philips home essentials digital photo frame

Some rely solely on Wi-Fi connections directly from the bulb to the phone, while others connect on a separate wireless network, such as Zigbee, through a gateway or hub that your phone connects to over Wi-Fi.

Wireless network: You can control most smart bulbs wirelessly through smartphone apps.

We looked at those features, as well as actual primary and secondary colors and each bulb’s color rendering index (CRI) rating-a measurement of how accurately each bulb can produce colors.

Color: While we considered color-adjustable, tunable-white, and plain-white smart bulbs, we found color-adjustable bulbs to be the most feature-rich.

We use a light meter to measure each bulb’s lux, using the same equipment, under the same conditions, at various angles and dimming levels. Lux is another standard measurement, which is superior because it describes how effectively the light spreads. Lumens are a measurement of the total potential light a bulb emits.

Brightness: We primarily tested 800 to 1,100 lumen (A19-style) bulbs that are roughly equivalent to a 60-watt or 75-watt incandescent lamp bulb.

However, there are trade-offs, which we discuss below. Some systems-such as Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home-let you control the lights with your voice and use lights from multiple brands, so you’re not stuck with one ecosystem.

Smart-home compatibility: Smart lights that are integrated with other devices become even more useful, so you’re likely to use them more frequently.

App features: Some lighting apps offer only basic on/off and scheduling options others include special effects, as well as features such as an Away Mode that randomly turns lights on and off to mimic occupancy.

Philips home essentials digital photo frame