm white allowing you to unwind at the end of the day.
You can control your lights via the Hue app, or use Alexa, HomeKit, and Google Assistant to do so by voice. It’s all easy to use, and you might find yourself never using a switch again.
But don’t stop there. With the money you saved, we have a few other suggestions for lighting and smart home accessories that you might want to consider. There are also a few cheaper color smart light alternatives to consider on Amazon which we’ve included at the end if you’re looking for an even better deal.
You’ll realize real quick that not everyone stops using switches right away; we’ve put little pieces of tape over the switches to stop people from using them ourselves. Lutron's Aurora Dimmer is the answer. We had the opportunity to test these out, and they work beautifully. Just install the switch over the light switch, pair it to your system with the Hue app and that’s it. No rewiring needed.
We’re impressed with how it looks, and its operation. Press the center to turn lights connected to it on and off, and turn the dial to adjust the brightness. The switch even works when your Wi-Fi doesn’t, making it even better. It sells for $40 on Amazon.
Don’t need the color-changing capabilities for other lights in your home? This
four-pack of white-only bulbs
is just $40. You can only change the brightness of these bulbs, which are set to a cooler white. While the white ambiance bulbs are nicer because they can produce a variety of whites, the standard white bulbs are a great (and cheap way) to get a lot of your lights in your home on the Hue system quickly.
We understand if even after the discounts the Hue lights are still pricey (they are). There are a few other cheaper alternatives to Hue. Here are our suggestions:
While we don’t have a lot of experience personally with most of these suggestions, these are some of the better reviewed options on Amazon that we’ve found. Both Kasa (TP-Link) and Sengled are more well known manufacturers with a history of quality, so those would be our top suggestions among this list.
Looking for other smart home deals? Be sure to check out our curated deals page for more.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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