I don't usually write reviews, but I have to on this product. Philips Hue is truly amazing....I now have 9 of the A19 bulbs and 6 of the BR30 bulbs (15 bulbs and still counting)...I can't stop, BE WARNED!!! THEY ARE ADDICTING!!! I keep adding more and more to my collection. The setup was pretty easy for me, I never had any problem connecting all 15 bulbs into one bridge.
This is great when hosting a party, you can setup different scenes, really cool way to enhance or change any mood. My friends loves them, especially when I flipped it to strobe light using "Hue Party" app (seperate app, highly recommended). Another app that I use a lot is "Hue Camera", changes the way you watch television. Hue Camera and Philips Hue lights creates an Ambilight-like effect when watching TV. I always have this on (I use my ipad since the camera needs to be running at all times), when I watch movies or any of my favorite shows, it makes watching tv more fun, watching the room changes color to the ambiance of the scene.
You can also setup geo-fencing (I use the Philips Hue apps, but you can also use IFTT), which essentially allows you to have designated lights turn on or off or set a scene when you approach or leave your home. Every time I leave my home, I look forward to coming home. I love coming home, I love seeing my place lit up in my favorite scene I setup. You can also set alarms with sunrise scene, so when you wake up in the morning, it feels like sunrise (this is great especially right now, since I live in WI, when I wake up in the morning, it is still dark outside).
I just bought the Amazon Echo, and let me tell you, this works great with Philips Hue Lights. I just tell "Alexa" which light(s) I want to turn On/Off. I don't have to use my phone :) The only downside with "Alexa" is, she can't change the color of light yet! But I'm sure someone is working very hard to change that :)
There are so many more you can do with your Hue Lights with all the available apps, the possiblities are endless (some apps that I highly recommend: Hue Camera, Hue Party, Huemote, IFTT), I am sure you will enjoy these lights.
With all the good things, bad things always follows, so here it is.
Yes, they are expensive, but it is so worth it in my opinion.
Yes, there are some issues with Hue lights. For example, some colors like green, brown don't display as brightly as blue, purple or red (but there's a reason for it, too long to explain it here, google it!). But, I'm okay with this because I don't use Green or Brown that often :)
When you turn off the switch, it changes back to default color (plain white), it doesn't remember the color you set it to. So, you have to change the color again.
Despite some of the downside, I still love my Hue Lights, I'm sure you will love them too!!!