Hue takes on cheaper rivals with the entry-level Essential smart bulb lineup

Hue, a leading smart lighting brand, has launched its new entry-level Essential smart bulb lineup to take on budget competitors like Govee and Aqara. The Essential range includes A19 bulbs, GU10 spots, and strip lights, with and without color options, starting at under $20. While not as feature-rich as Hue's premium offerings, the Essential bulbs still offer Bluetooth connectivity and additional features when used with a Hue Bridge or Matter-over-Thread. The key differences between the Essential and premium Hue bulbs are reduced dimming capabilities, a narrower range of white color temperatures, and less accurate color quality, which may be important for users who sync their lights with TVs or require precise color matching. Hue also introduced the Hue Bridge Pro, which boasts five times the processing power and 15 times the memory of the previous Hue Bridge V2, and a new "Hue Motion Aware" feature that transforms Hue bulbs into motion sensors. Additionally, Hue refreshed its strip lighting lineup with the flagship OmniGlow, Flux, and Festavia models, offering a range of sizes, features, and use cases. The company also announced a partnership with Sonos to enable voice control and integrated light and sound experiences.