These 10 light bulbs work over Bluetooth and don't need a hub

Smart lights by Wiz, Nanoleaf, Sylvania, Vont, Wyze
(Image credit: Chris Wedel/Android Central)

These 10 light bulbs work over Bluetooth

If you're looking to upgrade your home's lighting with a smart bulb, you may have noticed that some models require some extra hardware in the form of a hub. While some people prefer the simplicity of the hub when it comes to setup, you give up some of the flexibility in terms of connectivity options and perhaps most importantly, price.

Smart bulbs without a hub

There's nothing more annoying than spending $30 or $40 or sometimes even more on your first smart bulb, only to screw it into a light socket and realize that those smart features you paid for don't work without a hub — which is, of course, sold separately. This adds yet another expense to an already expensive bulb and setup can get complicated since the hub needs to be plugged connected to your home internet. Thankfully, not all smart bulbs require a hub.

When it comes to features, many of the best smart light bulbs will do the trick, and even those without a hub will be a significant upgrade over a traditional bulb when it comes to control. For example, many smart bulbs can adjust to the daylight to keep your home a comfortable warm color temperature in the winter. Think of this like the night mode feature on your phone.

Here are 10 smart light bulbs that work over Bluetooth

A smart home hub still has some benefits

Philips Hue may be one of the most recognizable brands in the smart lighting space, but its bulbs have famously required a Hue Bridge for even the most basic functions. The benefit of the Bridge is that it quickly connects all of your bulbs, which is convenient when you plan on outfitting your entire home with Hue bulbs, but it makes them much less accessible if you're only after one or two bulbs.

Fortunately, Philips Hue now includes Bluetooth functionality with many of its most sought-after bulbs. With this, you can control up to 10 Hue bulbs without a Hue Bridge, assuming you're within Bluetooth range — though you'll still need a hub to control an entire household of bulbs when you're away from home or for some more advanced features like Hue Sync and IFTTT.

Philips Hue Bridge vs Bluetooth

Source: Philips Hue (Image credit: Source: Philips Hue)

Be sure to check for Bluetooth compatibility before buying a Hue bulb without a Bridge. And keep in mind that even if you go with a Philips Hue Bluetooth-enabled bulb and you eventually decide to add more smart lights to your home (who could blame you?), you can always purchase a Hue bridge down the line, and it'll still work with your existing Bluetooth bulbs.

Olivia Lipski

Olivia Lipski is a freelance writer for Android Central and loves testing out the latest smart home tech and discovering the best cell phone plans. When she's not busy running around NYC trying to find great food or coffee, she's in her kitchen trying to make it herself.

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