In every home I’ve had it for the past ten years, installing smart lights. Over and over again, between four different apartments and one townhouse, I was impressed by how easy it was to use smart lights and how well they worked around the house, especially when the main lights were connected to outlets without switching. No more hunting; I just ask my smart speaker to turn off the lights for me.
After my latest round of testing nine different bulbs, my favorite remains GE Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Bulb ($36 for both). The app is great and comes with a lot more, including fun light shows and music games. Because yes, this bulb can respond to music and surround sound thanks to the built-in microphone. If you are an Apple user, the Meross Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb ($29 for both) easily connects to your Apple HomeKit setup without needing a separate app to control it. Want to get more bulbs without spending more? Check it out TP-Link Tapo Smart Light Bulbs ($32 for four).
Read on to see how each of these smart bulbs was chosen and what makes using one so great. While you’re at it, find out more of our smart home tips with our guides to Best Smart Speakers, Best Video Doorbells, Best Smart Locks, again Best Permanent Outdoor Lights.
Included in this article
Meross Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb (MSL120)
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TP-Link Tapo Smart Light Bulbs (Tapo L530E)
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Content
What makes Smart bulbs Great
Smart bulbs are easy and affordable to add to your home. You’re using lights somewhere in your house right now, so a smart light bulb is easy to swap out without creating a new habit or setting up anything beyond a single app (or even that, sometimes). I test a lot of smart home gear for work, but my smart lights have been an absolute necessity, even when I’m not working. They turn lights connected in random places into easily controllable devices. They also add dimming and color without the need to rewire a switch for that ability, and you can add light trails to turn them on and off automatically to make your nights and mornings easier (or make strangers think you’re home when you’re not).
How Smart Bulbs Work
Smart bulbs connect to Wi-Fi or other devices in your home that use smart home protocols like Zigbee and Matter, and Bluetooth is usually the first setup, so you can connect the bulb to an app, a smart speaker, and the Internet to control it at any time.
You usually need the product’s app to set up the light and access the full controls, but you usually don’t need a hub. Philips Hue, the smart bulb line, still needs a hub and is long-lasting (though its WiZ line doesn’t), but almost every other smart bulb out there doesn’t. It might ask for a hub if it needs one for a Matter connection, but the Matter connection means you can skip the separate app and let devices like your Alexa speaker control the light instead. However, you get better controls with the smart lights app, such as more detailed color controls, schedules, and, in some apps, fun custom light shows or the ability to react to music.
The Best Smart Bulbs We Tested
After my latest round of testing, these are my new favorite smart bulbs.
Cync
Dynamic Effects A19 Smart Light Bulbs
This bulb has been my favorite for a long time, and it still holds its place after my latest test cycle. The Sync app is nice and intuitive to use, and offered to connect the bulb to my Amazon Alexa right after I finished the setup. Cync has a lot of great lighting products that I love, so I already had the app set up, but it’s easy to get started if you’re new to the world of Cync.
It has all the classic controls, like various white and color shades, and you can set Scenes and schedules in the Cycles button. The app has plenty of entertainment options, including Sync’s Light Shows, which feature bright, moving color sets that work best with just a few fixed bulbs, and Music Programs, which react to music and sound in the room. My favorite is the cozy ambiance candle. It always responds quickly to my voice commands, doesn’t need a hub, and can respond to schedules I set in the Alexa app.
Meross
Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb (MSL120)
Are you an Apple Home user? Meross is often my favorite Apple-focused product, and Meross’s MSL120 lamp is no different. It has a quick, painless setup with Apple Home (a quick scan of the light bar code, a minute or two of waiting, and you’re done), even if you don’t have a dedicated Apple hub like HomePod or Apple TV.
While I tend to prefer the product’s dedicated app for full control, especially since I’m experimenting a lot with Amazon Alexa setup, Apple does a good job showing a bunch of whites and makes it easy to customize the color option. You can also connect this light to Alexa, Google, and SmartThings if you decide to ditch HomeKit down the line.
