Smart Home

Review: New WiZ smart lighting is a cheaper alternative to Hue

WiZ smart lighting is an Inexpensive and effective alternative to Philips Hue with the price varies from $ 10 to $ 20 per lamp.

WiZ is a new series of smart bulbs and accessories, from the makers of Philips Hue. We have tested the WiZ smart lighting( lamps and accessories from WiZ) and you can read all about them in this review. What are the options and is it worth it?

WiZ lamps review

If you are looking for smart lighting , the choice is huge. By far the best known are Philips Hue , LiFX and the IKEA Tradfri lamps . A year ago Signify, the parent company of Philips Hue, announced the acquisition of WiZ Connected . Now a year later, WiZ has announced the arrival of the new series of lamps and accessories. The set includes colored lamps in all sizes, filament lamps and a remote control and motion sensor. In this WiZ review you can read our experiences with the new products.

Smart assistants, no HomeKit

The WiZ Connected system works independently from the Philips Hue system . So it is a completely different series of products and it is not mutually compatible. It works with Alexa and Google Assistant, but not HomeKit . For Apple users, it is interesting to know that you can create Siri Shortcuts for it , but you will have to do this manually and the lights will not appear in the Home app .

In April 2019, Signify acquired WiZ Connected, an existing Wi-Fi-based lamp manufacturer also active in Germany, Poland, Spain, France, UK and some other countries. The lamps can be operated with the special WiZ app and work together with WiZ accessories and partner products, but as said: it is a completely self-contained system. We therefore do not recommend investing in this. If that is already possible, because the lamps will only be available in the US at DIY stores such as HomeDepot.

You screw the lamp into an existing fixture or table lamp and follow the instructions via the WiZ app to add the lamp to your wireless network. You can then set your Philips Smart Wi-Fi LED WiZ Connected lamps to one of the predefined scenes. You can also change the color temperature from warm white to cool daylight, depending on the activities you want to do with lamp lighting, says Jeroen Schuitemaker. “Spending time with family and friends, doing homework or enjoying a meal”, you want a different atmosphere in every situation. Despite the Dutch sounding name, Schuitemaker is responsible for the activities in the US at Signify. Schedules and timers are also possible.

WiZ smart lighting- Inexpensive alternative to Hue

The price varies from $ 10 to $ 20 per lamp, which also makes it clear how these new lamps will be positioned: as a cheap alternative for people who want to make their lighting smarter. The sale via a hardware store underlines this once again. The collection consists of lamps in shades of white and color, with traditional large fitting (E19) and connections such as BR30, G25 and ST19. You can dim them remotely.

WiZ smart lighting

Because WiZ Connected was already active in European countries, a rollout to Europe could also take place in the long term, but Signify has not said anything about this yet. Perhaps the response in the US will be awaited first. It is also possible that Signify will save the announcement for Europe until the IFA fair, which will take place again in Berlin in early September.