Here’s Why a Smart Light Bulb Is the Easiest Connected Home Upgrade

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A smart light bulb will allow you to change the ambiance in your home by tapping the screen of your smartphone, tablet, and even smartwatch. These gadgets also support voice controls from your favorite virtual helper (Amazon Alexa, Siri, or the Google Assistant), meaning you don't need to look for your phone to adjust the lighting in your space.

Today's best smart bulbs are also more affordable than ever — tons of high-quality products retail for less than $20, meaning it's high time you jumped to connected lighting if you haven't already. With the market chock full of great options, we spent weeks parsing through products to determine the best for your home.

The Best Smart Light Bulbs

What to Consider

Luminance

The luminance color is an essential feature to consider before ordering a smart lightbulb, and you can opt between white and colorful glow. Color bulbs are great for stepping up your home entertainment game by setting the ambiance while watching a movie, gaming, or having guests over, among many other scenarios. We recommend these accessories for their sheer versatility. They also support white tones.

A smart bulb with a white glow is worth considering if you want to replace an old one in a kitchen, entryway, garage, or other areas where changing the ambiance is necessary. You can tweak their brightness and white balance, so plenty of light customization options are available at your service.

Smart Home Integration

Smart home integration relates to whether the smart light bulb you are eyeing is compatible with Amazon Alexa, the Google Assistant, or Siri. Our top picks support all virtual assistants, so you won't have to fret over potentially switching between smart home platforms down the line. Of course, you can also manage every light bulb via a companion mobile app for iPhone or Android.

Developed by industry giants that include Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung, among many others, Matter is a new, deservedly buzz-worthy smart home protocol you must have on your radar when shopping for a new smart bulb. This is the most futureproof connected home standard, and we highly recommend it. A product that supports it will ensure you can access voice controls from all virtual assistants.

Better yet, the new standard will eliminate the need to deal with apps to set up and control your bulbs. You can complete these tasks on your phone in the Alexa, Apple Home, or Google Home app.

You should know that Matter requires having one of the latest Amazon Alexa and Google Nest speakers or an Apple HomePod or Apple TV 4K streaming player to work. Such products are essential vital smart home building blocks, so consider them if you don't own one.

Design

This is important, especially if you plan to use your smart bulb with an exposed light fixture. Light bulbs with distinctive designs will spruce up your ambiance when you use them and liven up your interior when you don't. In addition to cool shapes, you can also look for light bulbs with old-school looks.

On the other hand, if you are interested in smartening up the recessed lights in your home, keep an eye out for BR30 light bulbs that are bulkier and differently shaped than standard ones.

With the above essentials in mind, find the best smart light bulb for your lifestyle among these picks we vouch for.

Essentials Smart LED Light Bulb

The Nanoleaf Essentials smart light bulb is the best for most consumers, offering a perfect balance between a bright, easily adjustable glow in millions of colors, futureproof connectivity, and eye-catching design, all at an incredible price point. A single light bulb will cost you only $20 before additional discounts.

Like its fantastic predecessor, the product has a distinctive shape, whose geometric patterns make it perfect for exposed light fixtures. Regarding smart home integration, the Nanoleaf Essentials light bulb is the only one on this list to support the cutting-edge Thread protocol.

More: The Best Tech Gadgets Out Today

Color Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Bulb

This highly-rated LIFX light bulb is a solid alternative to our top pick from Nanoleaf, that’s marginally pricier but capable of producing a lighting glow in more colors.

According to its maker, the accessory can deliver billions of color shades and white with an incredible temperature range. The last-mentioned functionality and the low-key design of the product are the main reasons you should consider it.

Compared to the Nanoleaf Essentials, the LIFX product has a lower maximum brightness and no support for the Matter smart home protocol. The Wi-Fi-equipped light bulb is still compatible with the leading virtual assistants.

Multicolor Smart Light Bulb

Believe it or not, you can smarten up the lighting in your home for less than $10 per light bulb with this super affordable set by Sengled — a long-known brand for making cheap and reliable lighting products. Dropping less than $20 will get you two Wi-Fi-equipped light bulbs that don’t need an additional hub to work with voice commands.

A highly rated app allows you to adjust the glow color of the Sengled Classic smart bulbs, schedule their operation, and control them remotely. An iteration of the budget-friendly product with an adjustable white glow is available, too.

White Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Bulb

This LIFX light bulb is a value-packed option that deserves your attention. It has a dimmable warm white glow that’s adjustable via an app or a voice command from your preferred virtual assistant. Unlike most rivals in this impulse-buy price range, the LIFX light bulb is also compatible with Apple HomeKit and Siri voice commands.

The broad compatibility mentioned above and the low price are acceptable tradeoffs for the bulb’s lack of more lighting colors. Consider this just-as-affordable GE CYNC offering if those are important and you aren’t a Siri user.

White and Color Smart LED Light Bulb

The Philips Hue name has been synonymous with smart lighting for years, and this bulb is the brand’s finest you can buy today. The gadget offers a colorful glow with class-leading maximum brightness and elaborate app controls. A cheaper product version with a white glow is also available.

It’s important to know that the light bulb needs an optional Philips Hue smart hub to deliver its best functionality. This includes support for all virtual assistants, controls for multiple bulbs, and the option to expand your setup with more Hue products. You can control the standalone light bulb with Bluetooth or a Zigbee-compatible device.

Outdoor Smart String Lights

These string lights by Govee are the best for an outdoor space like a backyard, a garden, or a patio. Measuring 50 feet long (a 100-foot version is also available), the setup consists of 25 lights, allowing you to control the vibes with a companion app or virtual assistant voice commands. The easy-to-use app includes many custom scenes and music modes, all tailor-made for outdoor entertainment.

The reasonably priced lights are IP65 waterproof and can glow in colors of your choosing. If changing the colors of your outdoor lights is not a priority, Govee offers significantly cheaper smart string lights with a dimmable warm white glow.

BR30 Smart Light Bulb

The Wyze BR30 color light bulb is our favorite for recessed lighting fixtures (e.g., ceiling, kitchen counter, etc.). The product brings an amalgam of stellar brightness with a massive range, the ability to produce lighting in millions of accurate colors, and an agreeable price. It costs less than $20 for a single bulb and even less for a bundle of multiple units.

A feature-packed Wyze companion app makes the light bulb easy to set up and control. You can create custom scenes, enable vacation mode for peace of mind when you aren’t home, and even sync the glow with your music.

CYNC ST19 Edison Style Smart LED Light Bulb

Retro-style light bulbs with a visible glowing filament that harkens back to the late 19th century when Thomas Edison invented this essential item are all the rage these days — you can frequently encounter them in bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. This Wi-Fi-toting modern take on the iconic product by GE CYNC is the best worth your attention and an excellent option for exposed and clear lighting fixtures.

The ST19 light bulb is effortless to set up and easily controllable via an app and voice commands. This version of the product can deliver glow in millions of colors. GE CYNC offers a product version with a soft white glow as well.

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