Another feature that has come to seem synonymous with smart bulbs is the ability to change colour. PROSReasonably priced.No hub required.Good color quality.Works with Alexa and Google Assistant.Supports IFTTT.Power usage reports. If This Then That (IFTTT) compatibility lets you create recipes that automatically cause your lights to react to certain triggers, like phone notifications or changes in weather. All this is customisable and should ensure that whenever you turn on the light in your room it is automatically at the right 'temperature'. “OK Google, turn on the purple skies in the bedroom” works fine; "activate purple skies”, “turn on purple skies”, “purple skies in the bedroom, please” do not. As explained elsewhere in this article, some smart bulbs need a bridge unit to connect them to your WiFi and smart speakers. Some do, some don’t. For starters, you can now send your favourite colour to other LIFX users should you know anyone who just loves what you’ve done with your living room lighting. Texsens Smart Bulb. You have to connect one of the panels to a power cable, which is thankfully relatively sleek, so you should be able to tuck it behind a skirting board to avoid having a wire stretching across your wall. The Philips Dimmable A19 Smart Wi-Fi Wiz light bulb is an affordable, hub-free LED you can control from your phone that offers plenty of options for customization and third-party connectivity. In terms of the bulbs themselves, there's not much difference between the Hive Active Light and the Philips Hue. I’d say purely for controlling the lights, Hue has the edge; but for those wanting to build a smart home with smart plugs, smart security cameras, smart thermostats and all the rest, Hive is the way to go. Using your phone, you might set a 'routine' for your smart lights, so that they switch on and off at certain times; or dim them; or change their colour. This is still a very impressive product. The first is that the bulbs connect directly to your phone so they don’t need a hub. Most of the smart bulbs we review are marketed as equivalent to 60-watt incandescent models, which sounds self-explanatory, but some bulbs are brighter than others. The other 'added' element to the LIFX+ is that it’s designed to work with night vision security cameras. Choose the right shape to suit your light fitting with candle, golf ball and vintage shapes all available. PROSHighly customizable.Better blues and greens, with improved color consistency, brightness, and longevity over previous bulbs.More intuitive app experience.Lots of fun third-party integrations. Our smart light bulbs offer all the usual functionality you'd expect from a regular light bulb, plus some additional hi-tech features for optimised convenience and flexibility, letting you stay in control of your lighting wherever you are. I did have one small annoyance at the start, however. I also appreciated the 'day and dusk' mode, which sets your lights to automatically change in colour and brightness as the day wears on. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/recommended/tech/best-smart-bulbs-light-life Best For All-In-One Smart Light Starter Kit. This means you can start playing music and your design will light up in sync with the beat. Most smart bulb brands are compatible with Alexa but they might require a hub that also supports Alexa. Aside from keeping you out of the dark, most of the bulbs listed here can be scheduled or controlled remotely, which is great if you want to save on energy costs or often forget to turn off the lights before leaving the house. Ultimately, the glitch I had with my light to begin with gave me pause in recommending it as a top pick. You can now replace your standard incandescent bulb with a variety of connected solutions you can control with just a few taps on your smartphone or tablet. The first thing you’ll notice about the LIFX Mini is that it’s significantly smaller than most light bulbs, making it the ideal choice for desk lamps and the like. For Business. Novostella doesn’t require this, which is an advantage. Smart lights with your furniture, and one of the best smart bulb ranges going. Best For Inexpensive Multicolored Lighting. And the functions are solid too. I should note that the power cable feels a bit less secure than the Nanoleaf one but it does the job. Hue supports the most … Without getting two technical, most modern routers spit out two kinds of signal at once: 2.4GHz and 5.1GHz. After plugging that lot in, you just download the app and connect your new lighting to the internet. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future. Most technology figures out which part of this joint signal it needs and connects to it. Another factor to keep in mind is color temperature. I'd stick with the LIFX Mini. While that works for incandescent bulbs (although, even then, it is an imprecise way of measuring brightness), with the development of low-energy LED light bulbs, the wattage alone will not necessarily indicate how bright a bulb is. There's one more important factor to keep in mind. