4Lite Smart Bulb Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

So, what makes a bulb smart? That was my first thought when looking at this bulb. Well, it’s not an ordinary one colour, one brightness bulb. Instead, this bulb has loads of different options, including lots of different colours and brightness levels.

I mainly have bayonet fitting light sockets in my house so opted for a bayonet bulb. It arrived in a large box considering the size of the bulb. However, it meant it was well packed and arrived safely. The box design looks like an ordinary bulb although it has ‘smart bulb’ written all over it. Upon taking it out of the box the only key difference between it and a normal bulb is that you can’t see the inside of the bulb ie. any filament. I should imagine that this is because there’s a bit of tech wizardry going on inside to allow for all the different options. As this is a normal fitting bulb I was easily able to click it in to one of my light fittings in order to trial it.

This bulb can be adjusted by using an app on your phone or by linking it to any voice activated gadget including google, alexa and siri. Firstly you have to connect your bulb to your Wi-Fi. I then downloaded the app on my phone, which was very easy to do. I also linked it to my alexa, which was also easy to set up. Once linked up, either or both can be used to control the bulb.

Having the voice activated option via alexa is great if you have children, especially those who don’t have a mobile phone to link it to. Mine spent ages asking alexa to get it to change colour. However, it’s the app that allows you to do most, including fading in and out when switching it on and off, setting a schedule for when it comes on and goes off, putting it on different settings like ‘candlelight’ or ‘party’ or choosing which particular shade of a colour you would like the bulb to show (out of a pallet with hundreds of options, as you can see in the picture! It also means that you can control the bulb from anywhere, not just when inside your home! There is also the ability to set a ‘vacation mode’ whereby you can set the times the light goes on and off to simulate people being in the house while you’re away. If you have more than one bulb then you can either programme them all separately or sync them to do the same thing.

The 4lite website (www.4liteuk.com) shows all the different bulbs that you can get in their smart range. These include 2 metre strip lighting, exterior lights and that you can also buy a remote control to use to programme the lights.

If you forget that it’s a smart bulb and turn it off via the switch and not the app or by voice then when you switch it back on it automatically comes on in bright white. In this mode it is brighter than my usual bulb so was a bit of a shock!

Considering the price of a single bulb these days, the price of having a smart bulb isn’t that much more, yet there are loads more options. Although I initially set this up in a different room, I’m planning on moving it to a lamp in my lounge so that I can have ‘mood lighting’ or just different coloured lighting that’s also dimmable rather than just my standard lights, which now seem a bit boring when I can get lots of different shades of white as well as all the other colours through this bulb! I may even have to look in to getting some more…

Rating: I rate it 4.5/5

RRP: £14.99
You can buy a single bulb from Amazon here. (currently available for £9.99 if you can wait a few days for delivery) Alternatively they can be bought from actual shops including B&Q and Wickes.