Its 2018! “New year new me” right ? Or at least that’s what your ordinary , non smart light bulbs may think. Maybe its time you consider upgrading to a smart-light.
Installation process, the App, system integrations, user experience. Here is the complete BadFive review of the [amazon_textlink asin=’B07543MM1Q’ text=’LIFX smart-lights’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’badfive-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’1c9222c4-fcec-11e7-84cf-d1c3e8d3eaf5′].
who is the lifx team?
The Lifx team started back in 2012 as a kickstarter project , a multicoloured LED Wi-Fi controlled light . The project was succesfully kickstarted in just 60 days!!! More than 9,000 backers pledged $1,314,542 to help bring this project to life. Soon after that Lifx launched their fist smart light. Now the company offers 12 products with the same mentality: to make smart lightning a must in every room.
installation process
The installation process is easy as 1-2-3! All I had to do was unscrew my old bulb and replace it with the new LIFX one. Then I downloaded the free LIFX app (Available for Android, iOS and Windows ) and set up my account. In under 5 minuets I was good to go! The lights work independently without the need of any expensive central hub (Take a hint Philips).
the app & user experience
The LIFX App is very straightforward and intuitive to use and it is packed with many useful features. From the main screen , the user can control the lights individually or by groups and schedule their behavior. Under the “color” section the user then has the ability to adjust the color and the brightness of the lights using color wheels and sliders. Additionally under the “temperature” section the user can adjust white color temperature (2500-9000K).
There are also various preset theme colors like “Epic”, “Sports”, “Warming”, “Halloween” and many more. Furthermore, the user can add special effects like “Spooky” , “Flicker” , “Pastels” and more on their LIFX lights and dynamically adjust their settings . My personal favorite is called “Music Visualizer”. This effect uses the microphone of the device (phone/tablet/pc) to adjust the lights accordingly to the beat of the music. (Trust me its awesome !!!). Here is a “Music Visualizer” demonstration video.
Ecosystem integrations
The [amazon_textlink asin=’B07543MM1Q’ text=’LIFX smart-lights’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’badfive-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’cdabecef-fceb-11e7-b2cb-116e174df153′] family made friends with digital assistants too! The user can now control the lights using voice commands via their favorite digital assistant like Siri (HomeKit), Google Home and Amazon Alexa. I personally found this feature very convenient . For example I would get settled and cozy in bed and then I would just say “Hey Siri, turn off the lights” to turn off the lights . (That easy!!!) LIFX ligts are also IFTTT integrated . What that means is that the lights can “blink” , dim or change color when something happens. A simple example is that the lights can blink blue when a Facebook notification is received or even brighten up when the sun sets ect. You can find more on the IFTTT’s webside.
conclusion
How is the LIFX lights experience in one word? AWESOME!!!
The lights have an incredible color accuracy, saturation and brightness. The installation is nearly effortless and there is no need for a central Hub to control the lights. The LIFX app is very easy and simple to use and is packed with many useful features. Voice commands and IFTTT integrations take the smart lighting game to a whole new level.
Lastly, I really enjoy and love the “Smart-Lighting lifestyle” and I can’t imagine living without it. It was about time to make home and office lighting “smart” and LIFX managed to accomplish that with great success.
LIFX VIDEO
I would like tho thank the LIFX team for allowing us to get the products at half price for the purposes of this review.