If you’re still switching your lights on with a wall switch, then you’re doing it wrong!
In the past year, I’ve been more interested in a and have outfitted my whole apartment with bulbs and smart LEDs. Well…now that I’ve had a whole year with the technology, I can say with confidence that I will never go back to switching my lights on manually.
Even more important than remotely switching your lights on and off is the fact that you can control the brightness of your lights, select different colors, and even integrate them with other apps (such as your lights automatically turning on when you’re about to enter your home).
Up until last week, I strictly utilized and LED strip for my t needs. I’ve reviewed their LED and bulbs on Youtube. So it’s safe to assume that I was on the LIFX bandwagon, well, that might change with the latest I’ve received! Since I am a fanatic, I’m excited for this WiZ review.
Last week I was contacted by WiZ, a French-Asian smart lighting company that is in the midst of expanding to the North American market. WiZ personally asked me to review a set of their smart lights – specifically their A.E26 color bulbs and pair them up against the giants in the industry, so here we go!
WiZ Smart Light Review
I received a pack of two bulbs from WiZ. Each comes fitted with 16 million different colors and 64,000 white variations possible. In terms of brightness, you’re looking at 810 lumens. Lastly, believe it or not, I was also impressed to receive a remote for the lights. While it may seem strange to utilize a remote when you have a smartphone, it does make sense if you have spotty WiFi or if you have a guest who would like to play with the lights. However, you also have the option of using voice commands if connected to a like Alexa, Google Assistant, and .
Before we begin, make sure you’re ordering Wiz bulbs from a legitimate retailer, NOT from a counterfeit seller. For your convenience, here is the Amazon link to an authentic Wiz bulbs retailer.
For just $37.00; you’ll receive these four bulbs and a from WiZ. Lots of people want to compare vs Wiz vs LIFX. For reference, two white/color bulbs from LIFX will run you $99.99. If you’re interested in bulbs, then you would be alarmed to hear that just two white bulbs will cost $129.95!
It’s clear that WiZ is vastly more affordable than LIFX or , but how does this match up in regards to specs?
WiZ: 16 million colors, 64,000 whites, 810 lumens
LIFX: 16 million colors, 64,000 whites, 1100 lumens
Philips: 16 million colors, 65,000 whites, 800 lumens
The only distinction that you will find between these three companies would be a number of lumens. LIFX does exceed with their top bulb exerting 1100 lumens, but other than that, these lights are dead even.
| How many lumens? | 810 | |
| How many whites? | 64,000 | |
| How many colors | 16,000,000 | |
| How much is each smart light bulb? | $34.95 | |
| How long is the warranty? | 5 years |
These facts help us understand how much energy these lights pull, and what their expected life is. Each will last 18 years on average if you decide to only use them for 3 hours a day. With this usage, you can also expect the electricity cost to be around $1.39 annually. If you decide to utilize your lights for more than three hours daily, then expect your electricity cost to be a bit higher, as well as a shorter life span. With all that being said, WiZ does provide you with a 5-year warranty on their WiZ bulbs!
When you finally open up your WiZ box, you’ll find your two bulbs and remote neatly packaged. A manual, as well as a safety booklet, will be attached to the top. Let’s take a closer look!
Here are our two bulbs!
When it comes to the remote, you will need 2x AAA batteries to power it. Using the remote, you can easily turn your lights on/off using the top buttons. If you want to quickly dim your lights to a soothing yellow tone, then you simply click on the crescent moon. The buttons numbered 1-4 are your presets which you will customize from within your . Lastly, the lowest button is your brightness control.
Syncing your Wiz lights with your mobile phone:
If you’re an Apple user, download the free app on the iTunes store. If you’re an Android user, click here to install the free WiZ app on Google Play.
When you open your WiZ app, the first step is creating a “Room”. You’re simply letting WiZ know where the lights are located so that you have better management. Simply click on the plus sign to continue.
On this screen, scroll through the options until you find the location for your lights.
Keep in mind that smart light technology relies on your WiFI connection. As long as your particular Wifi network is online in your home, your lights will always be accessible.
Enter the password that you actually use for your WiFi network.
Final step! This will be the last time you are going to interacting with your actual wall switch. Head over to your , and continue to turn it on/off until the connects with your lights. P.S – Make sure to install the bulbs first!
Adjusting your WiZ lights:
We’re back to your “main page” on the . On this page, you have a few options. First things first, it’s important to know that if you want to control all the lights within a room, you have to click on the room itself, in doing so, you’ll see a black circle around both lights. If you intend to only adjust each individually, then make sure that the only you want to adjust is the one circled in black.
To control your brightness, use the slider on screen – as simple as that.
For turning your lights on/off, you have two labeled buttons to make that happen. To quickly adjust your lights into a “night ” status, press on the moon.
How does cozy look in action? Glad you asked:
Now that we’ve had the opportunity to look at “Cozy”, click on it to enter a menu for other colour options:
At the very top, you’ll always find your “whites”. You have four quick white options, but if those aren’t enough, tap on “Custom White” for even more options:
Use the slider to find a white that suits you. Once you do, and if you truly love it, then tap on “Add” so that it can be added as another quick to access preset under the “White” section.
