Do you want to equip a few rooms in your home with connected bulbs in order to control the lighting from your smartphone? The models offered by Wiz may well seduce you with their ease of use.
When the desire or the need to equip yourself with bulbs or connected lights arises, the temptation to turn to Philips, the main player in the market, is rather great. Since 2012, the Dutchman has earned a solid reputation with its Hue range, which includes many models of connected bulbs controlled through a bridge (a bridge or a gateway, in French) which acts as a communication gateway between each Philips Hue device.
But Philips does not necessarily play the simplicity. The configuration of the bridge (mandatory to control the bulbs) can be quite tedious. Moreover, as efficient as it is, the Philips ecosystem is not cheap. Other manufacturers have of course followed suit, such as TP-Link, Awox or even Ikea with its Tradfri brand and even Lidl. And we no longer count the thousands of available references (Chinese for the most part) that we find among the giants of online commerce. Difficult to navigate when looking for a quality product at an affordable price.
What is Wiz?
However, one brand stands out: Wiz. This young Hong Kong company was acquired in 2019 by Signify, which is none other than the lighting division of… Philips. With Wiz, Philips thus adds to its assets a whole range of connected bulbs sold at lower prices and, above all, which do not require the presence of the bridge to operate. Wiz bulbs connect directly to the home’s Wi-Fi network. You can control them directly from an Android or iOS smartphone, control them by voice through voice assistants from Google, Amazon (Alexa) or Apple (Siri) and all without even creating an account!
Over the course of a few days, we were able to test several models of Wiz luminaires: the ST.E27 Filament, a vintage filament-style LED bulb, the A.E27, a bulb offering 16 million colors, the LED Strip, an LED strip with stick in or on a piece of furniture and the Led Light Squire, a table lamp. We were also able to test the Wizmote remote control which allows you to control the bulbs without going through the mobile application. Here is our feeling.
What is the Wiz range?
Bulbs and Wiz application: easy installation
During the installation phase, we encountered no difficulties. Which is really appreciated. Enough to satisfy both beginners and more experienced users. You must first download and install the Wiz app on a mobile (Android or iOS smartphone or tablet). Once the application is launched, you must define a house (in case you use other Wiz bulbs in another residence), then authorize access to Bluetooth. It is through this wireless transmission mode that the app will detect the bulbs present around it.
Then all that remains is to select from a list the room where the bulb to be controlled is located, choose the type of device to be connected (bulb, switch, remote control, socket, etc.) and indicate the Wi-Fi network used and the associated password.
Once the Wi-Fi network has been saved, you must turn on the lamp, which is detected automatically. And that’s all !
When the bulb is recognized and integrated into the home network, it becomes fully controllable from the smartphone.
Wiz lighting system: many possibilities
Each bulb can adopt a multitude of settings from the app (depending, however, on its predispositions). The Filament ST.E27 bulb, for example, is content to provide lighting ranging from warm at 2000 K (Kelvin) to daylight white at 5000 K. The A.E27 model offers many more possibilities. ranging from 2200 K to 6500 K and 16 million colors just like the Srip headband (from 2700 K to 6500 K) and the Light Led Squire (from 2200 K to 6500 K). From there, the possibilities of variation of lighting are extremely broad. Fortunately, the mobile app offers a long list of predefined settings. Some allow fixed lighting and others dynamic lighting (candle, fireplace, club, romance, evening, etc.) varying the intensity at a rate that can be fine-tuned using a slider.
In this case, the color varies according to the desired atmosphere. The bulb will thus pass from dim orange lighting to present a blue or green light through the other colors of the spectrum. The transition speed can be adjusted manually as can the light intensity.
We thus have full latitude to control the atmosphere we wish to create. And, nothing prevents you from also manually looking for the right shade. Of course, the settings can be saved to relaunch them when desired. It is thus possible to create “scenes” which concern one or more bulbs simultaneously in order to establish a tailor-made atmosphere.
Wiz programming: switching on and off on demand
Programming is also one of the advantages of smart bulbs. From the app, it’s easy to set automatic switch-on and switch-off times for each connected light bulb in the house in each room. You can settle for classic programming by defining a start and end time for each day of the week and even activate a holiday mode which will take care of turning the lights on and off in your absence during specific time slots. (morning and evening) to simulate a presence.
The app also provides a programming mode based on a Circadian rhythm. You indicate your wake-up and bedtime and the lighting adapts according to the time of day. It kicks in gradually for waking up, then intensifies until there is daylight during the day before gradually fading to a cozy ambience in the evening and then slowly shutting off at bedtime. And, of course, since each lamp is connected to the Wi-Fi network, you have the possibility of turning them on or off at any time, even when you are not at home, as long as you have an Internet connection. and that the Wi-Fi network at home is active.
Wiz app: multiple user management to be reviewed
You are not the only one who can control all of the Wiz lights connected to your home. Each member of the household can install the Wiz app on their smartphone and manage the lighting. Two statuses exist: Administrator and Guest. The first has all the rights to modify the scenes and the programming. The second can only control the classic lighting parameters (hue, intensity, etc.). The user who installs the light bulbs is an administrator by default. And it is he who adds new users. The method could be simpler and the indications are a little vague to get there. We have a QR Code and a code to transmit without further explanation. Good point though, you don’t need to create an account to control the fixtures as a guest. On the other hand, it is mandatory to register with Wiz in order to be able to add new users, whether they assume the role of administrator or simple guest.
Wiz remote control: practical, but not essential
Going through the Wiz application on a smartphone to manage the switching on and off of the lights is not always practical. Wiz thus offers a classic remote control. It offers far fewer functions than the app but still allows everyone to control the lights. Four predefined lighting modes (adjustable from the application) are directly accessible with the buttons and it is also possible to vary the intensity of the light.
Well done, except that the remote control by default controls all the lights grouped together in a room in the application. Impossible to choose to light only one bulb for example. A selector on the remote control would have been welcome. Finally, be aware that Wiz devices are compatible with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Siri so that you can control them by voice. Too bad, however, that they do not benefit from integration with Home Kit on iPhone as is the case for the Philips Hue ecosystem. And for advanced users, it is even possible to schedule uses through the free online service. IFTTT (If This Then That or, if this then that in French) which allows you to create interactions with other connected devices.
Wiz lights: top quality lighting
Light fixtures are made first of all to illuminate. And on this ground, we were not disappointed. The intensity is there with the Filament ST.E27 bulb as well as with the A.E27 model and the LED Strip. The colors are also very pleasant and we appreciated the wide range of colors available to create tailor-made lighting atmospheres. Good point also on the power consumption side since the Filament ST.E27 bulb displays 7 KWh/1000 hours and the A.E27 8 kWh/1000 hours. Note that the app also provides monitoring of the power consumption of each device.
What is the Wiz lighting solution worth?
For a rather affordable price, Wiz offers a range of luminaires with multiple possibilities. We appreciated the simplicity of the installation which only takes a few seconds and the wide variety of lighting scenes available. The application is also easy to handle to control all the connected lights. The programming functions are also welcome even if they will not interest everyone. The remote control is really not essential if you always keep your smartphone at hand. Just a little effort remains for user management.