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A ‘Smart’ Light That’s a Genius at Simplicity
A ‘Smart’ Light That’s a Genius at Simplicity
Want to make a smart light bulb as easy to use as a light switch? Add a ‘cutting-edge’ feature: an on-off swit
Q: I recently purchased a set of connected lightbulbs
that I can control with my iPhone. I like being able to set timers and
adjust the color of light, but using my phone to control them is a pain.
Is there a setup that makes smart lights as easy to use as, well, a
light switch?
A: I, too, have found app-controlled bulbs cumbersome. Who wants to launch an app just to turn on a light? I had high hopes for lighting systems compatible with Alexa voice control—simply saying “Alexa, turn on the living-room lamp” seemed like the ultimate convenience. But the systems I’ve tested were a bit sluggish, which got on my nerves. For me, nothing beats pairing a smart light with a physical on-off switch.
Philips makes a dimmer switch for its Hue bulbs that you can stick on a wall. Logitech has a single-button model, called Pop, that’s compatible with Hue and other connected bulbs. My favorite option is the Lutron Caséta Wireless Pico, because it blends in with the wall switches already in your home; it controls standard lamps that you plug into a Caséta Wireless adapter.
The smartest “smart” lighting product I’ve seen lately, however, has an integrated on/off switch: the Ara Collection from Target, which includes app-controlled table, floor and pendant lamps. The fixtures have unadorned white cylindrical shades, metal bases and LEDs that emit warm to cool white light. Because the lamps connect directly to an iPhone via Bluetooth, no hub or Wi-Fi network is required, making setup simple.
Using the Target Connect app (for iOS only), you can set timers for a lamp to make it turn on automatically with an invigorating cool light in the morning when you wake up but switch on a cozy warm light when you come home in the evening.
Ironically, the Ara Collection’s most “cutting-edge” feature is its built-in control for dimming and turning the lamps on and off. There’s no need to launch an app; just tap the top of the lamp’s metal finial to cycle through four different brightness settings. (This, by the way, is a lot less tedious than saying, “Alexa, dim the bedroom light to 50%.”) You can even plug the lamp into a wall outlet connected to a traditional light switch. The light will remember the last brightness level and color it was set to.
The only caveat is that some of the lamps in the collection aren’t very bright and are better used for ambient lighting rather than as the sole light source. Of the two table lamps, I recommend the larger one ($60); it outputs 500 lumen, about as much as a 40-watt replacement LED. The floor lamp ($100) on the other hand, is plenty bright, emitting 3,000 lumens, which is the equivalent of two 100-watt replacement bulbs.
A: I, too, have found app-controlled bulbs cumbersome. Who wants to launch an app just to turn on a light? I had high hopes for lighting systems compatible with Alexa voice control—simply saying “Alexa, turn on the living-room lamp” seemed like the ultimate convenience. But the systems I’ve tested were a bit sluggish, which got on my nerves. For me, nothing beats pairing a smart light with a physical on-off switch.
Philips makes a dimmer switch for its Hue bulbs that you can stick on a wall. Logitech has a single-button model, called Pop, that’s compatible with Hue and other connected bulbs. My favorite option is the Lutron Caséta Wireless Pico, because it blends in with the wall switches already in your home; it controls standard lamps that you plug into a Caséta Wireless adapter.
The smartest “smart” lighting product I’ve seen lately, however, has an integrated on/off switch: the Ara Collection from Target, which includes app-controlled table, floor and pendant lamps. The fixtures have unadorned white cylindrical shades, metal bases and LEDs that emit warm to cool white light. Because the lamps connect directly to an iPhone via Bluetooth, no hub or Wi-Fi network is required, making setup simple.
Using the Target Connect app (for iOS only), you can set timers for a lamp to make it turn on automatically with an invigorating cool light in the morning when you wake up but switch on a cozy warm light when you come home in the evening.
Ironically, the Ara Collection’s most “cutting-edge” feature is its built-in control for dimming and turning the lamps on and off. There’s no need to launch an app; just tap the top of the lamp’s metal finial to cycle through four different brightness settings. (This, by the way, is a lot less tedious than saying, “Alexa, dim the bedroom light to 50%.”) You can even plug the lamp into a wall outlet connected to a traditional light switch. The light will remember the last brightness level and color it was set to.
The only caveat is that some of the lamps in the collection aren’t very bright and are better used for ambient lighting rather than as the sole light source. Of the two table lamps, I recommend the larger one ($60); it outputs 500 lumen, about as much as a 40-watt replacement LED. The floor lamp ($100) on the other hand, is plenty bright, emitting 3,000 lumens, which is the equivalent of two 100-watt replacement bulbs.
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