RS Recommends: The Brightest Smart Lamps for Every Room
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Smart lamps do so much more than just brighten up your home (though they do that well, too). Many of these can be set to any color you can dream up – literally millions to choose from – and connect up to your smart home hub like Alexa or Apple HomeKit.
Smart Lamp Brightness Scale, Uses and Features
Even if your lamp will be going in another room of your house besides the bedroom, the lighting and control options are versatile enough to set the right mood wherever you take it. Here’s a few things to keep in mind before choosing the brightest smart lamp for your space:
Light: Don’t let an array of smart features dazzle and distract you from the main point – if a lamp doesn’t deliver adequate brightness, it’s not doing its job. Most smart lamps are going to be LED which can produce millions of colors, and still deliver adequate light. For a calming atmosphere before bed, a low-light lamp may be fine, but for things like reading and brightening up a room that doesn’t get much sunlight, go brighter, about 800 lumens or above. If waking up is hard to do, a lamp that simulates sunrise can be a much gentler way to get going in the morning rather than a jolting unpleasant alarm.
AI Assistant: A lamp that connects up to a smart home AI system, like Amazon’s Alexa, vastly increases the capabilities it can do. With just a voice command, you can adjust brightness, set an alarm, even get the latest news headlines. Some don’t require a hookup to a bigger system either, just a WiFi connection is all you need to get started.
App: Though voice commands are an option, a designated app is really the full control panel. Changing up things like the color, brightness, and mode is easy from across the house (or anywhere), and lots of lamps can remember your favorite settings for next time.
Extra Features: Having things like a built-in Qi wireless charger or USB plug for your phone is a big convenience for a lamp that’s going by your bed. If it’s not voice-activated, touch is the next best thing to an app, switching through settings with a gentle tap. A timer is great for keeping to a bedtime schedule, and motion sensors can make it a reliable nightlight. A backup battery means you’ll still have hour of light even when the power goes out, and a light that helps you get to sleep may sound counterintuitive, but some of these smart lamps come with clever features to help build healthy sleep habits, even monitoring the temperature and humidity of the room.
What Are the Brightest Smart Lamps?
Looking for a good smart lamp to improve the ambience in your space? We review the brightest smart lamps that you can buy online right now.
1. Eve Flare Portable LED Lamp
This wireless orb light puts the entire color palette at your fingertips through the app, with literally millions of hues to choose from. It charges wirelessly too, and at under two pounds, this can easily be carried from room to room all over the house (and porch, since it’s rated IP65 water-resistant). It also works well with Apple HomeKit, so you can program timers or utilize voice commands to color the mood day or night.
Bluetooth connection is quick, and there’s a designated carrying (and hangable) handle too for toting it around, creating the right aura and atmosphere wherever you go.
2. Philips Hue Signe Floor Lamp
Phillips’ ultra-slim and super lightweight lamp proves that a minimal lamp can still be smart — and bright. This instantly throws a backsplash of color onto any nearby wall, with 16 million hues to choose from – perfect for setting the right vibe, or soft shades for movie viewing, with brightness up to 700lm.
This also works with Google AI, Siri, and Alexa, with settings for timers and optional Bluetooth as well.
3. Adesso Smart Home Circadian Light
This smart lamp works especially well in rooms that aren’t getting much natural light, as it keeps up with simulating the sun all day to set your internal clock on track. You’ll wake up — and stay alert — thanks to the bright light coming from the slim profile lamp.
The same goes for right before bedtime too, as the lamp produces a soft glow that’s meant to increase melatonin production for an easier time falling asleep.
You can adjust the dimmer and color modes right on the unit itself, and this syncs up with most Amazon smart home devices.
4. Eve LED Smart Light Strip
There are lots of reasons we loved this option when it comes to the brightest smart lamps: it’s featherlight at just nine ounces, takes up virtually zero space, and doesn’t sacrifice on the smart-ness either.
The 24-volt strip reaches up to a bright 6500 Kelvin of color temp, and can even be cut to the exact length you want it.
It works best with Apple HomeKit and Siri, and allows users to get clever with its space-saving placement, like underneath kitchen cabinets to illuminate countertops or behind a TV for a theater-viewing experience.