Mashable Readers’ Choice Awards: The best smart light brands

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In case you missed it, we asked our readers about the smart home technology they use and love. The results are in and your favorite smart home brands have been revealed. Smart lights are some of the most accessible and accessible smart home gadgets, thanks to their low price of entry and ease of use. They can be controlled via your smartphone or smart home assistants, giving you some versatility in how you integrate them into your home. Check out our full survey results or keep reading for our breakdown of our readers’ favorite smart lights.

Your favorite smart lights

Readers narrowed down their favorite smart lights to just two brands: TP-Link (Kasa) and Philips Hue. Kasa won in most categories, including overall satisfaction, where it scored 8.6 out of 10 (compared to 8.1 for Philips Hue). See how each brand performed in different categories in the table below by clicking on the arrows or using the drop-down menu.

Editor’s note: TP-Link under investigation for security breaches with its routers and its predatory prices.

Cost and payment

Smart light bulbs are among the most accessible smart home devices, thanks to their relatively low cost. However, when you compare smart lights, you’ll see a clear divide in this product category between premium brands and more budget-friendly brands. It’s clear from our survey responses that Philips Hue and Kasa are at different ends of the price spectrum. Philips scored quite low at 6.4, while readers favored Kasa at 8.7.

“The only reason I’m not ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Philips Hue is that they are relatively expensive compared to other brands,” one respondent wrote.

One Kasa user commented: “I had another brand before and found them very frustrating. I was happy to find that they worked to my liking and at a lower cost. »

Use smart bulbs

Both Kasa and Philips Hue scored favorably in terms of ease of use, reliability, and integration with smart assistants.

“Most of the time they work extremely well. We control them primarily by voice via Alexa,” one respondent said of their Philips Hue lights.

Several survey respondents noted the integration of their smart lights with Alexa or Google Assistant. From a Kasa user: “I have a bunch of these bulbs inside and outside the house. The exterior bulbs had some issues, but after upgrading to a mesh router, I haven’t had one since. I can set them for specific times, turn on and off at sunset/sunrise, and they have the ability to change color. They integrate into my Google Home system with no issues.”

Too few respondents rated their TP-Link (Kasa) bulbs on bulb life, preset color themes or routines and automation to generate a score, but Philips Hue received high marks in all of these areas.

Likelihood to recommend

Mashable readers also recommend TP-Link (Kasa) and Philips Hue, each scoring 8.1 out of 10.