HomeKit bulbs without a hub? Check out these two products

Cupertino, October 23, 2020

Philips Hue is the gold standard for HomeKit lamps, and I love the ones I own. They're bright, rarely need to restart to fix an interruption, and come with many color combinations. On the other hand, they are a bit expensive as a hub has to be bought. If you're looking to make the switch to HomeKit lights cheaply, check out these two options.

HomeKit Weekly is a series that focuses on smart home accessories, tips and tricks on automation, and everything related to Apple's smart home framework.


Meross HomeKit lightbulbs

Meross becomes a popular HomeKit provider. They released a HomeKit garage door opener a few weeks ago, and I used their outside plug for a while to allow a non-smart headlight to be triggered by my door sensor. The latest product is a HomeKit LED light that does not require a hub. I've had a few of these over the past few weeks and I've been pretty impressed with how they work compared to my Hue lights. They were just as responsive and I loved the color options they offer.

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The Meross lamp allows you to adjust the brightness from warm / cold white (2700K ~ 6500K) to multiple colors. It also allows you to control the brightness using HomeKit automations. I use my occupancy motion sensor to trip a lamp around my coffee about 30% if it detects motion after 5 a.m. in the morning. Since the cost of a two-lamp package is over 70% cheaper than buying a comparable Hue, this is an extremely affordable way to get started with HomeKit lamps. The only negative I found about the product is that it only contains 2.4 GHz and I would prefer to use 5 GHz.

VOCOlinc lightbulbs

vocolinc wifi bulb

Another brand of lamps that I have used over the past few weeks is the VOCOlinc HomeKit lamps. Like the Meross lightbulbs, it's a two-pack for significantly less than Phillips' Hue-branded offerings. It has 850 lumens and supports millions of color variations. It works directly over WiFi so you don't need to buy a hub to run it. As long as you have a Home Hub (Apple TV or HomePod), you can control it remotely. My lamps immediately needed a firmware update, but the VOCOlinc iPhone app could do this without any problems.

Pack the HomeKit WiFi lights

Compared to using socket adapters, I prefer using Wi-Fi enabled lamps with HomeKit. They offer a range of colors, the ability to be dimmed, and a variety of automation options. If you're looking for an inexpensive way to replace your non-smart lighting with HomeKit, check out the Meross lamps and the VOCOlinc lamps.

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