Philips Hue Play Wall Washer Review

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: Introduction

• Lighting type: smart lamp
• Connectivity: Zigbee, Bluetooth
• Ecosystem: Matter, Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, SmartThings, Homey, and more

Back in June, Signify officially took the covers off the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer. This is a smart lamp designed to produce dramatic lighting effects from a fairly small form factor.

Currently available in black or white, priced at $219.99 for one in the US, $384.99 for a two-pack, and £169.99 / £299.99 in the UK. The wall washer is still on the higher end of the spectrum, especially considering the Hue light bar costs about half the price, but it now features the ColorCast projection optical system that debuted with the Twilight bedside lamp late last year.

This smart lamp features a wide-beam ColorCast setup that illuminates your walls with gradient lighting. Set it up manually in the Hue app or pair it with the Hue Play Sync Box or Hue Sync app to sync in real-time with what you’re watching or playing on your TV.

I’ve been testing out the Hue Play Wall Washer for the past few weeks. Read on for a detailed review.

Design and installation

The Play Wall Washer is unapologetically designed for display purposes. The matte aluminum housing, brushed projection window, and sculptural silhouette make it look more like a modern decorative piece than a technology accessory.

In white (as tested) it feels at home in even the most minimal of living spaces, while the black version should blend nicely into a dark home theater setup.

Inside that frosted window are three LED modules, each facing a slightly different angle. Together, they create a wide, blended gradient effect that is a wall washer’s calling card.

The bright side is elegant, but from the back it looks a little more functional. You don’t want to place this where your back is visible. It’s probably not good for your long-term vision either.

At 15.7cm high, 9.1cm wide, and 0.85kg, it’s compact size fits into most AV or gaming setups without getting in the way of furniture. Although well-built, Philips missed an opportunity to offer the braided cable found on some of their recent products. Instead, it comes with a standard rubberized 2m cable.

Power is provided via the same chunky 3-port adapter we’ve seen on things like the Hue HDMI Sync Box.

There are ports that allow you to drive up to three wall washers from one brick, which is useful, but also means if you’re running a pair (or more) they need to be within reach of the same adapter.

Inside the box, at least the UK retail version I tested, you’ll find a UK and EU adapter for attaching it to a power brick.

Setup and control

As with all Hue bulbs released over the past few years, there are several options for setting up your wall washer.

The easiest way is to pair to the Hue app using Bluetooth. This allows the Wall Washer to sing and dance in the Hue app with a very comprehensive feature set.

However, for full functionality and the full set of Hue’s included features such as scenes, automation, and Hue Sync, it must be paired with Hue Bridge.

Setting up a wall washer in this way is a standard Hue experience. Scan the QR code on the base, pair it with your Hue Bridge, assign it a room or zone, give it a name, and you’re done in minutes.

You can now connect Hue light bulbs directly to some Amazon smart speakers using Zigbee. The 3rd generation Echo Show 8, Echo Hub, Echo Studio, etc. act as Zigbee hubs, so if you already own one of these, you can add the Wall Washer through Alexa without needing the Philips Hue skill.

I used bridge mode and added a wall washer to my existing Hue system because this is the only way to get the full feature set. Anyone considering purchasing a Wall Washer without installing a Hue Bridge (or indeed a Sync Box or Sync App) is missing out on a lot of key events.

Once paired, there are basically two ways to use it. Use as a standalone Hue lamp or as part of a Hue entertainment area.

In standalone mode, treat it like any other Hue White and Color Ambiance light. The app allows you to choose from the entire white temperature range from 2000 to 6500K, as well as a rich color palette.

Thanks to the three independent LED modules inside, the wall washer can display different colors across each section of the projection, allowing you to instantly achieve gradient lighting without having to go into sync mode.

You can fine-tune the brightness of each individual LED or the entire fixture, or let one of Hue’s built-in scenes do the heavy lifting.

All the usual hue effects are here as well. Think candles, fireplaces, prisms, opals and more. Additionally, it includes seasonal and special event effects that Philips develops over time. Provides solid mood lighting even without connecting to media.

But the entertainment mode literally comes into its own and earns you the “Play” badge.

Drop it into your Hue entertainment area and it’ll sync in real-time with everything on your screen via the Hue Play HDMI sync box, or directly from the Hue Sync app if you have a compatible LG or Samsung TV.

Positioning is handled through the app’s 3D drag-and-drop tools, allowing you to set the exact placement, height, and orientation of each wall-mounted washer. You can move it closer to the wall to make the beam more focused, or pull it back to cover a larger area of ​​the room.

In this mode, the three LED modules individually respond to content, creating smooth, cinematic color transitions that are better than what can be achieved with a single zone light. The effect is great and much better than the Hue light bar (albeit half the price).

performance

Brightness is another area where this light sets itself apart from a light bar. Pushes out up to 1,035 lumens with a 4,000K cool white color. This is about twice what the light bar can manage. The effect is noticeable whether you use it in sync mode or as a regular lamp.

When you run Hue Sync, wide-beam ColorCast optics cast vibrant gradients across your walls to track your games, movies, or music in real-time.

Thanks to three individually controllable LED modules, transitions are smooth and cinematic rather than harsh and segmented. The result is a more immersive experience and less of an “LED strip” look than cheaper rivals.

Play Wall Washer persists even when not syncing. It runs as a standard Hue white and color ambience light with a full range of 2000-6500K, high color accuracy (CRI ≥ 80), and all the preset scenes and effects you’d expect from Hue.

final thoughts

The Hue Play wall washer ticks many boxes, including a premium design, impressive gradient projection, plenty of brightness, and the flexibility to function as both a mood lamp and a fully responsive Hue entertainment light.

In standalone mode, it’s a classy way to add color and warmth to a room. In entertainment mode, it becomes a suitable showpiece.

The problem is the price (which is not the case with Hue). Govee’s Uplighter floor lamp offers a variety of built-in effects for the same price as a single wall washer. Lifx Luna, on the other hand, can provide nearly the same cleaning results for less than half the cost when directed against a wall.

However, both lack Hue Sync integration and can’t match the seamless, real-time entertainment sync that makes wall washers so appealing to existing Hue users.

If you’ve already invested in Hue and want to take your AV or gaming setup up a notch, this is one of the most satisfying upgrades you can make.

If not, there are cheaper, if less sophisticated, ways to light up your walls.

Test method

When we publish a review, you can rest assured that it is the result of long-term testing.

Smart lights typically exist within an ecosystem, or perhaps a set of products that all work in harmony. Therefore, it is impossible to use connected lights for a week and make a judgment.

We test smart home kits all day, every day, so we know what’s important and how a particular light compares to the alternatives you’re considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and unbiased, and of course we don’t receive direct compensation to review devices.

For more information, read our guide on how to test smart lights.