[Review] Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb: The smart health connected bulb without artifices smart health innovation

Xiaomi knows how to diversify, after televisions, electric scooters, humidifiers, surveillance cameras and the very recent opening of a Paris store. The Chinese brand presents its brand new smart health connected bulb: the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb. It’s already their second bulb after YeeLight.

• Mark : Xiaomi

• Luminous flow : 800 lumens

• Category: smart health connected bulb

• Connection: Wireless

• Base: E27

• Nominal power : 10W

• Nominal input : 220-240 V

• Color temperature range : 1700-6500 K

• Lifetime : 25,000 h

• Operating temperature : -10 to + 40 ° C

• Technology : LED

• Weight: 195 grams

• Dimension : 120 × 55 cm

• Price: € 19.99

It's almost Christmas and we all want to create a warm and cozy atmosphere in our homes. Whether you prefer warm colors, green and red or cooler tones, the smart health connected bulb Xiaomi Smart Bulb offers a nice variety of colors to get you in the mood for the holiday season. The latest from Xiaomi follows the Yeelight, it has the same design, but offers “16 million colors”(According to the manufacturer). Not predefined mood therefore, it will take ingenuity and creativity to find the light that suits you best. You will be able to control the light of all your rooms by voice, since it is compatible with Google health home and Alexa.

Unboxing of the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb

The Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb bulb is supplied in a rectangular white box. Very sober packaging, on the front appears only a visual of the Mi bulb. Also appears the brand logo as well as the name of the product. On the different sides of the box appear the characteristics of the object: its dimensions, its consumption… Finally, a barcode is proposed in order to be able to scan it in theApp Store or Google Play.

The box opens very simply on the above, at inside there is a second case. We discover a bag in which the smart health connected bulb appears in transparency. Once the upper part is raised, you can take out the bag and discover the Mi, it fits in your hand. A little heavier than its elder, it is nevertheless very pretty.

At the bottom of the package, a small notebook is visible, it is the user manual. Available in several languages, it explains how to install the bulb, how does it connect to the app, it also lists its different features.

Design and ergonomics of the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb

The design of a light bulb is very important. The design of the Xiaomi bulbs was very original when the Yeelight was released, curved, slightly striated, giving it a very modern appearance. Today we have a feeling of deja vu. Same colour, same gray coating on the lower part of the bulb, only small change: the logo that differentiates it from its big sister. While the Yeelight proudly wore a kind of Y, the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb is easy to read. Flanked on the front by an "MI" with stylized typography allows us to recognize it.

So certainly, it is very pretty and knows how to mark its difference compared to other smart health connected bulbs present on the market. However it may not be suitable for everyone or for all lamps. Indeed, the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb is quite impressive, heavier than its competitors, remember that it weighs 195 grams versus 116 grams for the Philips Hue. In addition, its size and circumference may not be the same for all light fixtures. Too bad, before buying it so check the dimensions of your lamp, because it is very likely that it will not pass. Small flat therefore, when we think that the furniture is more and more minimalist, it risks stuck.

Nevertheless, Xiaomi is betting on its ease of installation and it’s true that it’s very simple. Just like syncing with a phone, by the way. Just the screw like a normal bulb and voila you can start having fun.

Another positive point, the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb does not need a connection bridge like the Hue for example. In fact, the entire module is inside the bulb. So when you have multiple bulbs, just choose one to bridge the gap with the others. One less device in the house, that's already it.

The Wi-Fi connection is therefore made directly by connecting to the box fireplace. To do so, you will need to download one of the two available applications: Yeelight or Mi health home (we will come back to this a little later). You will then be asked to enter the Wi-Fi password for your box. Once this step is completed, you will only be left add the detected bulb and associate it with a room in the house.

Mi health home or Yeelight: two applications for a bulb

Curiously, there are two applications to control the Mi bulbs: Yeelight and Mi health home. The manufacturer however strongly recommends Mi health home without mentioning even the second time. Curious therefore.

Mi health home

So we started by using the Mi health home app as indicated on the box. Very quickly we were quite disappointed with the features offered. No predefined scenario, no atmosphere no more, only the color change. Very basic in short. Again we were surprised to find an application supposed to bring together all Xiaomi devices, without however offering all the features. After a short walk in this somewhat simplistic application, we quickly learned to use it.

Once on the health home page, just press the tab at the top right to add a device. Once the Xiaomi Mi Smart Bulb selected, just click on the icon that represents it and you can now control it.

Four tabs are present at the bottom of the screen. The first allows you to turn off or turn on the bulb, you can easily recognize it by the small logo that represents it.

The second represents a sun, it allows to control the light intensity, simply slider on the left or on the right to vary it. Then to choose between cold light or warm light it will be enough to slider upwards or downwards.

The third tab represents a kind ofRainbow, it allows to choose the color of your bulb. At the top, we slide to change the colors, on the side we slide to control the intensity.

The application also offers a timer option which allows you to program the lighting time of your bulbs. You can also create an atmosphere, the light will change color automatically according to your wishes.

Of course you can control the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb from Google health home or Alexa, just add it to your Google health home app.

Yeelight

The Yeelight application is the same as that used for the previous range of Xiaomi. We must admit that it remains very efficient for the Mi. This is why we were very surprised to find that Xiaomi did not mention this application on its packaging or on its site. This is a shame since this application would allow users to better understand these bulbs, especially if it is a first step in the world of smart health connected lighting.

