Sengled
About the vendor and its products
Sengled, even it it can be difficult to determine, seems to be a Chinese company, but with departments in Germany and the US. I must admit it took some time before I became aware of the company, but it offers a broad product range and with some versions that few, if any other, make, e.g., smart lightbulbs with built-in speakers. Sengled is continuing to expand the product selection and the support for integration with other ecosystems, with somewhat different products for different parts of the world. With the reservation that I might have overlooked something, an overview of the products available in Europe are (unless otherwise mentioned, the smart bulbs come with E27 socket):
Hub, which is Sengled’s base station. This is not described in itself on the pages of Sengled and does not seem possible to buy separately (in Europe, in North-America one can), but comes in kits with different types of other products, e.g., with traditional smart bulbs. Most of the products require the base station to be installed and operated (based on Zigbee), but some selected products use WiFi and don’t require the base stations.
Pulse, which is a joint name for a series of products built around a smart bulb with an integrated JBL speaker. The line consists of a master bulb and satellites allowing setting up network of speakers in different rooms (the bulbs come in different colors, but can only emit white light). In addition, there are dedicated lamps/sockets for these bulbs, respectively Onion and Pulse Cradle, and Sengled also offers a “ceiling version”, Pulse Wave, which is a combined LED lamp and speaker. By also installing a Pulse Link, the bulbs can be set up as a surround system.
Solo Color Plus, which is also a smart bulb with a built-in speaker, but in versions both with colored and white light, and which can be synced to the music. These can not be connected together, though, each bulbs operates on its own.
Everbright, this is a “security light” which can partly be used as an ordinary lightbulb, but which turns on automatically in cases of power outage using a battery that lasts 3.5 hours. It can even be used as a flash light.
Element Plus, this seems to be a quite standard smart bulb, with white light, but Sengled’s app also makes it possible to see the power consumption.
Smartsense, another smart bulb with added functionality, in that it has a built-in motion sensor. It only produces white light, but can be used both indoor and outdoor, and the light turns off automatically after 90 seconds.
WiFi Classic, a smart bulb with white light that uses WiFi for communication, thus not requiring the base station.
Element Classic, the Zigbee version of WiFi Classic, i.e., with white light and which must be connected to the base station.
Boost, yet another smart bulb with unusual added features, this can also extend the WiFi throughout the house. It is difficult to find much detail about how this works and whether it only works with certain types of routers, but it sounds tempting if struggling to reach areas of the house. The bulb produces white light and comes in versions with both E27 and GU10 sockets.
Twilight, which is not really a smart bulb as we normally think to it, it has to be operated using a regular light switch. But it automatically delays turning itself off by 15 seconds, allowing time to get out of the room before it turns dark. Also this bulb has only white light and has both E27 and GU10 socket versions.
Mood, this is not a smart bulb per se either, but slightly “smarter” than ordinary bulbs. Also this one must be operated using a regular light switch, but by “double-clicking” the switch, it is possible to choose between cold or warm light.
Paint, a “half-smart” bulb; it is a bulb that be adjusted to many different colors, but from an enclosed remote control, not from an app.
Depending on the product in question, Sengled offers a number of different apps, like Sengled Home, Sengled Pulse, Sengled Flex, Sengled Element Home, Sengled Boost, etc.
There is also support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and SmartThings (and in the US, IFTTT and Wink), while the a new version of US base station has been launched with support also for Apple Home.
Our experiences
We have no experiences with products from this vendor.