Philips Hue too expensive? Try the Xiaomi Mi LED Smart Bulb

Smart bulbs are a great way to instantly change the ambience of a room but if you're starting from scratch, and you want to go for coloured bulbs rather than white ones, the cost can soon start to mount up. Coloured smart bulbs from Philips and LifX, for example, will set you back around £50 per bulb.

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Now Xiaomi, which has a philosophy of producing premium products at more affordable prices, has brought its Mi LED Smart Bulb to Europe, for a very attractive £19.99 per bulb.

The Mi LED Smart Bulb features 16 million colours and adjustable colour temperature and brightness, and can be controlled remotely with Mi Home app.

Setting up the bulb is quick and easy: screw it in (note that it only comes as an E27 fitting), install the Mi Home app, and scan for nearby devices. When your bulb is found you can then connect it to your Wi-Fi network via the app and you're good to go.

Now you can change the bulb's colour and brightness, and set schedules if you want the lamp to come on automatically. You can also control the lamp using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, while Apple Home Kit support is promised for Q2 2019.

Brightness is adjustable from 80 to 800 lumens, and the bulb has a claimed lifespan of 25,000 hours, which is about 11 years if you use it for six hours a day.

Buy the Mi LED Smart Bulb for £19.99 from Xiaomi.com.

More Xiaomi Mi LED Smart Bulb prices are below.