Philips has just launched an impressive new range of ceiling lights that mimic the look of a skylight, and I think it looks incredible – but its lack of smart features might not make up for its high price.

Philips is launching a ceiling lamp that mimics the look of a real skylight
It automatically adjusts the daylight temperature as the day progresses
The skylight looks very realistic but lacks smart home support

One of our favorite home lighting brands, Philips is launching a new ceiling light that mimics daylight and creates the effect of a skylight – and it looks spectacular.

Philips Ceiling lights are designed to replicate natural lighting and outdoor environments indoors using a mix of advanced LED and Philips’ NatureConnect technologies. Signify, Philips’ manufacturer, says the skylight is “inspired by the natural brightness, depth and rhythm of sunlight”.

It is a good option for windowless spaces if the design of your roof does not allow you to install a skylight, or you want to save yourself the trouble and expense of having one installed.

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Before now, Signify limited the Philips Ceiling Light to professional settings (offices, medical environments, and so on), but now the ceiling light will be available to everyone when it launches later this month in most regions (Signify says the Ceiling Light is available in the US in September).

Philips Skylight comes in four models: Philips Skylight Medium, Philips Skylight Large, Philips Skylight VitaUp Medium and Philips Skylight VitaUp Large, with prices starting at 499.99 euros (approx. $580 / £430).

Philips Ceiling light mounted on a bathroom ceiling next to a close-up of the included remote control

(Image credit: Signify / Philips)

Each variant comes with a slim ceiling profile for mounting, a remote control, five preset light scenes and Philips’ Day Rhythm tool, which automatically adjusts color temperature and brightness throughout the day. All models have an IP44 rating, which means that the Philips Ceiling Light can be installed in bathrooms and other damp environments.

The VitaUp models come with an integrated UV-B module built to support the body’s natural vitamin D production indoors. This also includes a handful of safety measures, including automatic shut-off which occurs after eight hours.

In photos shared by Philips, the skylight’s outdoor light simulation looks surprisingly convincing, and there are obvious well-being benefits. More people are spending more time indoors and out of natural daylight, so devices like this are becoming more and more sought after.

Despite its cleverness, however, the Philips Skylight is not a Hue product. Philips makes some of the best smart lights out there, but its new ceiling light doesn’t offer smart connectivity options. This means it doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi or work with Matter over Thread, so you can’t integrate it into your existing smart home setup and you’ll have to use the included remote to control it manually.

Considering how impressive the Philips Skylight looks and its price tag, that’s a shame. Let’s hope Philips adds smart home connectivity to a future version.