The Best Smart Bulbs to Light Up Your Life (2024)

Remember the allure of the Clapper? No more getting out of bed to hit the light switch! It seemed cutting edge on ’80s late-night infomercials, but thankfully technology has come a long way since then (though you can still buy it). You can now control the lights, set timers and schedules, and change colors with your smartphone or your voice if you have a voice assistant—no clapping required.

Smart bulbs are a great place to start when creating a smart home. Most options are relatively cheap, they’re easy to install, and they're something you use every day already. Plus, there are no cameras or door locks for someone to hack into and no wiring to mess with. Do you want to try voice controls? Consider getting a smart speaker or smart display, but you can always use the smart bulb’s app.

I test each model of bulb for one to five days on two small Ikea lamps in my living room, with the tests lasting longer when the bulbs perform well in earlier tests. My tests start with color tests for vibrancy, color range, and brightness, paying special attention to how easy the app controls are. I then connect each bulb to my full smarthome setup and smart speakers (depending on compatibility). Of the dozens of bulbs I've tested over the years, these are the best smart bulbs.

Updated June 2024: We've added Lifx A19 bulbs as our pick for Apple Home users and Philips Hue Soft Warm White bulbs as our recommendation for smart filament bulbs.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

From smart displays to soundbars, Google’s voice assistant comes in all shapes and sizes. Here are our favorites.

You could fill a stadium or two with all the cheap headphones out there. We tested a ton to help you pick the right pair.

Apple's lightweight tablet comes equipped with a faster processor, but it's the bigger screen that steals the spotlight.

You finally caved and bought an Apple Watch. These are our favorite straps, screen protectors, chargers, and cases to go with it.

When going abroad, the right plugs are essential to keeping your gadgets charged. These are our favorites.

Ken Segall is the reason so many Apple products start with “i.” Now he says it’s time to drop the prefix entirely.

These beard tools deliver a quality trim for all types of facial hair.

These are the best Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellular gadgets to ensure you never lose anything ever again.