LIFX Gen3 Bulbs and LIFX Z Lightstrip Review

Final Thoughts

Price

The entire LIFX range can be found on Amazon, with a single B22 or E27 fitting LIFX Gen 3 costing £59.99, or a four pack for 195.96. The LIFX + is a bit more expensive at £79.99 each or £243.16 for a pack of four. Obviously, they’re quite specialist and not everyone will need the infrared feature. Finally, the LIFX Z strip Starter Pack (2M) is £80.42, 1M extensions are £29.99, and four packs of extensions are £136.82. This is obviously expensive, but it’s comparable to rivals like Hue, and you won’t need to invest in a hub to operate them, which can save you some money too.

Overview

The LIFX range is certainly impressive, with a good range of applications for home and even professional use. As you saw in our test pictures, we can completely change the atmosphere of the living room in seconds. Want a romantic night in, set the lights up for a movie night, or just brighten things up with a warm light on a cold day, it’s all easily possible and you won’t be able to resist tweaking the profiles, and it only gets better as you add more bulbs.

Control is a big part of the LIFX range, and with support for applications like IFTTT (If This Then That), you can have the lights change colour based on temperature, the weather outside, have a bulb blink a colour when you get a Facebook notification, turn your lights to your teams colour when they score a goal, have them come on and off automatically on a morning or evening, and so much more! You can also pair them up with other smart home hardware like we did here with the Energenie sensors. Of course, the big one for LIFX is that they come with Amazon Alexa support, a well as Nest, SmartThings, Logitech Harmony, etc. I can say “Alexa, turn the lamp on/off” and it’ll happen. It’s a nice luxury to have, and when you’re laid on the couch and can’t be bothered moving from your cosy seat to dim the lights, you’ll be glad you have it.

The colours and overall brightness of the LIFX bulbs is fantastic. They’re much brighter than the comparable Philips Hue bulbs too, so if you want to light more space with fewer lights, they’re a good option to do so. Previous LIFX bulbs did seem a little slow to respond to commands sometimes. Fortunately, I didn’t experience that issue with their Gen 3 bulbs, but keep in mind that they rely on WiFi to trigger, so poor signal areas or those with older routers may want to improve that before investing.

From spicing up the mood in the living room to creating a relaxing theme in the bedroom, bathroom, or a cool ambient light in the dining room, there’s a lot on offer from LIFX. Just be warned, once you get the smart lighting bug, the urge to invest in more is strong and things can get expensive quite quickly.

Pros

• Powerful 1100 Lumens brightness (bulbs)
• 1400 Lumen brightness (LIFX Z)
• Dimmable
• 16.8 million colour RGB
• Tunable white balance
• No hub required
• Incredibly easy to install
• Smart home support (IFTTT, Alexa, SmartThings, Nest).
• Stylish design
• Durable build quality

Cons

• Can be quite expensive, but comparable prices to rivals like Philips Hue

Neutral

• Make sure you’ve got a good WiFi signal where you need the bulbs installing

“As easy to install as any other lightbulb, the LIFX range is perfect for those who want to create a unique look in their home. With support for a range of IoT devices, voice commands and more, the latest lights from LIFX are a great way to expand your smart home setup.”

LIFX Gen3 Bulbs and LIFX Z Lightstrip SmartHome Lighting Review