Best smart lights of 2019: Bulbs, switches, colors, light strips, panels and more

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Best smart lights of 2019: Bulbs, switches, colors, light strips, panels and more

Smart lighting has emerged as a key entry point into the connected home, and these days you've got more options than ever. Even better: The uptick in competition means that you've got plenty of options that are easy to afford, too. Smart Lighting

That includes $10 smart bulbs, color-changing bulbs for less than $25 each and dimmable smart switches and nifty new lighting accessories for less than $50. If you're willing to splurge, smart statement pieces from names like Nanoleaf and Lifx promise to cover your walls in color, too.

All of those options mean that you've got a lot of products to sort through once you're ready to upgrade to smart lights -- and that's where we come in. Whether it's bulbs, wall panels, switches, light strips or accessories that you're after, here are all of our top smart lighting picks after years spent testing the things out.
When you think of Philips Hue, it's probably colors that come to mind, but the first Hue bulbs you should consider buying are the Philips Hue White LEDs, which don't do colors at all. At $15 each, they're an excellent value pick -- and the newest versions add in Bluetooth radios that let you control the bulbs right out of the box, no Hue Bridge needed. You can also skip the Hue Bridge and pair the bulbs directly with Alexa or the Google Assistant, but the Bridge is still required if you want to link the bulbs with Apple HomeKit and control them with Siri commands on your iPhone, iPad or HomePod.
Those new Bluetooth versions of the Hue White bulbs sport a new, flat-topped design that matches Hue's color-changing bulbs. I haven't seen them on store shelves yet, but you can find them online in a two-pack for $30. I'll update this space once I've tested those new versions out, but the Hue White bulbs have always been strong performers in our tests. The real draw is Hue's platform -- add a Hue Bridge to quarterback your lights, and you'll be buying into the best and most well-developed smart lighting platform currently available.