Philips - Friends of hue Iris Extension Dimmable Plug-Based Light - Multi

The unit I received would not sync up with my network of other Hue lights, when I tried the manual addition of it, the short serial number (4 digit) on the unit did not work. I ended up returning the unit to a local store rather than pay the shipping myself for Best Buy's mistake. I would have gladly exchanged it for a new unit if they had one, but they did not. Return labels should be included with orders or their should be a provision to print out one from here. I'm guessing the unit I received was some test or demo unit stock they were trying to clear out accidentally. This is not a knock against Philips Hue products, just this particular return experience. I have other Philips product which work just fine.

This lamp is accent lighting and not for reading. With that said, it is one of the best Friends of Philips items out there. I have three Blooms and they have about half the wattage of this lamp. It isn't as big as I was led to believe. It is relatively small but casts a lot of light. I'd buy this over the Bloom any day of the week. All Friends of Philips lights cast different color hues than the bulbs. For instance, they can do an array of blues and greens where the bulbs have trouble replicating blues and greens but they do have a problem trying to replicate purple colors, they come out blueish. This is great for shining colors on a wall. I was reluctant on trying the Iris since I saw Youtube videos of how large it was and it not being bright but they were misleading. The Iris is over 200 lumens so its bright and concentrated unlike the bulbs that cast light everywhere. I would highly recommend this product. Once again, blues and greens are very intense but purple is washed out and blueish. I don't mind that since it does all other colors very well.

This newest member of the Hue family of lights works well, matching the light tint of the others in the collection. It is bigger than it looks in pictures -- about the size of a soccer ball -- so it takes up a lot of space. It's more of a conversation piece than a practical addition because not only does it cast light on the wall, but the unit itself also subtly glows like a jellyfish. You've got to have the table or floor space for it. (unlike the Bloom light, which is a tad less expensive, casts the same amount of light and has a much smaller footprint). I'm a huge fan of the whole Hue system but i don't think I would buy a 2nd Iris.

If you use your Hue lights for colored/atmospheric lighting, the Iris light is almost a necessity. Due to the design of the regular Hue bulbs, they do not display deep blues or reds, and almost fail completely at greens. The Iris covers that end of the spectrum very well, truly filling out the rainbow. In exchange, the Iris does not produce as accurate or varied whites, but the Hue software can easily exclude the Iris from "normal lighting" scenes or set it to a "close-enough" warm or cool color. I have one and am strongly considering getting as many as two more to strengthen my color-based scenes, but the price is prohibitive. If these see a noticeable price drop, I would recommend more strongly.

I purchased this light to go with my existing HUE system. Keep in mind that if you don't have a HUE hub already, you will need one to use this light. For me, I just found the Iris light on my HUE app and had it connected to my existing HUE hub in no time. The light is well made and attractive. It is on the larger side (about the size of a small round watermelon). I keep it in the corner in my son's room. With custom alarms, we light up his room like a cool night light. He loves it.

I've always loved the design of the Iris. It's one of the few Hue fixtures that looks modern and fun as a stand alone fixture. The actual bulb is very similar to the Bloom, just in a slick looking housing. As with all of the Hue products, the price is a bit steep. But you do get what you pay for. The quality of the Phillips Hue lights far surpasses any other similar product on the market that I've seen.

The lighting market is flooded with products that look similar to the Phillips Hue LED product line. With the base you can control many Hue devices with a single bridge making lighting changes from a phone or tablet seamless. This is a premium product with a premium price. If remote functionality isn't important to you than you may want to look at a less expensive option.

Been reading online articles about the Philips Hue systems, but costs had kept me from pursuing further into actually buying even the starter pack. The Lux starter pack with 2-A19 LED bulbs and the bridge. I finally won a,set on EBay and was hooked from then on. I have been getting into home automation tech like the Nest systems and wanted to explore other items. So far in a matter of a month, I have 1 Iris, 1LED lightstrip, 3-BR30 multi color flood lights just for my big bedroom alone. There's millions of ways to set up your moods colors. The alarms and timers help me to wake up so much easier at 5am! Truly am enjoying learning all the possibilities. My example photo was at the beginning of my learning experience. I cannot wait to try Hue Disco!