Philips Hue stopped making two of three Lightguide bulbs over looks testing exposed

Philips Hue's Lightguide line, launched in late 2022, was its first real statement-lighting range: oversized dimmable smart bulbs meant to be used bare as open fixtures, priced at $74.99 to $89.99 and used with a $49.99 pendant cord. In February 2023 The Verge reported, from HueBlog.de and confirmed by Signify, which owns Hue, that the company had stopped making the triangle and globe versions.

Signify's PR lead Kelly Hrank said that 'after discussions with our suppliers, it came to light that there wasn't a feasible solution to the aesthetic inconsistency' discovered during consumer tests. The company said it chose to stop production in the name of a premium experience.

The ellipse-shaped Lightguide, which does not have the same issue, stayed on sale, though the $89.99 bulb was out of stock with a tentative restock date of March. Anyone who had bought a triangle or globe bulb could get a full refund or exchange.

Consumer testing found visible inconsistencies between bulbs in the triangle and globe designs.

Signify and its suppliers could not find a feasible fix for the inconsistency.

A bare-bulb fixture depends on how it looks, so a cosmetic flaw was a core defect for this line.

A product sold on its looks has no fallback when the looks vary unit to unit. Run consumer tests on production-grade parts before launching a design line.

The Lightguide line shrank from three shapes to one. Signify offered refunds or exchanges for the two discontinued shapes and did not quantify units sold or returned. The Verge's reviewer, who had been excited about the line, hoped the issues could be fixed soon. The report does not say whether the triangle and globe designs returned.