For the regulars don't expect a big change, the Yeelight app has not changed since the Xiaomi Yeelight E27. Just like the Mi health home, when the bulb is detected, the user can get started very quickly. However here he also access to the different themes offered on the application (Romance, Reading, Birthday Party…). These are in all twelve mood lights that are offered.

The function which interests us particularly is that which allows customize scenarios. For this, the user must return to the list of installed devices and then select the menu at the top left and finally click on the "Personalization" tab. Then select the color scene, the white temperature or the brightness intensity then choose a repeat of the action. The accuracy of the white temperature (from 1,700 K to 6,500 K) is very significant. a feature very little present on other competing applications.

The icon located at the bottom right of the screen gives access to the many features: the Timer, the calendar and of course our favorite mode “Music Flow” which does move the light of our light bulb to the beat of the music.

This application is therefore particularly complete. Only Philips Hue really competes with this type of application although of course we are not at all in the same price range for bulbs at all. But all the same, we wanted to emphasize the effectiveness of this application.

16 million colors for a very personal atmosphere

The challenge of the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb is to offer a variety of colors so that you find the color that suits you. A color for an occasion. But beyond the color palette at your disposal you can also and above all adjust the intensity of your bulbs. They can light up entire rooms by going from 80 lumens to 800 lumens. Very good brightness therefore, we can also choose between a White cold conducive to inspiration or more festive events, and a White hot perfect for a cozy and relaxing atmosphere. Everything is done to personalize your interiors as much as possible in all circumstances.

For those who have a little trouble getting up in the morning, we can schedule a gentle awakening. Just indicate a wake-up time, say 8 a.m., and the bedside bulb will imitate the first rays of the sun. We can also do the same thing in the evening to facilitate falling asleep. This type of functionality is rather common for smart health connected bulbs, but still has its small effect.

Just like the Hue, the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb can be controlled by voice with Google health home or Alexa, but you can easily order it via one of the two applications mentioned above.

Finally the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb consumes very little energy since it only needs 10 W to shine at 800 lumens. In addition, she has a lifespan of 25,000 hours or approximately 23 years for use of 3 hours per day. Really not bad.

The Mi Led Smart Bulb facing the competition

The Mi has a lot of competition. Some bulbs offer more functionality with a more efficient application, but the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb is one of the few not to have used a connection bridge. This is a very important point that could tip the scales.

Philips Hue: the queen of light bulbs

La Hue offers nice features : synchronization of lighting with your music or movies, a range of predefined moods, ease of use and installation. It even offers, with Google health home, some very fun Halloween and Christmas themes. Only its price generally tends to drive us back. Its quality has nothing to prove.

Wiz Color: the amazing bulb

It also does not require no connection bridge, the use of WiFi offers much richer possibilities. We can have fun at create many scenarios thanks to a very intuitive application and fun which does not necessarily require knowing yourself. In addition the quality of lighting is more than correct and all at a reasonable price.

Tradfri: The bulb in Kit

This smart health connected bulb is probably the cheapest on the market, at only € 9.99. EIt offers voice control, correct lighting and cozy atmospheres. You can also add to this bulb a few accessories like a movement detector or one wireless dimmer.

Yeelight: The Big Sister

Like the last one, the Yeelight does not require a connection bridge which greatly facilitates its installation. Furthermore its application which has not changed much since offers a lot of functionality to find the light that suits us best.

Conclusion

Not much to complain about on the Xiaomi Mi Led Smart Bulb. It offers a high performance lighting, the variation of warm white and cold white is much appreciated. Small wrong note about the application. The Mi health home is highlighted even if the older Yeelight, and without much innovation remains the most effective. Xiaomi should therefore tune its violins a little better. Other than that we really appreciated the fact that there was no connection bridge which allowed a very quick installation and an more intuitive handling. Even though its design hasn't changed since the Yeelight, its sobriety and gray coating are still appreciated by the editorial staff. We note however that its weight and size can be a handicap if you have small lamps. Despite all its ergonomics is quite suitable.

Finally, his lighting quality, his operating possibilities and the energy savings that it generates make this product verys qualitative. All this is coupled with a very reasonable price of € 19.99.

Good points

• Very fast configuration

• Very simple installation

• No need for a connection port

• Reasonable price

• Feature-rich Yeelight app

• High performance warm and cold white

Negative points

• Great confusion about the application to adopt

• Not many predefined scenarios

• Rather impressive, not suitable for all lamps

Design and Ergonomics – 7

Features – 6

The application – 5.5

Facing the competition – 6

Value for money – 8

6.5

Design and Ergonomics : A sober design that is very reminiscent of that of the Yeelight. Despite the fact that it is more imposing than the competition, it remains very pretty.

Fonctionnalities : No need for a connection port, installation is therefore very simple. So is its use. The wifi connection is instantaneous.

The application : Big confusion about the application to use: Yeelight or Mi health home. However they are both well done, and intuitive, even if we have a small preference for the Yeelight; The tabs are clear.

Against competition : The Mi Smart Bulb has a lot of competition but its price and its features make it very competitive.

Value for money : The price of the Mi Led Smart Bulb is quite correct and much lower than that of some of its competitors.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW