The best cheap smart bulbs: Does it matter which one you buy?
I've long held that smart lights are the most sensible entry point into the connected home. They're simple, they're relatively inexpensive, and you'll use them each and every day, complete with the convenience of automation and voice control. If you're looking to make the upgrade, there are plenty of smart bulb options to consider, including a growing number of LED smart bulbs from reputable brands that cost $20 apiece or less. That's roughly the same price you would have paid for a plain old dumb LED just six or seven years ago.
Now, believe me, I could rattle on at length about the benefits of smart light bulbs like these (and of LED lights in general, especially compared with the inefficient incandescent bulbs they replaced), and I've got lots of data to share from the weeks of tests we ran in the CNET lighting lab and here at my home... but I'm assuming you're here for some quick buying advice, so let's start there.
