GOALS
Provide an overview of the announcement made by Philips Hue on July 27, 2019, and how the public responded to it in order to better understand what customers are saying about the largest player in the space, as well as to better inform product development and marketing planning.
EARLY FINDINGS
about the announcement
- Philips Hue announced that their brand new smart bulbs (for smart lighting) will not require a hub to be set up or controlled. Instead, the bulbs can be controlled with Bluetooth technology that can be managed via a smartphone app, without a hub at all.
- The Bluetooth-enabled bulbs, called "Hue" will come in three different varieties: 1) a white light bulb for $14.99, 2) a white "ambiance" adjustable color temperature bulb for $24.99, and 3) an adjustable white and colored option for $49.99.
- The bulbs can also be controlled with Alexa and Google Assistant via Bluetooth, but will not work with Apple HomeKit without a hub.
- Because the bulbs run off of Bluetooth and not a hub, only 10 can be set up and controlled from one mobile device at a time. But with a hub, up to 50 can be controlled. Unfortunately, the bulbs also cannot be set up in different rooms and controlled at different times only using Bluetooth, so they are best-used in a single room.
public response
- Some comments made directly on the announcement page are mentioning that Philips Hue is not the first company to produce this type of Bluetooth-enabled smart bulb, and as a result, do not seem to be too impressed.
- Other comments made directly on the announcement page are mentioning how it would be nice if Philips Hue could create a version of their "Hue Motion" bulb (a motion-activated bulb) that would also be bluetooth-enabled.
- A review of the new Philips Hue Bluetooth White and Color Ambiance Bulb from PC Mag stated that the bulbs are easy to use, vibrant, and do indeed work well with Alexa And Google. However, the review also states that the bulbs are on the more expensive side and require Hue Bridge for remote access (a hub), as well as to have the bulbs interact with other Hue products, which is annoying.
- A review of the design and features of the new Bluetooth bulbs by Philips Hue mention how it also has a Zigbee radio and can last for 25,000 hours, or 22 years.
- On Philips Hue's Facebook page, comments on the post about their Bluetooth bulbs range from excitement about the expansion of smart home products, to wishes for more connections with Apple products. Others on the Facebook post commented saying that they wouldn't want to rely on Bluetooth, but instead Zigbee for optimal control.
- Some people don't seem to realize that the Hue Bluetooth bulbs can still be used with the Hue Bridge, not Bluetooth only. As a result, some comments are negative, and Philips Hue has responded to those letting them know that the bulbs work with both systems.
PROPOSED NEXT STEPS
Information about the announcement and Philips Hue Bluetooth bulbs is abundant. The public response is harder to locate, but comments on articles and social media do exist. As a result, we propose continuing with research to locate additional public opinions and perceptions about the product and the announcement, which we can then make inferences on (3 hours, $87).