Philips Hue has unveiled a new collection of smart connected lightbulbs and lamps to add to its already wide range of products. The big talking point, however, is the Philips Hue Play gradient lightstrip. 

Although it technically isn't Ambilight - a reactive ambient lighting tech added to Philips' flagship TVs - the easiest way to think of it is like an Ambilight set that you stick on to your own TV. 

Philips Hue has said that the exciting technology in this light strip is the 'gradient' element. It means that each individual 'pixel' or LED can have a different colour assigned to it, enabling smooth gradients between colours. 

Philips Hue introduces Play gradient lightstrip, a do-it-yourself Ambilight of sorts photo 5
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If you hook it up to Philips Hue's Sync Box, and plug that into your TV, console and/or set-top box, it'll cause the Gradient Lightstrip to react to the colours on the screen. 

You can also add it to your existing Philips Hue set up and add to the effect by grouping it with additional Hue bulbs and lamps. That way it can become part of a cohesive full-room ambience. 

The gradient lightstrip is designed in a way to maximise the light projected on to a wall behind the TV, so the lights are angled at a 45-degree angle away from the back of the TV and the mounting method is designed specifically to fit onto a TV set, with the black clips blending into the black plastic that's on most television sets. 

It'll be available in October for 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch TVs, with prices starting at £159/€179 and increasing incrementally for the larger sets. 

Philips Hue introduces Play gradient lightstrip, a do-it-yourself Ambilight of sorts photo 2
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While Philips Hue didn't say explicitly which products it would use this gradient technology on in the future, there is a sense that I could use it more than just TV backlighting strips to offer more customisable gradient colour lighting across the home. 

Of course, the light strip wasn't the only product announced by the company. There's a brand new version of the Iris, which is a standalone lamp designed to be an attractive feature in a room as well as for coating a wall in light. 

Its transparent base lets subtle light onto the surface it's standing on, while limited edition runs with metallic colours will add an aesthetic appeal, not on offer from many other smart lamp manufactures. 

There's also the large Ensis pendant light which is a long strip light that hangs off the ceiling, designed to light up a dining room table, but featuring two controllable light panels.

The top - for illuminating the ceiling - and the bottom - for lighting up the table - can each be set to different colours and brightnesses. 

Philips Hue introduces Play gradient lightstrip, a do-it-yourself Ambilight of sorts photo 1
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Philips Hue is also expanding its range of classic-looking filament bulbs to feature a larger Edison style bulb and large globe-shaped bulb. Other, older bulbs are being updated to offer Bluetooth support. 

The new range of bulbs and lamps will be available across Europe from the beginning of October, with prices varying depending on whether you go for single bulbs or full-on lamps or pendant lights. 

It's not just the lights getting updated either. Philips has announced a new partnership with August/Yale smart locks, so you'll be able to automate routines that are enabled simply by locking or unlocking your front door. So, you could have lights all power down or kick into 'away' mode simply by leaving the house in the morning.