LiFX Launches Budget Matter-Enabled Smart Bulbs
With the wide range of smart bulbs available today, many of which now support Matter, established brands are increasingly introducing more budget-friendly options to stay competitive. LiFX is one such company, having recently launched its new ‘Everyday’ A19 smart bulbs, which also offer full Matter compatibility.
Although LiFX has traditionally been known for being on the pricier side – and justifiably so, given their higher lumen output and generally richer colours – these new bulbs represent a real shift in pricing. The new A19 models are currently listed on Amazon.com for US$23.45, but that price is for a 2-pack, bringing the cost down to just over US$11.70 per bulb, which is quite reasonable.
This lower price does come with a few trade-offs, however. While the bulbs do support Matter, they connect via Wi-Fi rather than Thread. They’re also not as bright as typical LiFX bulbs, offering 800 lumens compared to the 1100 lumens of the standard ‘Color Smart Light (US$59.98 for a 2-pack) or the A21 ‘Super Color Light’, which delivers twice the brightness at 1600 lumens (US$34.30 for a single bulb). It’s easy to see, then, why these new bulbs come in at a much more accessible price.
The company also make another smart bulb capable of 800lm – the LiFX Smarter Light (US$35.11, 2-pack) – and although they claim to offer billions of colours compared to mere millions, they aren’t Matter compatible, although they will work with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home.
The Everyday bulbs deliver a CRI of 90+ (a measure of colour accuracy), support the usual 16 million colours, and offer adjustable white tones from cool to warm. As they use Matter over Wi-Fi, there’s no need for a separate gateway or Thread Border Router. LiFX also rates their lifespan at around 25,000 hours.
You can pick up a 2-pack of the LiFX Everyday bulbs from Amazon.com today for US$23.45.
Specs.
- Lumens 800
- Wattage Use 8.8W at full brightness
- Wattage on Standby 0.2W
- Voltage Range 120V AC
- Color Rendering Index (CRI) 90
- Color Temperature 6500K to 2700K
- Dimming Software dimming 1% -100%
- Wi-Fi 2.4GHz
- Security WPA, WPA2
- Dimensions x x
- Usage Dry and Damp
A kingdom for a brighter Matter-over-Thread bulb. Both Nanoleaf and Aqara are also 800 lm. No problem if it has to be A21.
Aqara claim their bulbs have 1100lm, although like the Nanoleaf bulbs this likely doesn’t apply to colours, only the white spectrum.