Scrolling a bit lower, it brings us to colors! Just as with whites, you’ll find a few pre-selected colors such as ‘Relax’ or ‘TV time’. Similarly to the ‘White’ section, if we tap on ‘Custom Color’, we’ll see a color chart that allows us to select between 16 million different colors! Like what you selected? Click “Add” so that it’s easy to find next time. Personally, I love the ‘Hot Magenta’ color that I found while trying out different colors, and added it for easier access.
As we scroll lower, we find the ‘Dynamic’ section:
If you would like your to cycle through different colors in their preset cycle, then this is the section for you. It’s recommended that you utilize a few bulbs with this feature since you’ll be able to observe how each is a different colour. If you’re using the “Romance” option, your bulbs will stick to colour tones between red and purple.
When you decide to use a “Dynamic” option, you’ll notice that your main page will look as follows:
The first slider underneath the dynamic mode is for speed control. If you want your bulbs to cycle through colors quicker, then drag the slider to the right. Easy!
Let’s see how different colors shine through with WiZ smart bulbs:
Additional Features
Scheduling:
The WiZ mobile comes with a handy feature to sync your lights to a schedule. Do you want a specific to turn on at 5 PM, Mon-Friday? Set it up through the ! You can now also set up a circadian rhythm that transitions from a daylight white to a warm throughout the day to improve your mood and sleep.
Integration:
You would imagine that if LIFX or Philips charges you nearly double the price for each bulb, they’d include more features? Not really. Just as with those two major companies, you can integrate your WiZ lights with Google Home (Googele Assistant), Amazon Echo, and IFTTT:
Never heard of IFTT? You’re missing out. Click here to take a look at the features available with IFTTT:
I’ll list a few here for example:
- Turn on the light if motion is detected
- Change the light when a channel I follow is live
- Turn off the light when I disconnect from my Home Wi-Fi
- Change the light to green if the stock price rises enough
Additional Comparison
Wireless communication: utilize a hub for connectivity while LIFX and WiZ use your Wi-Fi network. The addition of the has made Philips’ was a loser for me since who wants to have another to plug into their outlet? Wifi bulbs are easy to install in any home. UPDATE: Philips is now also offering WiFi bulbs that are easy to connect, so you don’t need a anymore.
Security: When it comes to and LIFX, if someone gets access to your Wi-Fi or your hub, they’ll have full access to your lights. When it comes to WiZ, you need to provide the new user a “Guest Code” that is generated within your own to give them limited access to control your lights locally while connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Warranty: Both, Philip’s and LIFX offer a 2-year warranty, WiZ, on the other hand, offers a 5-year warranty.
Device Limitation: Philip’s only allows 50 users per one hub, LIFX allows 35 users per light, and WiZ allows unlimited users per light.
Recap
Wiz is a formidable competitor to LIFX and . For a much more affordable cost, you’re able to purchase smart lights that offer as many different colors and features. If you’ve decided to outfit your home with 15-20 bulbs, then the savings rack up considering you’ll be saving $20-$40 per . WiZ lights are plug and play and can be setup within two minutes of opening your package. The is easy to use, and most importantly, non-glitchy (talking to you !). Being able to use to change the is great. The warranty offered by WiZ is more than double of its competitors so your purchase is safely protected.
As I continue to add smart lights to my apartment, I will definitely switch over to WiZ for all my needs. Having a system is so convenient and adjustable compared with a traditional . With all being said, there are a couple things I would like to see WiZ change:
- When selecting your custom wiz color, the moment you select a color, it will bring you right back to the main page. But if you’re not a fan of that selected color, you’ll need to go back to the appropriate screen to select a different color. I do want to see WiZ leave you on the color page in case I want to test different colors before reverting to the home screen.
- When selecting your custom color, you have to select a color within a color bar. I would like to see that color bar turned into a color wheel – it’s more appealing to the eyes and easier to really pinpoint a specific color.
I certainly welcome WiZ to the North American market, and I will be on the lookout for their other smart LED lights!
Disclaimer: WiZ has provided ReviewingThis with complimentary bulbs for this review. We have also been compensated for taking the time to make a written and video review of their product. With that being said, our review and opinion is our own and is not influenced by WiZ’s compensation.
Excellent report which made me try the Wiz lamps and I haven’t been disappointed.
However what I’m even more interested in now: what brand are those black twin lamp holders which you used for the test? The colored lamps look beautiful in those.
Though I haven’t tested the Wiz product, I’ll offer the following: As a home automation pro, I insist that any product that I recommend to my customers support DIRECT communication and control between the automation system and the device — without the need for LIVE INTERNET connection. the Philips Hue product does just that. My automation system can talk directly to the Hue hub its IP address. No so for LIFX. LIFX is only accessible via API and therefore requires an Internet connection for the master automation controller to talk to the LEDs 10 feet away. Frankly, this is the definition of stupidity. Two tech devices should be able to talk to one another without having to rely on Comcrap or or other unreliable ISP. If you don’t take this into account when implementing home automation, your an newb and deserve to live in the dark when your ISB hiccups.