Lifx launches new HomeKit switch, filament & white candelabra bulbs
Lifx has just announced several new HomeKit-compatible products at IFA 2019, including filament bulbs and a multi-input switch.
LIFX Filament bulbs
Lifx joins the Philips Hue range with new filament style smart bulbs, though in true Lifx-style, they connect directly over Wi-Fi and don't rely on any added hub or bridge.
The new Lifx filament bulbs come in two designs, one with a spiral center and the other with a vintage criss-cross coil center. They are fully controllable and dimmable via the Lifx app, through HomeKit, or a user's virtual assistant of choice.
Additionally, Lifx is releasing a second candelabra-style bulb. This is alongside the previously announced Candle Colour. The new Candle White to Warm has a tunable cool to warm light output.
Lastly, Lifx has taken the wraps off its new controller -- the Lifx Switch. Lifx Switch is a joint venture between Lifx and Buddy Technologies, the latter of which acquired Lifx earlier this year.
LIFX Switch
"We're thrilled to bring LIFX Switch to market - a smart switch that looks, feels and works like a regular switch," said LIFX CTO and Founder Marc Alexander. "This product brings together the best of the new Buddy group, but importantly gets us another step closer to our goal or parity with".
The controller fully supports HomeKit as well as Lifx's application and has four individual controls with full customization. Each of the four switches can be customized with a preferred backlight.
Previously announced Candle Colour is set to hit store shelves in the US in October. Lifx Switch and Filament won't be available until Q1 of 2020 and Candle Warm to White is also slated for early 2020.
LIFX Filament bulbs
Lifx joins the Philips Hue range with new filament style smart bulbs, though in true Lifx-style, they connect directly over Wi-Fi and don't rely on any added hub or bridge.
The new Lifx filament bulbs come in two designs, one with a spiral center and the other with a vintage criss-cross coil center. They are fully controllable and dimmable via the Lifx app, through HomeKit, or a user's virtual assistant of choice.
Additionally, Lifx is releasing a second candelabra-style bulb. This is alongside the previously announced Candle Colour. The new Candle White to Warm has a tunable cool to warm light output.
Lastly, Lifx has taken the wraps off its new controller -- the Lifx Switch. Lifx Switch is a joint venture between Lifx and Buddy Technologies, the latter of which acquired Lifx earlier this year.
LIFX Switch
"We're thrilled to bring LIFX Switch to market - a smart switch that looks, feels and works like a regular switch," said LIFX CTO and Founder Marc Alexander. "This product brings together the best of the new Buddy group, but importantly gets us another step closer to our goal or parity with".
The controller fully supports HomeKit as well as Lifx's application and has four individual controls with full customization. Each of the four switches can be customized with a preferred backlight.
Previously announced Candle Colour is set to hit store shelves in the US in October. Lifx Switch and Filament won't be available until Q1 of 2020 and Candle Warm to White is also slated for early 2020.
Comments
I have Hue, Lutron, iDevices and Honeywell products. The two times I had to reset Home were a real pain. Every device needs to be entered again. That means finding them and their HomeKit code, adding the code to Home, naming it, assigning a room and building all the Automations again.
Hue and Lutron both have a bridge. That means I only needed to add the code for the bridge and all of their respective devices almost immediately were added to Home. Between the 2 of them that’s just over 30 bulbs and switches I didn’t need to add individually, a huge time saver. It took me much less time to add those 30 devices than it did to add 4 iDevices units.
That said, I do have some issues with the Hue bulbs and I think they are bridge related. I am curious to see if those issues wouldn’t happen with bulbs that don’t require a bridge and I’d likely lean toward Lifx.
The product I bought was both well designed and well constructed -- reminiscent of most Apple products.
Plus, they work directly with HomeKit and there's no need to screw around with 3rd party hubs -- plus no security or privacy concerns from those 3rd parties.
My plan is to stick to LifX. Just as I stick to Apple because I trust them, I now trust LifX to design and produce quality products that can't be used to spy on me.
Hue also has some filament bulbs and I might give those a try as well. One brand or the other, I want a couple hanging, shadeless filament bulbs.
I also like that 'bar' lighting, though I don't know that I'd have an application for it. Most places I'd want it would hide the bar itself exposing only its light.
That might not be a bad thing. I don't like LED strips with their 'dots' of light. They must be hidden or they annoy me. If the strip isn't far enough way from the illuminated surface, there are 'blooms' of light and I don't like the look. I know, FWP. But I really like how the enclosure diffuses the light.
I thought the only job of the bridge was just that - to connect a non-WiFi device to your WiFi. I don't know that it does any lifting beyond that.
They connect to a TP Deco mesh system (M9+3M5s), as it's a long narrow house.
Controlled by both HomeKit and Alexa.
I agree with the hassle factor of re-entering Homekit numbers, especially when the lights are installed in the ceiling! So once and once only, I entered their numbers and designations (eg Office 1, Office 2, Bedroom 1, Bedroom 2, Lounge 1,2,3 4) in an app called Homepass (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/homepass-for-homekit/id1330266650) which allows for easy retrieval in the event of loss of connectivity. Usually with the lights, switching on and off from the wall restores wifi, but very occasionally I have to do a resynch which is where HomePass comes in handy.
I use my Bedroom lights to wake me in the morning as I'm sensitive to light. They are on a 60 second fade in to daylight 100%. When my cleaners come on a Saturday afternoon, all the lights come on fifteen minutes before arrival (they have a code for the Schlage Sense front door lock- operates only between 430-630pm).
The lounge lights ( four) fade in when Homekit detects I am arriving home, and my lounge room Soma blind (also on Homekit) raises to 80% open. The Soma-equipped bedroom blind also is set to raise when the Lifx lights come on in the morning. The reverse occurs when I leave home. My three Daikin reverse cycle aircon/heaters also switch off when they detect I have left home, configured by three Sensibo units, using a Yonomi app linked to Homekit. The Sensibos can be set to be climate reactive, to switch oil or off when certain temperatures are reached. Perhaps TMI, but there's a lot to be done in the smart home arena, not just to be clever but to save energy. I have timers for electric hot and cold water dispensers, and it's peace of mind to have them auto switch off if I forget to...
You never want a bunch of devices on 2.4Ghz Wifi. Not only only are Bridges superior for fast integration and cloudless performance but Zigbee and Lutron's ClearConnect don't operate at 2.4Ghz which means your Wifi router isn't having a bunch of collisions and channel provisioning. Wifi bulbs are great if you only plan on having roughly 1-10 bulbs. If you plan on doing most of the home better mesh protocol outside of wifi's bandwidth is essential .