Siri-controlled smart bulb using the power of Apple HomeKit

Aug 12, 2017 13:01 GMT  ·  By

Homes and appliances are getting smart and sooner or later each and every one of us will have to embrace them, mostly because of how convenient it is to control everything around you only with a smartphone.

And while we won’t discuss the security aspects of smart devices, we’re going to focus on the advantages that such a technology can bring, highlighting Koogeek’s LB1 smart light bulb that costs just $36.99 at Amazon.

Koogeek LB1 smart bulb box
Koogeek LB1 smart bulb box

Developed using Apple’s HomeKit, the LB1 can be configured and controlled with an iPhone in a matter of seconds, and the wide array of options that it brings makes it one of the most affordable yet powerful devices of its kind.

First and foremost, it’s worth noting from the very beginning that just like any other HomeKit accessories, it can only be paired with Apple devices, and it supports iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Watch running iOS 8.1 or later. The companion koogeek app from the App Store needs to be installed.

Only working with iPhone.

Another critical thing is that the smart bulb uses E27 standard and can only connect to your device using a home Wi-Fi network running on 2.4 GHz. This is critical to have in mind, as any other wireless network won’t work. For color temperature, it supports 2700K-6000K (warm white to daylight white).

The LB1 is heavier than your dumb LED bulb at 245 grams (8.66 oz), but it has a solid build that makes it feel durable. And it certainly is, as the manufacturer guarantees it’ll work for 25,000 hours, which with 3 hours use per day means it should last for 22.8 years. Impressive, to say the least, but I think that’s overblown, though for that price, I wouldn’t mind having to replace the bulb every few years.

Koogeek LB1 smart bulb what's in teh box
Koogeek LB1 smart bulb what's in teh box

Now the smart features. The bulb can connect to your iPhone by simply scanning the HomeKit code on the box, and the whole process doesn’t take more than a few seconds. The companion app automatically detects the LED bulb type and creates an entry to let you rename it and change its settings afterward.

The bulb supports no less than 16 million colors, and while there are pre-defined settings like the typical red, blue, yellow, and green, you’re free to choose any color you want by adjusting a series of attributes, like brightness, saturation, and hue. You can connect as many bulbs as you want, and you are allowed to pick a different name for each of them for better management.

There’s also a timer, should you want the bulb to turn on or off automatically at a defined time, and you can configure it to match your mood, all from the dedicated app.

Hey Siri, turn off the light.

The main selling point, however, is the Siri support. Because it uses Apple’s HomeKit, the light bulb supports Siri, which means you can control it using Cupertino’s digital assistant. There are several commands supported, and for example, you can set the bulb to a dedicated color by simply telling Siri to “Set light to [color].” More advanced commands are included, like “I’m going to bed” to have all bulbs turned off, but we couldn’t get them to work during our test.

The LB1 bulb comes with quite a lot of color settings and given that you are allowed to manual configure a series of details, it’s only up to the user to obtain something unique.

Koogeek LB1 smart bulb and user manual
Koogeek LB1 smart bulb and user manual

But this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s flawless, and we can easily mention two features that we’d like being added, which shouldn’t be too difficult with software updates. For example, we missed a feature that would allow us to create visual light effects, which could be quite entertaining during parties.

Furthermore, given that it uses HomeKit integration, more advanced features that would make it possible to glow according to the beats of the music would also be nice, especially if what you’re looking for is the disco effect we were talking about.

In the end, it’s hard not to like the Koogeek LB1 smart light bulb, especially because it offers so many configuration options at a price that you can barely find elsewhere. On the other hand, the simple fact that it’s limited to the iPhone and lacks more advanced visual effects limits its audience, though we’d say it's better to give it a try first and to judge it after that.

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Koogeek LB1 smart bulb
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