The Best Smart Bulbs in 2021
Jul 27th, 2021
The Best Smart Bulbs in 2021
These are the best smart bulbs that we have tested and that will create atmosphere in your home.
The best smart lamps ensure that you can create the perfect atmosphere without having to get up from the sofa. Whether you want to lighten or dim your bulbs, create a dramatic effect by changing the shade they glow in, or just control them when you're not at home, just use your smartphone or one of the best smart speakers or smart screens .
The best smart bulbs are LED bulbs instead of traditional incandescent bulbs, so they use less energy, and thanks to their long life, they do not need to be replaced as often - all of which can save you money.
The best smart lighting can be set to work with other types of the best smart home devices , e.g. the best smart plugs , the best video doorbells and the best surveillance cameras so you can automate your home too. You can e.g. set the smart light to turn on automatically when your surveillance camera detects movement, or ensure a cozy atmosphere with dim light and the radio playing your favorite channel after a certain time - an integral part of the best smart light sources for the home.
When choosing the best smart lamps, consider the type of mounting the bulb has and whether it is compatible with your existing lighting, or whether you should buy adapters. It is also worth considering how many different colors the smart bulbs can illuminate and whether you need to invest in extra kits to make them work.
With so many choices within smart bulbs on the market, it can be a big task to choose the right one. That's why we're here to shed some light on the subject by putting some of the biggest names in smart lighting to the test to find out which are the best smart lamps you can buy right now.
The best projectors in 2021
1. Philips Hue Color Ambience
2. LIFX A19
3. Nanoleaf Shapes
4. Nanoleaf Essentials
5. IKEA Wireless LED Bulb
6. Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb
1. Philips Hue Color Ambience
It is with good reason that Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lighting: they are without comparison one of the best lighting systems on the market. The bulbs provide the most natural light we have seen, their app is easy to use and the installation is completely smooth.There is also a wide range of different types of smart lighting, ranging from color bulbs (with 16 million shades) and white bulbs (both fixed and ambient bulbs with a multitude of different shades) to side lamps and ceiling lamps, outdoor lighting and even Philips Hue- light strips . With so many choices, it's worth doing your research and really thinking about what you need before investing.That said, you can not use previous versions of the Hue lamps without the hub, which means that the only way to get started is with a starter kit that will cost you significantly more than just a bulb. Instead, we would recommend the newer kits that are equipped with Bluetooth, which eliminates the need for the hub.
2. LIFX A19
Like the Philips Hue, LIFX offers a wealth of smart light options; from color and white bulbs, both in full size and the more compact LIFX Mini design to light strips and even LIFX Beam - the brand's own version of smart light wall art. There is also an outdoor light bulb that enhances night vision on the best security cameras in the home .It's easy to set up, easy to control, and with Zigbee built-in, these smart lamps connect directly to your Wi-Fi instead of needing a hub that plugs into your router, like older Philips Hue models.They are also compatible with HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which means that no matter what type of smart home you have, they fit.
3. Nanoleaf Shapes
Nanoleaf Shapes takes the concept of lighting and turns it from the bottom to the ceiling. Using a collection of hexagonal and triangular panels, you create a dynamic shape on your wall (or ceiling or both) that can switch between over 16 million different colors.In addition, the panels can light in solid colors or change color at different speeds to create a unique light effect in your home. Additionally, you can set the panels to respond to touch or even to music playing in your surroundings so that you are at the center of your own music video.The original set comes with nine panels, all of which have the same shape, but you have the option to add more and you can mix and match the different shapes. We admit that these plastic panels do not look very attractive when they are not lit, so if you are looking for a more stylish look at all times; Nanoleaf Elements in a version of the hexagonal panels that have a wood-like veneer on them.Do not like the sound of hexagons and triangles? Nanoleaf Canvas are square light panels, but unfortunately they can not be combined with Nanoleaf Shapes.
4. Nanoleaf Essentials
There is no doubt that Nanoleaf Shapes create unique lighting effects, but they are an expensive purchase and they do not fit the existing side lamps. Fear not, Nanoleaf also offers the more affordable Essentials range of smart lighting. Choose from the smart bulb with a unique geometric design (known as a rhombicosidodekaeder) or the Nanoleaf Essentials light strip .Not only can they glow in a wide range of colors, they even have a Circadian Lighting feature that changes the color temperature during the day to mimic the natural light. They also support Thread, a smart home technology that is more stable than Wi-Fi and puts an end to delayed connections. However, they only work with HomeKit and Google Assistant, so it may be worth avoiding if you use Alexa to manage your smart home.
5. IKEA Wireless LED Bulb
With its Wireless series of smart bulbs, IKEA made its entry into the market for smart home devices. They may not have as many features and colors as the other brands, such as Philips and Lifx, but they are easy to use and fit nicely with your IKEA furniture.You can get them in both white and color and they fit the sockets E14 and E27. There are also panel lights and spotlights in the series, which fit perfectly in your IKEA cabinets and more. We like this series as it is affordable and easy to use. If you want access to some of the more advanced features, you need to connect between the bulb and a separate device so that it can access your router, allowing you to control it via Alexa, for example.
6. Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb
Eufy (owned by Anker) is really making a name for itself as a robovac brand that produces some of the best robotic vacuum cleaners that can compete with iRobot, and some of the best home surveillance cameras that give Arlo and Ring a fight for stregen. But they are also experimenting with smart bulbs.It may be too early for Eufi's offer of smart bulbs - there is currently only one bulb to choose from - but it is still a simple and solid offer that is easy to use. This is especially the case if you are not sure about smart home technology and want an easy and affordable option to try it out.
This is how we test smart lighting
To compare the best smart lamps, we assess how simple they are to install and control. We assess how quickly they respond to commands such as to dim or lighten the smart bulbs, as well as to change the color and create groups of smart bulbs that can be controlled at the same time, both when we are at home and when we are away from our property.
We also evaluate each design on any voice control options and its home automation features. For each model, we want to know how large a selection of different luminaires is offered, what accessories such as. hubs, dimmers and movements that are also available for the smart lamps and that it did not require one to read a thick user manual before use.
How do smart light bulbs work?
Like the best smart home devices, smart lamps use wireless technologies to connect to your smartphone and allow you to control the bulb from an app.
Many smart bulbs use Bluetooth to pair directly to your phone, but these smart lights cannot be controlled when you are in another room or further away because Bluetooth is a point-to-point connection.
If you want to control your smart lamps when you are away from home, look for bulbs that either have a hub, e.g. Philips Hue, or who uses a cloud service - e.g. LIFX - that can forward commands from your smartphone to the cloud and back to the smart light if you are not connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
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