Hue Bridge now only works with Hue-certified brands (no GE, Osram, or Cree) (market trends discussion)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Link-Starter-Pack-Link-Hub-2-Link-A19-Light-Bulb-PLINK-SKIT/205311040

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If I didn’t put my money on ST, thinking that would be IT, I would not have one zigbee device except for bulbs. Oh well…Time to go get the ladder to pull the batteries out of my ST sensors. :wink:

Re:

Firmware update 14.22

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Thanks, but this still seems Wink dependant.

The GE Link hub does use the Wink app, but you don’t need the Wink hub. I have it and use it with Echo to control my GE Links.

BTW, GE is releasing a new line of ZLL bulbs soon, the GE C. They will use a new GE app, no hub.

Not too bad on price… introductory price shows a 4 pack for $50. Retail price will be $70 for the 4 pack. Retail is going to be a bit more than current bulbs tend to be ($15 or less).

That was a stalking horse bid. Detailed discussion in the following topic:

Nice touch JD, I guess people can have change of heart…sorry @geko but this is too funny…

The jury is still out on this one. It can go either way. Only time will tell. :balance_scale:

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The transition could have been handled much better. I’ve been converting my house to Philips Hue and I was ready to spend some more $$s on them; I probably will continue to do so - I use no 3rd party lights at this point - but the way this transition is being handled makes me think twice.

Honestly, most of my concern from this piece of news is that seems to indicate that Philips Lighting still does not have their act together. The deployment of their promo for the Bridge 2.0 was terrible - many of us ended up buying the bridge online at Apple because the Philips website was always out of stock. Their web site is hard to navigate, and their social communication is lacking. All together, it feels they are going through some pains around the divestment of Lighting from the Medical, etc. Given the timing of this decision, I’d think the “new team” in charge of Lighting was involved, so that’s worrisome.

Anyhow, the other messages in this thread were quite informative about the standards process; thanks for those.

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Wow, exemplary way of treating their customers!!! I wish more companies would take notes…

Philips:
We recently upgraded the software for Philips Hue to ensure the best seamless connected lighting experience for our customers. This change was made in good faith. However, we under estimated the impact this would have on a small number of customers who use lights from other brands which could not be controlled by the Philips Hue software.

In view of the sentiment expressed by our customers, we have decided to reverse the software upgrade so that lights from other brands continue to work as they did before with the Philips Hue system.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/philips-hue/friends-of-hue-update/771905342941352

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Funny how this whole fiasco will probably result in me buying more Philips White bulbs, as I’ve come to appreciate the smoother dimming compared to the Cree connected bulbs I have throughout my basement!

I’m glad they are going back, and can stop worrying about trying to keep my hub from updating. I’ll just try to wait for the newer update to come out so I can skip over this whole issue entirely!

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The HUE whites in the UK are only £15 each! thats about $20 however, with the VAT and tax’s charged over in the UK I have no doubt that in the US you could get them for $15 each…

I think well worth it in my opinion for the smoother transitions alone.

@JDRoberts Hue reversed their decision to block third party bulbs Link here

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Yes, this news is all over the other tech forums too. They have earned my trust back and will continue to support them. I think I will start replacing my GE Links with these. The prices have become affordable now, only $5 more than the Links at Depot. For some reason Amazon seems to be void of these today.

Depot Lux White

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Well this certainly is going to train the dogs to bark…!

Let’s keep this lesson in mind in case we ever need SmartThings to reverse a feature change decision…

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We will only be successful when ST moves its headquarter in Eindhoven…

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The Hue Lux is being replaced with the new Hue White model which is both cheaper and brighter. (800 lumens instead of 600). Best Buy and Walmart have them at around $15 regular price, and other retailers are starting to get them in.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/philips-hue-a19-smart-led-light-bulb-white/4374300.p?id=1219740708206&skuId=4374300

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Philips has reversed course, and will allow 3rd party bulbs, after backlash.

Here on CNET:

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better shape but as far as I can tell does not offer temp control like the older bulbs… fixed at 2700
I prefer to be able to change the color temp. osram bulbs still my first choice

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The Hue Lux were also fixed at 2700, that’s not a temperature tunable bulb.

The Osram Lightify are temperature tunable, but unusual in that feature.

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