“It’s so good and cheap that you may never return to Philips Hue.”
-
Really bright edition
-
The colors are very saturated
-
Doesn’t need a bridge
-
Ridiculously cheap
Anyone who has expressed an interest in upgrading to smart LED lightbulbs knows the Philips Hue brand. You could say it’s the Apple of smart lighting based on the countless positive reviews of its lightbulbs and the brand loyalty that has been built over the years. However, the light bulbs can be expensive.
That’s why I’ve enjoyed a few cheaper alternatives over the past few years. Xiaomi’s Yeelight picks up only $ 27This is a significant saving over the $ 50 you would pay for a single Philips Hue color changing bulb. Even better were the Sylvania Smart + lamps that I used in my bathroom. A 4-pack is only $ 35.
Now we have another new competitor in the room with the Wyze Bulb Color. After achieving success in a variety of areas of the smart home, Wyze is making a stir in the lighting category with its $ 35 worth of color-changing lightbulbs.
Shining bright
One of the biggest drawbacks of cheaper alternatives, similar to Xiaomi’s Yeelight, is that they are typically not that bright. Fortunately, that’s not a problem for the Wyze Bulb Color. In fact, there is no comparison in terms of peak brightness when compared to the Yeelight and Sylvania Smart + – it is noticeably brighter.
John Velasco / Digital Trends
That’s because of the 1100 lumens of brightness it can produce, making it a 75 watt equivalent lightbulb. For comparison: Sylvania Smart + and Yeelight are 60 watt equivalent light bulbs. If you place the three lamps next to each other, there is no question that the Wyze Bulb Color has the strongest light output. In addition to the colors, this also applies to all temperatures of the daylight colors.
It’s cheap, but it’s rich in performance.
And what about the mighty Philips Hue A19 lamp that I’ve been using for years? While there aren’t that big of a difference, the Wyze lightbulb’s color is still lighter – if only with a narrow rim.
No bridges are needed here
Ask anyone who has dealt with a wide variety of smart home devices and they will tell you how annoying it is to set up a bridge. In my particular situation, my router only has a few Ethernet ports available to install a bridge. So it’s a relief that the Wyze Bulb Color doesn’t require one. Instead, connectivity is limited to Wi-Fi.
John Velasco / Digital Trends
Setting up with the Wyze app for Android is child’s play. As a result, I had to briefly connect to the bulb’s Wi-Fi network before I could automatically connect to my home’s Wi-Fi network. The app is pretty straightforward and has controls for brightness, color modes, automation, and scene modes. If you prefer your favorite smart home ecosystem, you’ll be happy to know that it has support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Voice controls work like a charm once they’re set up through the Google Home app, so I can group them with other smart lights for room-by-room control.
John Velasco / Digital Trends
The only flaw with this experience concerns the scene modes that Wyze offers. In contrast to the Philips Hue lamps, the scene modes provided by Wyze are uniform. That means you just set all the lights to the same color – while Philips Hue gives you some interesting color combinations that are more dynamic. Hopefully that will change as things move forward.
Vibrant colors that burst
I was skeptical about saturation, mostly because most of the inexpensive lamps I’ve used didn’t produce enough brightness and saturation to make colors pop. Here, too, the Wyze Bulb Color impressed me with the intensity of its color saturation. Blue and red are especially saturated and vibrant, so even a single lightbulb does a wonderful job of distributing enough saturation evenly wherever it goes.
Our opinion
Wyze’s appetite to conquer the smart home never seems to end. The Wyze Bulb Color is a solid competitor in the field of intelligent lighting that dominates everything else in its price range. At $ 35 for a pack of 4, the Wyze Bulb Color is a fantastic way to light up your home without spending a fortune. It’s cheap, but it’s rich in performance.
How long it will take?
The design of the Wyze Color Bulb doesn’t differ from anything I’ve come across. It’s mainly made of plastic, which is good because unlike traditional incandescent bulbs and CFL (Compact Fluorescent) bulbs that use glass, the plastic won’t break as easily if the bulb is hit. Life expectancy is 25,000 hours, but there is a 1-year limited warranty that covers defects.
Is there a better alternative?
Not really for the price. Wyze’s name in the tech space is growing all the time, so I feel that their products are more reputable than other cheaper alternatives you can probably find online.
Should you buy it?
Yes, it’s only $ 35 for a pack of 4. That’s cheaper than just buying a single Philips Hue color-changing light for $ 50.
Editor’s recommendations
