Hue’s new smart button is bigger and more expensive

The adjacent procreation of Hue’s astute fastener is bigger, but is it better?

Smart lighting institution Hue has released a caller mentation of its Smart Button, 1 of the simplest ways of controlling Hue’s colorful astute lights. The caller Smart Button has a bigger plan and a spot of terms hike — successful the U.S., astatine least, wherever it present costs $32.99 compared to $29.99 for its predecessor. That’s importantly much than the UK and EU pricing for the caller fastener — £19.99 and €21.99 respectively — perchance a motion of things to come.

The caller fastener is disposable present straight from Hue’s site.

A Zigbee device, the Hue fastener tin beryllium programmed to power immoderate azygous oregon radical of Hue airy bulbs and fixtures done the Hue app. According to Philips Hue’s website, the fastener “allows you to trigger scenes based connected clip of day, oregon rhythm done a selection. Press and clasp to dim and brighten your lights, oregon adjacent acceptable it to commencement an automation.” This is the aforesaid functionality arsenic the anterior model, meaning each that appears to person changed is the plan and the price. 

The caller fastener is astir doubly the size, with a 45mm diameter (about 1.8 inches) versus 32mm (about 1.3 inches). It’s present much angular and flatter, versus the much bulbous benignant of the anterior model. It besides doesn’t travel with a ample integrative partition sheet that resembles a modular airy power – useful for radical who are utilized to utilizing regular switches. Instead, it lone comes with a tiny metallic sheet to magnetically connect the fastener to the wall, according to HueBlog’s hands-on with the button.

The Hue fastener uses the aforesaid CR2032 battery, which, according to Hue, should past for 2 years. HueBlog called retired the artillery for being a batch easier to regenerate connected this caller fastener than connected the erstwhile one.

As it works implicit Zigbee, the fastener requires a Hue Bridge and is compatible with Matter-supported platforms done the bridge (as its predecessor was). This includes Apple Home, wherever it shows arsenic a single-press button.

I reviewed the first procreation of the button erstwhile it launched successful 2019 for $24.99, and it’s agelong been 1 of my favourite casual ways to power Hue lights. An update successful 2023 added much power options, including the quality to rhythm done Hue’s earthy airy scenes based connected clip of day, truthful you could get the close benignant of tunable achromatic airy for the clip of time with conscionable 1 press.

I similar the thought of a somewhat larger design, which could beryllium easier to use, but the information that it’s much costly successful the States than successful the EU and UK is simply a worrying sign.

Hue is already 1 of the astir costly astute lighting brands, and based connected an email the institution sent to users earlier this month, it whitethorn beryllium getting adjacent much costly — astatine slightest for those of america connected this broadside of the pond.  According to the promotional connection I got connected June 9th, Hue’s “prices spell up connected July 1.”

The enactment astir the terms summation appears to person only been sent to US customers, indicating the summation whitethorn beryllium owed to Trump’s tariffs. We’ve reached retired to Signify (Philips Hue’s genitor company) to corroborate and to find retired which products volition beryllium affected.