nostr:npub1tj54dz997wrdyqgf8sc36z3upy3ld0ujmwqyx42dtqxcwc7l68fqlx5ry2 right now you can just pick any lightbulb that comes with a Zigbee compatibility logo - which is probably the case for most of the bulbs that advertise smart features.

There's hundreds of brands and models on the market, and the Zigbee specification for lightbulbs is (kind of) standardized around the Hue model. zigbee2mqtt (and therefore Platypush) currently supports thousands of devices (https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/supported-devices/), so you just plug in the bulb, put the dongle in pairing mode from Platypush, and everything should connect automatically. It's almost easier than the pairing process through the Hue app.

I have recently purchased a couple more Zigbee spare bulbs from a random Chinese store - around $10 for white and $20 for color. That's literally 70% cheaper than the equivalent Hue bulbs, they provide the same exact features and look exactly the same way from a software perspective.

A hypothesis is that everyone is now going for these cheap models, as they also come with out-of-the-box compatibility with the Hue bridge and official app, and nobody is spending $50 per bulb - and that's why Hue is trying to make up for their lost revenue with more aggressive data harvesting strategies...