Lifx launches new HomeKit switch, filament & white candelabra bulbs

Lifx has just announced several new HomeKit-compatible products at IFA 2019, including filament bulbs and a multi-input switch.

Lifx joins the Philips Hue range with new filament style smart bulbs, though in true Lifx-style, they connect directly over Wi-Fi and don't rely on any added hub or bridge.

The new Lifx filament bulbs come in two designs, one with a spiral center and the other with a vintage criss-cross coil center. They are fully controllable and dimmable via the Lifx app, through HomeKit, or a user's virtual assistant of choice.

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Additionally, Lifx is releasing a second candelabra-style bulb. This is alongside the previously announced Candle Colour. The new Candle White to Warm has a tunable cool to warm light output.

Lastly, Lifx has taken the wraps off its new controller — the Lifx Switch. Lifx Switch is a joint venture between Lifx and Buddy Technologies, the latter of which acquired Lifx earlier this year.

LIFX Switch

"We're thrilled to bring LIFX Switch to market - a smart switch that looks, feels and works like a regular switch," said LIFX CTO and Founder Marc Alexander. "This product brings together the best of the new Buddy group, but importantly gets us another step closer to our goal or parity with".

The controller fully supports HomeKit as well as Lifx's application and has four individual controls with full customization. Each of the four switches can be customized with a preferred backlight.

Previously announced Candle Colour is set to hit store shelves in the US in October. Lifx Switch and Filament won't be available until Q1 of 2020 and Candle Warm to White is also slated for early 2020.

13 Comments

StrangeDays 12870 comments · 8 Years

About 5 years ago

Was pricing mentioned or not included in the announcement?

bonobob 391 comments · 13 Years

No output rating either. Pretty useless article.

SoCalZman 4 comments · 6 Years

bonobob said:

No output rating either. Pretty useless article.

LIFX bulbs, at least when I researched extensively, were the brightest smart bulbs on the market. I went with LIFX because when I want my room well lit I want it well lit. hah. After some growing pains and some software updates they have been very reliable. Not needing a bridge is a huge plus in my book, too. Ive been very happy with the brand so far. I have a lamp with these edison style bulbs so I might upgrade them at some point, too.

macgui 2391 comments · 17 Years

bonobob said:

No output rating either. Pretty useless article.

Whiner.

ihatescreennames 1947 comments · 19 Years

SoCalZman said:

bonobob said:

No output rating either. Pretty useless article.

LIFX bulbs, at least when I researched extensively, were the brightest smart bulbs on the market. I went with LIFX because when I want my room well lit I want it well lit. hah. After some growing pains and some software updates they have been very reliable. Not needing a bridge is a huge plus in my book, too. Ive been very happy with the brand so far. I have a lamp with these edison style bulbs so I might upgrade them at some point, too.

You must never have had to reset the Home app. If/when you do you’ll realize how nice products that require a bridge are.

I have Hue, Lutron, iDevices and Honeywell products. The two times I had to reset Home were a real pain. Every device needs to be entered again. That means finding them and their HomeKit code, adding the code to Home, naming it, assigning a room and building all the Automations again.

Hue and Lutron both have a bridge. That means I only needed to add the code for the bridge and all of their respective devices almost immediately were added to Home. Between the 2 of them that’s just over 30 bulbs and switches I didn’t need to add individually, a huge time saver. It took me much less time to add those 30 devices than it did to add 4 iDevices units.

That said, I do have some issues with the Hue bulbs and I think they are bridge related. I am curious to see if those issues wouldn’t happen with bulbs that don’t require a bridge and I’d likely lean toward Lifx.