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to dive into smart home technology is with smart light bulbs. Energy-efficient bulbs such as LED light bulbs or CFL bulbs use less wattage than a standard incandescent, halogen light bulb or fluorescent bulb. The connected is usually 15… Best For The Most Affordable Color Smart Bulb, PROSAffordableGood color qualityWorks with Alexa and Google voice commandsDoesn't require a hubSyncs to change in time with music, CONSNo HomeKit or IFTTT supportDoesn't integrate with third-party smart devices. Beyond the basic stuff, the Hue's features are impressive. Total Expert Score: 82/100 | Consumer Score: 73% gave it … Depending on your needs, any of these options can help you connect your home lighting to more than just a wall switch. Smart bulbs offer a degree of control and interactivity you just can't get with traditional bulbs, like scheduled timers and remote control options. But just as with the LIFX bulbs, TP-Link smart bulbs don’t require an additional hub to connect them to the internet (thank goodness!). Integration with smart assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant is common. At their most advanced, smart light bulbs work in conjunction with smart speakers to listen to your voice commands. Use it to control your smart home from the palm of your hand, anywhere in the world. Each triangle of the Nanoleaf is a modular light with a slot on each edge. TP Link - Smart Bulbs. This bulb also supports up to 16 million different color combinations, covering just about any color that you can dream up. The stylish TP-Link Kasa Filament Smart Bulb KL50 supports voice control, works with third-party devices, and can tell you how much energy it's using. PROSWorks without a hub.Easy to install.Vibrant colors.Supports Alexa and Google voice commands.Can be added to Hue ecosystem. Our E27 LED bulbs come with a screw fitting to fit a large range of light fittings including chandeliers and table lamps. The other great advantage of Novostella’s line-up is that they are bright. The Philip 433557 is one lighting bulb I do not have to reconsider suggesting to you. Looking online I’ve found some people who’ve made really cool designs with this feature, such as a flag which appears to waves through repeatedly being tapped in one corner. CONSNo rechargeable battery packs.Requires bridge for smart features.Doesn't support HomeKit or IFTTT. Color is a fun way to add atmosphere to your home, but often results in a pricier bulb. We've rounded up our highest-rated smart bulbs, along with some points to consider while shopping, to help you decide. The Philips Hue Bluetooth White and Color Ambiance is a smart LED bulb that you can control with your phone and voice without the need for a hub—that is, unless you want to control it from a remote location or make it work with other smart devices. As mentioned, it has a vast array of colours and the brightness settings are second to none. It is suitable for outdoors area and garages. And the quality of the light that the bulbs shine is, to my eyes, indistinguishable. It's almost too good. It is both strong and energy efficient at the same time. The assumption is that a 100-watt light bulb, for example, is naturally going to be brighter than a 40-watt bulb. It's hardly the biggest issue, but I can see the experience frustrating people. Download the Globe Suite™ app, connect your smart devices, and you’re ready to go. Use the app on your smart device to set any shade of white light, from cool energising daylight (6500 K) to relaxing warm white light (2200 K). This is one bulb for any home wanting some light actions. Do you have a smart display or smart speaker? It feels like a design afterthought, as though LIFX made these cool lights but only realised the night before they went to market that they’d have to create an app as well. If you have multiple bulbs, for instance, you'll want a companion app that lets you easily arrange them in groups, and adjust the brightness and/or color of an entire group at one time. Handy if your teenagers leave the house later than you in the morning and never remember to turn the kitchen light off. on Signify. Our E27 light bulbs are easy to fit and, depending on the type you choose, can last up to … If you want something really powerful to light up the room, these are a good choice. And for a simple, affordable way to bring smart features to your existing light bulbs, see our story on the best smart plugs. After a bit of poking around in the settings I think I must have knocked some algorithm loose and the different colour options kicked in – but I'm not entirely sure how I did it. It took ten resets to get it to connect which was incredibly