Philips Hue Go Portable Table Lamp review

When you think of smart bulbs, you pretty much instantly think of Philips Hue. There might be a number of players in the smart lighting field these days, but Philips Hue has long been the one to beat. The gold standard, so to speak. That’s partly down to the great performance of Philips Hue bulbs, but there’s a lot to be said for the variety too.

There’s not just one E27 bulb that offers different shades of white that you can turn on and off with your smartphone when you consider the Hue portfolio. Instead, you have hundreds of options, from the original coloured bulbs to outside lights, strip lights to Christmas lights. There are even lamps in different shapes and sizes that come ready to light up your room, and the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp is just one example of that.

It’s not the cheapest table lamp on the market by any stretch of the imagination, but is it worth it? Here’s my review.

Solid design

• 388 x 219 x 209mm
• 1.82kg
• IP20/54
• White and Black colour options

The Philips Hue Go Portable Table Lamp doesn’t have the catchiest of names and its design perhaps isn’t the most exciting either if you compare it to some traditional table lamps out there. That’s not to say it’s without merit though. There’s a very simple design on offer here, but that simplicity allows it to blend in with a multitude of decor. I’d say it’s more on the modern side of interiors than the traditional, but it could work in either setting as the lamp itself is a blend of both.

That’s because, while the white clean lines scream minimalist, if I were to ask one of my children to draw a lamp, the shape of the Philips Hue Go Portable Lamp is likely to be exactly what they would draw. So in that sense, the design is very traditional – a standard tapered lampshade with a solid top, skinny stem and a circular base.

The finish on the Go Portable Lamp brings it right back to the modern side though, because it’s metal, which might come as a surprise. It’s extremely well built though, while the rough-to-touch texture delivers a very pleasant finish indeed.

The Hue Go Portable Table Lamp has an IP rating of IP20/54, meaning it is waterproof and rated for outside use. There’s a silicone grip around the skinny stem that allows for easy carrying, while the charging base attaches with a simple two-pin circular connector, making things nice and simple.

On the top of the Go Portable Lamp, there is a circular button positioned centrally. This button offers physical control of the lamp if you don’t want to use the Philips Hue app, though the control is limited. One press will turn it on, while a long press will turn it off. A short press once the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp is turned on will flick between your preset scenes – more on that in a minute. The button is silicone too like the grip, and it has a colour-matched Hue branding within it, as does the grip.

At the bottom of what is technically a solid metal shade is where you’ll find the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp does its magic. You might think on first look that there would be a visible bulb inside the shade, but that’s not the case here. Instead, light is emitted through a matte frosted section at the bottom, which then extends around 10mm up the shade itself. The light emitted is pretty substantial though, brightening up a standard room without an issue.

Features

• Google Assistant/Alexa compatible
• Easy setup and use

The Philips Hue Go Portable Table Lamp is compatible with Bluetooth and the Hue Bridge and it works with the Philips Hue app, as you would expect. The app is substantial with a huge number of features on board, from basic control of your Hue smart lights, whether bulbs or a product like the Go Portable Table Lamp, to automations and integrations with smart assistants.

Hue is compatible with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri, as well as Matter so there’s no shortage of ways to control the Hue Go Portable Lamp. At the basic level though, there’s white and coloured light on offer and you can group the Go Portable Lamp up with any other Hue bulbs you have to get the same effect from all of them, whether that be a preset sunset offering, or the same colour as your living room wall.

If you have the Hue Gradient Play Strip and the Hue HDMI Sync Box, the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp can also team up with them in order to replicate what’s playing on your TV too, flashing in sync with the action or music. If you don’t want to make things too complicated though, you can just head into the Hue app, select the Home tab at the bottom, tap on the Go Portable Table Lamp and select colour you want to appear, as well as adjust the brightness.

Setup is incredibly simple, taking a matter of minutes, and control is simple too so there’s nothing too complicated to digest here. Even the more advanced features are simple enough to do, like setting the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp to come on when the sun sets, or when it hits 21:00 for example. While if you set up one of the smart integrations, like Amazon Alexa and you have a smart speaker like Amazon Echo, you can simply ask Alexa turn your Go Portable Table Lamp on or off when you need to brighten up your living room, or when the BBQ with friends turns into an all-nighter.

Performance

• 370 lumen/530 lumen
• 48 hour battery

The Philips Hue Go Portable Table Lamp is simple but very effective. I had it setup in my living room, where I also have the Hue Play Gradient Strip and together they looked incredible. The Go Portable Table Lamp is brighter than you would expect, offering 370 lumen at 2700K or 530 lumen at 4000K, and it did an excellent job of lighting up the corner of the room.

Being able to take the Go Portable Table Lamp wherever you fancy is great too, and I regularly use it in the evenings outside, once the sun has gone down and you want that little bit extra light. It’s also great for creating a slightly different vibe outside. Pink patio? Yes please. There’s up to 48-hours battery life on board, though it will depend on how you use it as to whether you will ever notice the battery depleting.

For me, the Hue Go Table Lamp sat on top of a small table in the corner of my living room on its circular charging base. While I took it outside and occasionally to the dining room table if I didn’t want the brightness of the over-table lights we have in our home, it was never far from its base and I’d return it there every evening before bed. In my house, I use the Go Portable Table Lamp to create atmosphere in the evenings, whilst watching TV. It’s a much more pleasant experience than having your sub-standard non-smart wall-lights on, though you almost have to experience that to appreciate its contribution. It has the capability to transform a room and atmosphere, much like the rest of the Hue products do.

It’s a very versatile device and that’s its strongest attribute, while also delivering great performance with minimal lag whether controlled through the app or via voice assistants. For me, the Go Portable Table Lamp is most at home in my living room, but this is a device that would be great in a bedroom, office or an outside bar too.

Verdict

The Philips Hue Go Portable Lamp delivers solid performance and it plays beautifully with other Hue devices – not to mention the likes of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, making for fuss-free and simple control with your voice assistant of choice.

The Hue app is excellent, delivering a plethora of features that you can choose to dive into head first if you wish, as well as teaming the lamp up with other Hue products with ease. But if you prefer to keep things simple, and this is your only Hue product, you’ll get just as solid an experience.

The Go Portable Lamp offers a design that will blend with most interiors, and it’s a device that can be used in a multitude of scenarios too, making for very versatile. It’s not the most exciting looking table lamp ever made, nor is it the cheapest, but it is very well built and when it’s turned on, it transforms the space it’s in – and that’s exactly what a smart light should do.