The Philips Hue Play Bathes Your Walls in Cool Lighting Effects

Philips Hue has long held its place as one of the most versatile and reliable smart lighting ecosystems on the market. Now, its parent company, Signify, is expanding the lineup with a new lighting innovation: the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer.

This isn’t your standard smart bulb. Instead of simply replacing a traditional light fixture, the Hue Play Wall Washer is designed to transform your wall into a canvas of light, filling it with vibrant, customizable colors and gradients. The aluminum unit sits on a table, shelf, or media console and projects light upward onto the wall, wrapping your space in immersive hues of your choosing.

A modern living room with a large wall-mounted TV displaying a boat on water, surrounded by ambient colored lighting, plants, and two white electronic devices on a wooden cabinet.

At the heart of the Hue Play Wall Washer is Philips’ ColorCast projection technology, which ensures bright, saturated light and a wide-angle beam – impressive given its relatively compact size. Unlike single-hue spotlights, the Play can project up to three colors at once, blending them seamlessly into smooth gradients rather than sharp, segmented blocks.

A flat-screen TV displaying a space scene is mounted on a pink-lit wall above a white media console with two speakers and some items.

Whether you want a warm, sunset-inspired backdrop or a bold mix of neons, the Hue Play Wall Washer turns your wall into a living palette.

A modern living room with a TV on a white cabinet displaying a person in a dark helmet and suit, surrounded by colorful neon lights. The room is lit with purple and blue ambient lighting.

As you’d expect from a Philips Hue product, the Hue Play Wall Washer integrates directly into the Philips Hue app, letting you adjust colors with a simple drag-and-drop interface. It’s also fully compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, so you can control your lighting hands-free.

A warm light illuminates a beige fabric curtain, casting an orange glow on the wall and surface with a black cylindrical object in the foreground.

But the real magic happens when you pair it with the Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box. This turns your lighting into a reactive, real-time extension of your TV, syncing colors and brightness with the action on screen – whether you’re watching a movie, gaming, or streaming a concert. And with Philips’ new Hue AI assistant, you can take that personalization even further.

A white cylindrical object and a dark, slanted cylindrical object are placed on stacked marble slabs against a softly lit beige background.

A black cylindrical object with a deep hue is placed on a dark tabletop between a stack of books and decor items, against a light-colored wall.

With a maximum output of 1,035 lumens, the Hue Play Wall Washer is bright enough to make a dramatic impact while still being soft on the eyes when dimmed.

A wall-mounted TV displays a scenic lake image with ambient backlighting. Below, a wooden console holds speakers, a glass, a vase with flowers, and decorative items.

A white, curved, vertical Hue device with a translucent front displaying orange, yellow, and purple lights, connected by a power cord.

It’s available in both black and white finishes to blend into your decor, and you can choose between a single pack ($219.99) or a two-pack ($384.99). Buying two not only creates more immersive coverage but also comes with a built-in discount.

For more information on the Philips Hue Pay Wall Washer, visit philips-hue.com.

Photography courtesy of Philips Hue.

Christian de Looper is a consumer tech reporter based in sunny Santa Cruz, California. Christian has reported on tech for over 10 years, with bylines in many of the largest tech publications, including Digital Trends, Forbes, CNN Underscored, Tom’s Guide, and PCMag. Christian has an obsession with how tech companies balance great design with great functionality, and lives at home with his wife, daughter, and cat.