annoying. But with so many options flooding the smart home market, which one is right for you? These bulbs are great for lulling babies to sleep, entertaining party guests, and … With the app on the Philips Hue, you get a whole colour wheel to select from; whereas with the Hive, it's a sliding bar. Philips H7 CrystalVision Ultra Upgrade Headlight/Foglight bulb Philips CrystalVision Ultra are the brightest and clearest H7 bulbs in the company entire range. But even though an LED bulb uses less wattage, it'll have more lumens than a standard bulb. Once you've connected the bars in a style that you like, just clip the magnetic power cable in and the whole thing should light up with (incredibly bright) white light. Although smart bulbs can do so much more than a regular light bulb, the installation process is mostly the same, making it a great choice for renters or those who are new to the world of smart home. For my money, the app used to control the bulbs is the best of the bunch, filled with handy integrations such as the ability to check how much energy your bulbs have used over the course of the day and a prediction of how much they’ll use in a year. Sync the bulbs to your home assistant like Amazon’s Alexa and you can control your surroundings simply by saying "Alexa, turn on the bedroom lights". Buy now from Amazon. The TP-Link Kasa Smart Multicolor Light Strip lets you easily spruce up your home with accent lighting that you can control with your phone, your voice, and other smart devices. Some smart bulbs need to connect to your smartphone through a home automation hub like the Philips Hue Bridge. Just plug it into your light socket and you're off. Even better, unlike Philips and Hive's efforts, the bulb doesn't require a bridge between your WiFi router and the bulb, so there's no fiddling around with any extra boxes or wires. It's simple to operate, easy to understand, and infinitely fun to play with – whether you're using it at the most basic level or going for the full speaking-out-loud-to-inanimate-objects experience. At the brightest level, its extremely bright light support itself a primary light source. When the light’s brightness is 10pc or less, it can shoot out invisible infrared beams that should help your camera’s night vision see things better but won’t affect you at all. CONSLacks Apple HomeKit support.Limited third-party integrations. Also the pattern of light is very traditional and like 270* of light or better. It supports HomeKit, Alexa, and Google platforms and works with other smart devices via IFTTT. The starter kit comes with nine panels, but if you want a bigger design, just get an expansion kit. ... We name the best and brightest... iLumi Small A21 Smartbulb review: Easy to set up, but pricey. Some of the bulbs on this list are just white, while others have the ability to take on any color of the rainbow. At the most basic level you can turn them on and off using your smartphone; but beyond that, things get very futuristic very quickly. The LOHAS A21 LED Light Bul b is rated at 2500 lumens, making it the brightest standard sized (A21) LED light bulb on the market. Available in E27, B22, GU10 and E14 fitting types. The Wyze Bulb is an affordable white LED light that you can control with your voice, phone, and lots of other smart home devices. When I first plugged in the bulbs they were stuck on white. Lower temperatures, like 2,500K, translate to a cozy, warm glow that's perfect for relaxing. You can now even find sub-$10 options, including the Philips Wiz and Wyze Bulb, two of our favorites. Still, if you stick with the top manufacturers, you should be alright. What we like about it: Hive has the best eco-system for controlling your smart home, Starter kit with two white bulbs and a hub costs £91, Amazon. You can create scenes that remember your favourite colours; get the bulbs to replicate the hue of a favourite photograph or painting; and create routines so that lights turn on slowly when you wake up or turn off automatically at 9am when everyone’s out of the house. On the other hand, built-in 30 watt LED bulbs allow to radiate light at a high output of 2260 Lumens. Here are my reviews of the best smart bulbs, starting with my favourite…, What we like about it: Simple to use, easy to understand, and work just as you'd expect them to, Starter kit with two coloured bulbs and a hub costs £115.84, Amazon. The connection with a smart speaker is smooth, and I found it surprisingly unpeculiar to say "OK Google, turn the bedroom Cerulean”. Considering it’s such an obvious feature, I’m baffled as to why only LIFX have managed it. Sengled Smart LED Soft White Starter Kit. Overall, Philips Hue is a fantastic package that offers good customisation and integrates easily with the rest of your smart home gadgetry. They are very bright, they are smart bulbs that dim via software and dim very nicely. Alex Colon