5 reasons I love the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer – and why you will too

It was only in June this year that Philips Hue finally launched its Play Wall Washer, after months of eager anticipation from Hue fans craving more hardware. The launch added a brilliant new piece to the brand’s entertainment lineup, giving users another way to splash immersive light across their walls that syncs perfectly with whatever they’re playing, watching or listening to.

We’ve now reviewed the Play Wall Washer, with our tester awarding it a solid four stars. However, as T3’s resident Hue fanatic, I couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon myself, so here are the five reasons why I absolutely love it as well.

1. Exceptional brightness

The first thing to mention here has to be the exceptional brightness and wide coverage. Before I share too much, I can’t stress enough that getting two Play Wall Washers really makes a difference – one alone is great, but a pair allows the lights to blend even more seamlessly across your wall.

Each unit also delivers up to 1,035 lumens, which is hugely impressive, especially compared to the Hue Light Bar. Therefore, you can imagine just how effective a pair is when it comes to coverage.

2. Colour Cast technology

Then there’s the new Colour Cast technology, which is a first from Philips Hue. Essentially, it’s an advanced LED arrangement that blends colours together across three controllable zones, producing gorgeous gradients and rich, saturated colours that feel very cinematic.

Even from a distance, the colours remain vibrant and consistent, so you don’t need to cram the light right up against the wall to get the full effect.

3. Compact, aluminium design

Despite all this power, the Play Wall Washer itself is surprisingly compact and smaller than I expected, which means it blends neatly into your space.

Behind a TV, for example, it’s almost invisible, which is great if you're picky about cluttered setups. It also comes in a premium aluminium casing that matches the rest of the Hue lineup beautifully.

4. Immersive syncing and custom control

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Philips Hue product without smart controls. The Play Wall Washer integrates seamlessly into the Hue ecosystem, and I’ve been loving the 3D Drag and Drop feature in the Hue app.

This lets you create a virtual representation of your room and place your lights exactly where they sit in real life, making setup intuitive and giving you full control over your immersive lighting experience.

5. It's a Matter-compatible device

One of the best things about the Hue Play Wall Washer is that it’s fully Matter-compatible, which is a real game-changer for smart home fans. This means it can seamlessly integrate with other Matter-certified devices across different brands, so you’re not locked into a single ecosystem.

This also future proofs the device, and if you've read my 5 things I've learnt about Matter over the years, you'll know how important that is.