Philips Hue White and Color 810 Review: The Redesigned A19 That Dims to 0.2% and Spans 1000-20000K
The redesigned Hue White and Color A19 is the bulb to buy if you already run Philips Hue or want one of the most dependable color smart bulbs on the market. It covers a 1000-20000K white range, dims smoothly down to 0.2% and keeps colors matched across bulbs, and it works with Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, SmartThings and Home Assistant, plus Matter over Thread or through the Hue Bridge. The trade-off is price: it costs several times a basic smart bulb, and the full Hue feature set still needs the Bridge.
- Existing Hue owners
- Bedside and lamp lighting
- Multi-room color setups
- Night-time low-light use
Pros
- Full-spectrum white light from 1000K to 20000K plus full color
- Dims smoothly down to 0.2% for night-time lighting
- Chromasync keeps colors matched across bulbs
- Matter certified over Thread, with Zigbee and Bluetooth too
- Works with Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, SmartThings and Home Assistant
- Acts as a Zigbee repeater for other Hue lights
- 3 year warranty
Cons
- Premium price for a single A19 bulb
- The full Hue feature set, including automations and remote control in the Hue app, needs the Hue Bridge
- Matter without a Bridge needs a Thread Border Router
Who is the Philips Hue White and Color 810 for?
This is the standard E26 A19 color bulb of the redesigned Hue line, rated at 810 lumens (a 60W equivalent) on 7.2W. It suits anyone building or expanding a Hue setup: it pairs over Bluetooth for app control out of the box, joins a Hue Bridge over Zigbee for automations, routines and the widest platform support, and can also be added straight to a Matter home over Thread. Buyers mostly put it in table and floor lamps, bedrooms and living rooms, often several at a time, and many describe it as the natural next bulb once a room already runs on Hue.
What buyers love
Setup is the most praised point: buyers describe scanning the QR code on the bulb and following the app, or pairing it to an existing Bridge in a few minutes. The second theme is light quality. Owners upgrading from older Hue bulbs notice the deeper dimming and say the colors look more vivid and consistent from bulb to bulb, which is what the Chromasync color matching is for, and the warm, very low settings are popular for night-time use. Reliability comes up repeatedly too, with whole rooms responding in a second through the Bridge, and Alexa voice control simply works.
What to know before you buy
Price is the recurring complaint: even happy buyers call Hue expensive and justify it with longevity and the ecosystem. The bulb has no Wi-Fi radio. It talks to your phone over Bluetooth, to a Hue Bridge over Zigbee, and to a Matter controller over Thread, which needs a Thread Border Router (a recent smart speaker, display or hub that acts as one). The Bridge (sold separately) is still what unlocks the full Hue feature set, including automations and control away from home through the Hue app. One buyer received a box that held a different, used bulb, so buy from Amazon itself rather than an unknown reseller.
Is the Philips Hue White and Color 810 worth it?
For a Hue home, yes: it brings the newest Hue color engine, the wider 1000-20000K white range and 0.2% dimming in the most common bulb shape on just 7.2W, and it carries a 3 year warranty. If you only need a light that turns on and off from your phone, a basic smart LED costs far less. If you want consistent color across a whole house and broad platform support, this is the benchmark cheaper bulbs are measured against.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Philips Hue White and Color 810 need a Hue Bridge?
Not for basic use: it pairs over Bluetooth with the Hue app, and it can join a Matter home directly over Thread with a Thread Border Router. A Hue Bridge (sold separately) adds Zigbee control, the full Hue automations and control away from home through the Hue app.
Does it work with Matter and Apple Home?
Yes. This exact model is Matter certified over Thread, so it can be added to Apple Home or any other Matter controller with a Thread Border Router, or brought in through the Hue Bridge, which also exposes it to Apple Home.
Does it work with Home Assistant?
Yes. Home Assistant controls it through its official Philips Hue integration with a Hue Bridge, and Zigbee2MQTT supports this bulb directly on a Zigbee coordinator.
How bright is it and what is its color temperature range?
It is rated at 810 lumens, the equivalent of a 60W incandescent bulb, on 7.2W of power, and its white light runs from 1000K (candle-warm) to 20000K (blue-sky cool), alongside full color.
What is new compared with the previous Hue White and Color A19?
The redesigned bulb widens the white range to 1000-20000K, dims down to 0.2% and adds Chromasync precision color matching between bulbs, while staying in the same 60W-equivalent class.
Will it remember its setting after a power cut?
Yes. The Hue app's power-on behavior setting includes a last-on option that returns the bulb to its previous state when power comes back.