is the managing editor of PCMag's consumer electronics team. For non-celestial beings, smart bulbs are a fairly recent trend, dating roughly to the introduction of the Philips Hue in 2012. In general, I was really impressed with this smart light. This is one of the strongest light bulbs you’ll find with 700 lumens of power but only using 6 watts in total. There are three great advantages to the Novostella Smart Bulb. For smart light switches, we wire each model into a few different light fittings to test compatibility with several normal bulbs. However, the brightest bulb in the smart home is the LIFX A60+ which is capable of 1,100 lumens, which is obviously seriously bright, it’s about equivalent to a 75 watt incandescent light bulb or an 18 watt LED bulb. Hue’s bulbs can be paired with a wide selection of other Hue lighting devices, all of which communicate wirelessly with one another to prevent range issues. The only difference is that they're coloured, with the opportunity to change between a rainbow of... hues (see what they did there?). For starters, they tend to be dimmable and the vast majority are energy saving bulbs. Once again, there's a hub to plug into your router. I tried out some of the biggest brands and was impressed right across the board. The LIFX+ is basically the same as the LIFX Mini but about 300 lumens brighter and oddly shaped. Right now we don't recommend bulbs that do double-duty as a speaker, as we haven't found any particularly good ones in testing. 150 Watt LED Light Bulb, Super Bright A21 Daylight 5000K, Non-Dimmable, 2300lm, High Lumen Light Bulbs, UL Listed, 2-Pack 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,291 $13.99 $ 13 . To look at, they're similar to standard bulbs, and have standard fittings. CONSExpensive.Setting Routines could be easier. (AD) LE GU10 LED Light Bulbs, Warm White 2700K, 50W Halogen Bulb Equivalent, 4W 350lm, Pack of 10, for £14.99 on Amazon - buy here 5. Ry Crist/CNET. If, on the other hand, you’re here to turn your room into a palace of glorious light-art, Nanoleaf is for you. On the plus side, the Hive app is really good for creating routines. CONSExpensive.Requires Hue Bridge for remote access and to use other Hue features. £29.32 for one coloured bulb (no hub necessary), Amazon, In terms of the bulbs themselves, you don’t really get anything different here from Hue or Hive’s offerings. Or you might get them to interact with other tech around your home. There are several smart bulb brands available in the market. Best For Best for Affordable, Hub-Free Philips Bulbs, PROSAffordableNo hub requiredConnects via Wi-Fi for remote app controlWorks with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and Siri shortcutsSupports light Rhythms, Scenes, and Schedules, CONSFinicky Wi-Fi setup and app control in testingNo HomeKit support. Instead of being triangular in form, the Canvas panels are squares. The Yeelight Smart LED Bulb is an affordable color LED bulb that you can control with your phone or with your voice, and it doesn't require a hub. It’s certainly nothing revolutionary, but it is great fun and ideal for those who are frequent party hosts. I would like to be kept up to date with TP-Link news, product updates and promotions. This works fine for the white light, but for the coloured bulb it feels imprecise and just that bit more difficult to select find the colour you need. Your kettle might start to boil when you switch on your smart lights in the morning; or, that evening, a sensor on your door might detect when you return home and turn on the lights. As long as the sides are touching, the power flows and the triangles light up. And this bulb sure is a premium product. They come in two varieties – colourful and white – and sync up to your smart devices. In fact, if LIFX are known for anything in this space, it’s the brightness of their bulbs. But don't worry, the LIFX is just as powerful as a bigger bulb. The latest version of the Philips Hue Iris Table Lamp is brighter than ever and features Bluetooth for hub-free control. Novostella, however, gets confused when it encounters the mixed signal and decides it can’t  only connect at all. But even then, the light can disperse in a narrow beam or distribute brightness in a wide swath, so make sure to read the reviews to find out how each bulb works. It's all very easy and effective – the perfect tool for a mood lighting obsessive. Light bulbs have grown exponentially smarter in recent years. That's important to keep in mind, especially if you want to upgrade your entire house. Why we like it: LIFX's bulbs are the brightest in the business and don't need a hub, £44.99 for one coloured bulb (no hub necessary), Amazon. Here's what you need to know to get started, … Why on earth would a tech company release a product with specs this high for a price this low? 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