Philips Lighting has announced it is expanding its Friends of Hue program to include several North American LED lighting manufacturers, Access Lighting, Craftmade, ELK and ET2. The Friends of Hue partnership unites decorative lighting design with all the benefits of Philips Hue, enabling consumers to enjoy a choice of luminaires to enhance the look of their buildings. Products by the respective partners are expected to launch in North America in Q1 and Q2 2018.
Just as all other Philips Hue products, the Friends of Hue luminaires enable consumers to adapt and control their lighting to suit each moment, time of day or occasion at the touch of a button, by motion or voice command.
“We’re always striving to give Philips Hue users more options in how they use smart lighting within their homes. These partnerships, in addition to our existing luminaire partners Modular and Luceplan, offer consumers more choice in lighting designs featuring Philips Hue,” says Sridhar Kumaraswamy, business leader home systems at Philips Lighting. “We plan to continue to expand the Friends of Hue program by offering companies access to a connected lighting system that future proofs their designs.”
Friends of Hue products benefit from ongoing over-the-air updates to introduce Philips Hue features and functionality. They can be controlled by the Philips Hue app along with hundreds of third-party apps and activated by multiple touchpoints such as voice control; geo-fencing; Philips Hue switches and smart motion sensors; web-based services like IFTTT.