Credit: Signify

We've been covering Philips' lineup of color-changing, Wi-Fi connected Hue lights since their earliest days, and their early success means they became integrated into many smart home setups just as smart thermostats, doorbells, smoke alarms, and speakers were really going mainstream.

For anyone embedded in the Hue ecosystem—or anyone who has stayed out because of the accessories' relatively high prices—today's large-scale overhaul of the lineup may be of interest. Philips and parent company Signify are introducing new flagship bulbs, light strips, a new hub, Matter-over-Thread support, and all kinds of other accessories; Hueblog has a comprehensive rundown.

For people who have stayed away from the Hue lineup because of high prices, the most important addition to the lineup is the new Hue Essential bulbs. These bulbs can't dim as low as the flagship Hue bulbs and don't support as wide a range of colors or white levels, but the standard A19/E26 versions are available for $25 per bulb individually or as low as $15 a bulb when bought in a four-pack, somewhere between one-half and one-quarter the typical price of a Hue bulb.

These new budget bulbs should help offset some of the tariff-related price increases that the company announced earlier this summer. Hue Essential-branded BR30 and GU10 bulbs are also available.

The standard Hue bulbs are also getting an upgrade. The new models can dim to as low as 0.2 percent (compared to 2 percent for the Essential bulbs), and Philips claims they can produce the full range of visible color temperatures (from 1,000 to 20,000 K, compared to the 2,200 to 6,500 K range of the Essential bulbs).

The next-most-important addition to the ecosystem is probably the new Hue Bridge Pro, the Hue ecosystem's first new bridge accessory in a decade. In addition to being faster, the new $99 bridge supports "150+ lights" and "50+ accessories," at least triple what is supported by the previous Bridge (which is still sticking around at $66 as a lower-cost accessory for smaller setups). Users with multiple Hue bridges will eventually be able to replace them all with a single Bridge Pro, but Hueblog reports that this capability won't be available until "later this year."

Other new Hue products include indoor and outdoor strip lights, including cheaper models under the new Essential brand umbrella; Festavia-branded outdoor string lights; and a $170 Hue Secure video doorbell. The new hub and most of the new bulbs are being launched in North America starting today, but the doorbell won't launch until October, and many of the strip and string lights will be released in November or December. Signify's press release has specific pricing and availability information for all the accessories.