Review – In the past few months, SwitchBot has impressed me with its innovative but affordable gadgets Curtain closing robot, Contact and motion sensors, And now have their color-changing bulbs. Holidays are the best time to try these!
What is it?
SwitchBot’s color-changing bulb is a 120-volt, Wi-Fi-connected LED lighting source that can produce 16 million colors from a standard bulb socket.
Hardware specifications:
- 120 volts (other voltages are available for international use)
- Install standard bulb socket
- 16 million colors
- Up to 800 lumens
- Dimmable
- Manual and programmable color change function of SwitchBot app
- Voice control compatible
- Group compatibility
- 10 watts (comparable to 60W incandescent lamp)
- 25,000 hours of service life
- 4.2 oz
- 5.83 x 2.56 x 2.52 inches
- Supports Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts, SmartThings, IFTTT and Clova.
- 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network compatible
What’s in the box?
- Color change bulb
- User manual
Design and features:
SwitchBot generously sent four color-changing bulbs for evaluation.
The packaging is small, but it is packed correctly and will not cause damage during transportation.
The time to add the light bulb to the application does not exceed 30 seconds.
The light bulb control of this application is divided into “white”, “color” and “dynamic”.
“White” configures the light bulb tones, from very cold blue tones to yellowish warm white tones and all the tones and brightness in between. Do you need to match the shades of existing lamps, decorations or holiday decorations? Six quick access buttons provide instant access to user-selectable hue and brightness levels.
“Color” is equipped with a similar slider that can run the bulb in the entire color gamut. The reaction to the movement of the slider is replicated on the bulb almost immediately. Similar settings for custom options are provided.
Both the “white” and “color” screens have a schedule configuration. The time of day, the days of the week, and the fade rate (from an instant to 60 minutes) are all programmable and work perfectly.
It also has a delay timer, which can turn the bulb on or off according to the current time.
“Dynamic” has pre-programmed or programmable modes, with a variety of different fade and flash modes. Do you want to flash red, green and blue lights for Christmas? Pink and white for Valentine’s Day? The five shades of green for St. Patrick’s Day? This is where you do it.The same schedule and delay timer can be used in “dynamic” mode
There is even a trendy “music” mode that flashes the lights in sync with the microphone input of the smartphone. Neat!
Multiple bulbs can be grouped together, so they all have the same behavior. They are in my home theater:
“Power-off recovery” allows customizing the bulb in the event of a power interruption. It should be noted that SwitchBot recommends not to use wall switches or dimmers with colored bulbs.
It can be integrated with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, Clova and Siri. Because I have connected the SwitchBot app to Amazon, once I added the light bulb, I received a notification that I could use it with Alexa.
Integration is where these bulbs really shine (pun intended).Once connected to Alexa, I can use things like “Alexa, turn [bulb name] Blue” or “green”, or even some obscure colors, such as “yellow green” and “golden yellow”.
Of course, I can also dim and turn the bulb on or off. This function works well, but not all color names are “known”. “Fuchsia” and “Evergreen” confuse Alexa. Nevertheless, the versatility of voice commands left a deep impression on me.
As a bonus, SwitchBot includes some NFC tags. These small buttons allow the phone to open, close or switch the SwitchBot widget by tapping the phone, similar to using the phone as a key. They can work, but require some version-specific requirements and the application to open. For me, using the app is easier.
In order to increase the experience, the bulb is fully compatible with the devices I reviewed before here with here This means that switches and sensors can be used to trigger light bulb functions. The integration of SwitchBot is a wonderful thing.
what do I like:
- So many colors!
- Simple connection and setup.
- Amazing voice command function!
- Perfect integration with other SwitchBot products and home automation platforms!
What will I change:
- 800 lumens is relatively bright, but I hope to see a brighter version in the future.
Final thoughts:
I installed four SwitchBot Color bulbs in my home theater for some stylish upgrades. I like being able to use voice commands to change colors to suit my mood. Scheduling and cloud integration are great, and the stylish automatic color-changing function will become a hot spot for parties. These bulbs are very interesting!
Price: $15.99 a pack
Where to buy: Switch robot, Amazon
source: A sample of this review is provided by SwitchBot
