Skip to main content

LEDVANCE Introduces New HomeKit-Enabled Sylvania Smart+ Filament Light Bulb

ledvance sylvania smart light bulbs filament and phone
In a major step forward for smart home-enabled consumer electronics, LED manufacturer Ledvance is furthering its long-standing Sylvania brand by launching the Sylvania Smart+ Soft White A19 filament bulb, which lands in markets complete with full Apple HomeKit compatibility.

Unlike competing products that are emerging into the smart home market, the Sylvania Smart+ bulbs can be directly controlled using Bluetooth via Apple’s Siri intelligent personal assistant and Apple’s Home app — without buying a separate hub or smart socket or requiring a Wi-Fi router to function accordingly.

The bulb is also easy to install and combines the futuristic capabilities of smart home technology with a retro look befitting the Sylvania brand’s storied 100-plus year history. After screwing in the Bluetooth-enabled bulb, consumers can simply sync it with the Home app or issue voice commands via Siri to control Sylvania Smart+ lights individually or in groups. The Sylvania Smart+ A19 bulbs are issued in a filament-powered version and a standard version, and provide up to 650 and 800 lumens respectively, aligning with what consumers used to see in 40-watt and 60-watt traditional light bulbs.

The launch of the new Soft White bulb comes on the heels of Sylvania’s much-lauded Sylvania Smart+ A19 Full Color Bulb. The bulb’s features, as lauded by Ledvance, include turning it on and off, adjusting it from a cool white light for concentrating to a warm white for relaxing, as well and changing it to one of literally millions of colors to complement the décor of any room.

The A19 Soft White and Full Color Bulbs are remarkably versatile compared to the range of smart light products currently on the market. Using what is essentially mood lighting, a living room can easily be transformed from a home office for productivity to a fun party room for entertaining — and each light can be transformed on the fly using Apple’s HomeKit connectivity.

Ledvance’s other lighting products include the Sylvania Smart+ Indoor Flex Strip Full Color, a lighting strip whose malleable design makes it possible to contour around corners to enhance living areas, under furniture, and act as backlighting behind televisions. This system can also be fitted with Sylvania Smart+ Extension and Connector kits to further customize and expand lighting options.

Other smart home functions can be enhanced using Apple HomeKit’s versatile command system, allowing consumers to create custom light scenes and automation to enhance users’ needs and lifestyle. With a few simple commands, smart home users can adjust a bedroom’s color temperature to reflect natural sunlight, or schedule lights to come on right before getting home from work to avoid entering a dark house. Naturally, with other Apple HomeKit compatible accessories, users can integrate their Sylvania Smart+ lights and accessories with compatible switches, sensors, thermostats, cameras and other appliances.

“Our approach is unique in the smart industry because we focus on delivering quality lighting products first and only then adding smart functionality second,” Aaron Ganick, global head of Smart Business at Ledvance, said in a statement. “Our customers expect their smart lighting to not only work with the latest and greatest technology ecosystems, but to look good while doing it.”

Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore’s interest in technology is deeply rooted in the work of writers like Warren Ellis, Cory Doctorow and Neal…
6 HomeKit settings you should disable (or adjust) right now
A white HomePod mini sitting on a desk.

With the Homepod Mini being so accessible and rumors swirling that a new version of the Homepod may be coming soon, HomeKit has started to grow in popularity. Apple is typically touted as one of the better companies for keeping information secure, but you can always do more.

Whenever you ask Siri a question or to make a command, information is sent to Apple concerning your request. While Apple does its best to hide unique information about you, it still collects contact information, music preferences, smart home usage statistics, and more. Although Apple even goes as far as to delete information it collects from you after six months, there are settings you can disable (or adjust) to minimize the amount of personal data Apple has access to.

Read more
TP Link launches budget-friendly smart light strips
TP-Link lights glowing pink behind a computer monitor.

TP-Link, a company known for producing affordable smart home gadgets, has announced a new lineup of smart LED light strips and light bulbs. This includes the Tapo L900, Tapo L920, Tapo L930, and Tapo L530E. Pricing for the products ranges from $25 to $50, making these some of the most affordable lighting options on the market.

The Tapo L930 is considered the flagship LED strip of the family, offering advanced features such as music sync mode, 16 million colors, up to 1000 lumens of white light, and an IP44 waterproof rating. You can also set up a personalized lighting schedule using the accompanying smartphone app. Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit are all supported by the L930. A 16.4-foot roll costs $50, making it a cheap way to get surprisingly versatile smart lights into your home.

Read more
How to use smart ambient lighting
The Govee Immersion Kit enhances on-screen content.

Ambient lighting is most simply thought of as "indirect lighting." It’s lighting that isn’t focused directly on an object and is used to add to the available amount of light in a room. You can use ambient lighting as part of ceiling-mounted fixtures or floor lamps to brighten or even out the light in a room. Ambient lighting can also be placed behind an object and used to bounce light off a wall or the ceiling. Think of it as the lighting that takes your room from plain to warm and inviting.
Benefits of smart ambient lights
While adding ambient lighting to a room can help transform it from simple to extraordinary, smart ambient lighting is definitely the way to go. The main reason is that smart lighting can be programmed to look precisely how you want it and turn on when you want. Not only can you control the brightness and intensity of the light, but also the color.

You can light up the back of your TV set and have it change color depending on your programming. You can also take things a step further by combining the system with a voice assistant and have several pre-set routines that change the lighting in the room with a single command. “Turn on horror movie lighting,” is just one example of how it could accent movie night.
Setting up ambient lighting

Read more