In smart lighting, there are two companies that are at the top of the heap, Philips Hue and LIFX, and then everyone else. While Philips Hue generally plays it safe to appeal to a broad audience, LIFX has come up with some pretty innovative smart light solutions, and one of them, the Tile, is Buy at Microsoft .
Normally $250, the Microsoft Store is currently selling the Tile for $180 through June 23, or “while supplies last. This is cheaper than anywhere else we’ve seen so far. The package includes five eight-inch tiles which you can arrange in any way you’d like, either together or separately, and it’s all controlled through the LIFX app.
With smart assistant support for HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Assistant, you can control your device via voice, and all five tiles together use just 34 watts of power at peak brightness, making them extraordinarily efficient.
You aren’t limited to just one color per tile, as each tile has 64 different ‘zones’ which can have subtle (or contrasting) differences in color to create some really visually stunning light effects wherever you decide to place them — either on a wall or a flat surface like a table. The light effects can be animated as well.
We’re big fans of the modularity of the Tile, as it adds a dimension of customization that just isn’t available with traditional smart lights. Another advantage of LIFX is that its color smart bulbs arguably produce more vivid colors than most Philips Hue bulbs, so if that’s a concern we’d recommend LIFX over the Hue line.
LIFX also makes another modular light product, called the LIFX Beam. Instead of squares, the Beam is a set of six foot-long linear lights that can be set up in any configuration just like the Tile. You get the same color functionality as the Tiles, and we were able to find them on sale at Best Buy for $130, $20 cheaper than their normal price.
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Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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