Questions about Philips Hue White Ambiance Starter Set

According to the identification features on https://www.digitalzimmer.de/artikel/wissen/hue-generation-1-2-3-4-5-6-unterschiede/, this should be the 6th generation. Also matches the release date of the starter set (2021).

Yes, the lights work via Bluetooth without the hub device. However, I can only recommend using the hub device, as I think the connection is better. With the pure Bluetooth connection, it often took ages for the lights to reconnect or be selectable in the app. With the hub, everything is then connected via your WLan and ensures a stable connection and the updates also arrive without any problems. You can also add more lights to your group with the hub as there is a limit to how many lights you can integrate via Bluetooth.

Yes, yes. It still works with the "normal" light switch. But then it makes no sense to call a smart lamp. But of course, temporarily or because the smart switch is not at hand, it is possible.

According to the manufacturer, this starter set is not available without Bluetooth, as they all have the communication protocol via Zigbee and Bluetooth.