I've been using TP-Link and Mirabella smart lights for quite a while now. They always seem to not actually be a replacement for normal "dumb" lights/bulbs. From the clunky apps and cloud based servers to the terrible white colour accuracy they've always left me disapointed
Just from looking at reviews it would seem that it beats everything else by a mile (1.60934km) in every way apart from price. Is Philips Hue is worth the massive cost?
Yeah I’d say so. If you are looking for something out of the box. Set and forget. Yes
You will pay a premium for the privilege.
You will also run into issues where I have so many Hue lights in my home, I have 3 hue bridges. So keep that in mind.
In terms of reliability, HomeKit compatibility etc. winner.
In terms of their LED strips, I wish they had more LEDs on each strip, but they are still the best.
I also have the Hue Sync box. Very cool.
Mr. Rich
Hue Sync Box is fantastic and miles better than Govee or any other knock-off. Comes at a hefty price tag though.
Yes for the vast range of options, many with adaptive lighting. Front porch light 1,600 lm; narrow beam GU10 in a kitchen with 3.2m ceilings; wide beam 90mm downlight in low ceiling stairwell entry; indoor & outdoor sensors; lighting strips; and you can use IKEA bulbs. The app is a hot mess and there are some glitchy things, but Philips actually responds same day to support questions posted on Facebook.
I think for the price the mirabella stuff is great value.
Haven’t been bothered to get into any real automation beyond basic timer schedules.
Hue better believe it!
Mirabella is hit & miss.
There is no comparison in colour mode, but I'm not interested in that.
Ikea and others do good quality Zigbee warm-white and CCT lamps.
I would not touch those cloud-based wifi bulbs, unless you can get them working locally.
Yes, like it or not, (un)fortunately, it is the best!
I haven’t looked much into the other solutions recently. But one thing I love about hue is that they make physical switches/remotes. Combined with the zigbee base the lights always respond immediately and never glitch out or need to be power cycled. See if you can get a starter pack or bundle of Hue gear used to start off. That’s how I got mine since there’s no way I’d ever pay full price for it.
I got a cool bulb from Bunnings on clearance for $10 and that sort of kicked off my transition to Hue. I've been scouring Facebook MarketPlace and eBay for deals. Got a new starter kit for just under $100 and still looking for more deals
I like using LIFX
In quality and intensity, LIFX is better. It'll dim lower and have better max brightness, better colours. But Hue is like the mainstream system, you'll have more apps and accessories that work with the system. You'll replace them all with some new and fancier system later anyway, so don't overthink it.
I reckon it is. Nice to have reliability, app is good, bridge and supporting accessories are good. Good apps both first party and third party. Had mirabella, had wiz.