I love the new Philips Hue Essential smart bulbs, but how do the new Lifx Everyday lights compare?

Date:
Thu, 08 Jan 2026 12:41:11 +0000

Description:
Lifx has followed in Hue's footsteps with a new line of cheap and very cheerful bulbs, but which ones should be brightening your home?

FULL STORY ======================================================================(Image credit: Future) Were covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs to smart home gadgets.

You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and well do our best to answer it. And dont forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!

We're on the show floor at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where all the biggest names in tech are showing off their latest consumer products, and smart home brands are vying for a place in your living room.

There have been some interesting developments in the world of smart lighting (such as IKEA's donut-shaped Varmblixt LED Lamp ), but one that really caught my eye was a new line of budget-friendly smart light bulbs from Lifx.

These have been on sale for a couple of months already, but this is the first time Lifx has demonstrated them at a major trade show.

We've tested various Lifx products over the years here at TechRadar and been impressed by their performance. However, they tend to lean towards the expensive side, with premium prices more in line with Philips Hue's best
smart lights than affordable rivals Govee or Nanoleaf.

Last year, Philips launched the Hue Essential series a collection of
everyday bulbs that work in just the same way as its regular lights, but with more modest specs and much lower prices, so it makes sense that Lifx is following its lead with a more accessible range of entry-level bulbs. Lifx offers a good selection of high quality Wi-Fi connected smart light bulbs (Image credit: Lifx)

Opting for a cheaper bulb doesn't necessarily mean missing out on features or quality. I put a Philips Hue Essential E27 bulb to the test against a regular Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance one, and was surprised how well the
cheaper model compared in terms of overall brightness and color reproduction. The biggest difference was that the regular Hue bulb could be dimmed to 0.2% of its maximum brightness, whereas the Hue Essential one could only drop to 2%.

Depending on how you're planning to use them, that might be something you don't even notice particularly if you're not mixing the two bulb types
within the same room.

So what does the new Lifx Everyday series bring to the table (or ceiling) compared with Hue Essential, and which smart lights should you pick if you're on a budget? The biggest difference between a Philips Hue Essential (left)
and regular Hue bulbs is the dimming, with the Essential bulb dipping to 2% compared to 0.2% for the regular bulb (right) (Image credit: Future) Significant specs

The table below sums up the key similarities and differences between a
Philips Hue Essential and a Lifx Everyday bulb. In the interest of
simplicity, I'll be comparing the standard E27 screw-fitting bulb in both collections.

I should also point out that although Hue Essential bulbs can be bought individually, Lifx Everyday bulbs are only available in packs of two, so here I'll be comparing the list price for a twin-pack of each.

Bulb

Philips Hue Essential

Lifx Everyday

Price (pack of two bulbs)

$44.99 / 32.99 (about AU$70)

$24.99 / 24.99 (about AU$40)

Maximum brightness

806 lumens

800 lumens

White range

2,200 - 6,500K

2,700 - 6,500K

Dimming

2%

1%

Connectivity

Bluetooth and Zigbee

Wi-Fi

Requires hub

Basic color and brightness controls via Bluetooth; Philips Hue Bridge needed for advanced features

No

Control options

Lifx app, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Microsoft Cortana Samsung SmartThings, Matter

Hue app, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Matter, Samsung SmartThings, and more

As you can see, while both these bulbs are in the entry-level price bracket, the Philips Hue Essential is considerably more expensive. If you want to make the most of the Hue Essential bulb's features (beyond simply adjusting the brightness and color) then you'll also need to factor in the price of a Philips Hue Bridge, which connects to your router and links all your Hue devices in a mesh network using the Zigbee wireless protocol.

Using Zigbee does have some significant advantages over Wi-Fi though, and is ideal for low-powered devices like smart lights and switches. Connecting multiple smart lights directly to your Wi-Fi router can cause congestion, and although you can theoretically connect dozens of bulbs to a single router, doing so is likely to slow down other connected devices.

Zigbee-enabled devices also act as repeaters, which can dramatically extend their range compared to Wi-Fi connected devices.

The Hue Essential bulb has a slightly higher max brightness and the Lifx Everyday, plus a wider white light temperature range. The Lifx bulb offers deeper dimming, however, which may be helpful if you want to use your bulb as a wake-up light in the morning. Into the apps

Both thje Lifx and Philips Hue apps let you choose from a collection of
preset lighting scenes or create your own to set a particular mood. However, the Hue app also has an AI-powered assistant to make bespoke scenes for you using typed or spoken commands. Both the Philips Hue app and the Lifx app let you set custom schedules and automations.

Both apps let you connect to their respective brand's switches without using
a third-party platform, but the Hue app also offers native support for the brand's huge range of sensors, cameras, doorbell, and other devices. You can not only control your lights, but also create and arm a home security system through the same app. There are also more third-party integrations for Hue products via services like IFTTT. Conclusion

So which entry-level bulbs are right for you? The answer depends partly on your budget, and partly on what you're planning to do in the future.

The Lifx Everyday bulbs are cheaper to buy outright, and have the advantage
of not needing an additional bridge to unlock features like customizable scenes and scheduling. If you want smart light bulbs for one or two rooms, they're a very reasonably priced option, with brightness, dimming, and colors to compete with premium options.

Philips Hue Essential bulbs, on the other hand, are intended as an affordable entry point to the Hue system. If you'd like to gradually change all your lights to smart ones and can see yourself building a system spanning multiple rooms with different sensors and security devices, Hue Essentials will be a better investment in the long term.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tech-events/i-love-the-new-philips-hue-essential-sma rt-bulbs-but-how-do-the-new-lifx-everyday-lights-compare


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)