Philips Hue and Philips Hue Essential: What’s the difference?
A closer look at each feature to help you pick the right bulb for you
Hue and Hue Essential smart bulbs are both great options for bringing smart lighting into your home, but each range offers a slightly different experience—so which one is right for you?
While the flagship Hue range offers advanced features and premium light quality, Hue Essential provides an easy and accessible way to get started with smart lighting, bringing you essential features and reliable light quality. And since both systems are compatible with each other, you can mix and match as you expand your ecosystem.
Dim to your ideal brightness
Every day has the potential to be great, and getting a good night’s sleep can make all the difference. Both Hue and Hue Essential bulbs are dimmable, allowing you to gently lower the brightness to create a relaxing, sleep-friendly atmosphere in the evening.
And in the mornings, you can use wake-up automation to slowly brighten your room as you wake up, so you feel more refreshed when your alarm goes off. Customize your wake-up lighting to include beautiful dawn hues or warm, golden light.
The biggest difference between the two bulbs is the dimming range. Hue Essential bulbs can be dimmed to 2% brightness (just what you need for relaxing), but flagship Hue bulbs are dimmable all the way down to 0.2% brightness, offering you a truly personalized light experience.
Set the mood, create scenes, and have a smooth wake-up experience with just the right amount of light.
Set the mood with millions of colors
All color-capable Philips Hue bulbs are designed to deliver bright and saturated colors, thanks to the high-quality LEDs we use.
So whether you choose Hue or Hue Essential, you can transform your home with over 16 million colors to create the perfect party venue, bring a bedtime story to life, and much more. Use preset, vibrant light scenes to evoke summer vibes at any time of year, or easily create your own custom scenes.
Hue Essential offers reliable color performance, with vibrant and steady tones for everyday use. But if you’re looking for premium color quality, the Hue range uses Chromasync technology for exceptional color consistency, with precision color matching and uniform brightness across multiple bulbs throughout your home.
Switch seamlessly between colors
The color blending feature in Philips Hue bulbs enables effects that go way beyond simple color changes, creating smooth transitions across multiple colors at once for vibrant and immersive lighting.
If you’re just starting your smart lighting journey, the Hue Essential range offers essential color blending that’s ideal for everyday use, so you can get a feel for the experience and elevate the mood of any space effortlessly.
But if you want a best-in-class color-blending experience, you should try the Hue range. Featuring Sunflower Optic, the Hue GU10 bulb delivers perfect color blending for extremely smooth transitions. Each LED is designed to blend light seamlessly, producing uniform, saturated colors for the ultimate in immersive lighting.
Get the perfect shade of white light
You might prefer different types of white light for different activities. For example, soft warm light is good for relaxing, while cool bluish light is better for concentrating and feeling energized.
With a Hue Essential bulb, you can enjoy a range of essential white tones from warm and yellow (2200 K) to cool and blue (6500 K). In contrast, our new Hue A60 bulb offers full-spectrum daylight, so you can bring the benefits of natural light into your home.
With a spectrum ranging from an extremely low 1000 K to an extremely high 20000 K, you can freely adjust the color temperature to create the ultimate cozy atmosphere or to mimic the energizing effects of bright daylight. Feel refreshed in the morning, stay focused during work hours, and unwind in the evening with a Hue bulb that supports your well-being and aligns with your lifestyle.
Find the right Hue for you
Deciding between the Hue and Hue Essential bulbs comes down to how you want to use smart lighting in your space.
If you’re looking for advanced features, premium color blending, and light that mimics natural daylight, the Hue bulb is the way to go. If essential light quality and a reliable way to experience smart lighting is sufficient for you, Hue Essential is a great starting point.
What’s more, the Hue Essential range is fully compatible with all Philips Hue products and the Hue ecosystem, so you can easily expand or upgrade whenever you want.
Compare bulbs
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| Hue Essential A60 | Hue A60 |
Light Color | White and Color Ambiance | White, White Ambiance, White and Color Ambiance options |
Lumens (EU) | 806 | 800, 1100, and 1600 options |
Dimming Level | 2% | 0.2% |
Color Temperature | 2200 K–6500 K | 1000 K–20000 K |
Color Quality | Essential | Premium (Chromasync) |
Energy Efficiency Label (EU) | F | D |
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| Hue Essential GU10 | Hue GU10 |
Light Color | White and Color Ambiance | White, White Ambiance, White and Color Ambiance options |
Lumens (EU) | 345 | 400 |
Dimming Level | 2% | 0.2% |
Color Blending | Essential Color Blending | Perfect Color Blending with Sunflower Optic |
Energy Efficiency Label (EU) | F | E |
