Tech
Brighten Your Darkest Time (of Year) With This Smart Home Upgrade
In every home I’ve had in the past decade, I’ve installed smart light bulbs. Over and over again, between four different apartments and one townhouse, I was impressed by how easy smart lights were to use and how handy they were around the house, especially when key lights are plugged into outlets without a switch. No more switch-hunting; I just ask my smart speaker to turn the lights off for me.
After my latest round of testing nine different bulbs, my favorite remains the GE Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Bulb ($36 for two). The app is pretty and comes with cool extras, including fun light shows and even music shows. Because yes, this bulb can react to music and sound around it thanks to a built-in microphone. If you’re an Apple user, the Meross Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb ($29 for two) connects easily to your Apple HomeKit setup without needing a separate app to control it. Looking to get more bulbs without spending more? Check out the TP-Link Tapo Smart Light Bulbs ($32 for four).
Read on to see how each of these smart light bulbs was chosen and what makes using one so great. While you’re at it, catch more of our smart home tips with our guides to the Best Smart Speakers, Best Video Doorbells, Best Smart Locks, and Best Permanent Outdoor Lights.
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What Makes Smart Bulbs Great
Smart bulbs are so easy and affordable to add to your home. You’re using light bulbs somewhere in your house right now, so a smart bulb is easy to swap in without developing a new habit or setting up anything beyond a single app (or not even that, sometimes). I test a lot of smart home gear for work, but my smart lights have been a total must, even when I’m not working. They turn lamps connected to random outlets into easy-to-control devices. They also add dimmability and color without needing to rewire the switch for that capability, and you can add routines for lights to automatically turn themselves on and off to make your evenings and mornings easier (or make strangers think you’re home when you aren’t).
How Smart Bulbs Work
Smart bulbs connect to Wi-Fi or other devices in your home using smart home protocols like Zigbee and Matter, plus usually Bluetooth for initial setup, so you can connect the bulb to an app, smart speaker, and the internet to control it at any time.
You usually need the brand’s app to set up a light bulb and access the full controls, but you don’t usually need a hub. Philips Hue, a popular smart bulb line, still requires a hub and has for a long time (though its WiZ line doesn’t), but almost every other smart bulb that comes out doesn’t require it. It might ask for a hub if it needs one for a Matter connection, but a Matter connection means you can skip a separate app and let devices like your Alexa speaker control the light bulb instead. Still, you get better controls with an app for smart lights, like super-specific color controls, schedules, and, for some apps, fun custom light shows or even the ability to react to music.
The Best Smart Bulbs We’ve Tested
After my latest round of testing, these are my newest favorite smart bulbs.
This bulb has been my favorite for a while, and still retains its spot after my latest round of testing. The Cync app is pretty and intuitive to use, and it offered to connect the bulb to my Amazon Alexa right after I finished setup. Cync has a lot of great light products I like, so I already had the app set up, but it’s easy to get started if you’re new to the Cync world.
It has all the classic controls, like various shades of white and color, and you can also set up Scenes and Schedules in the Routines button. The app has a ton of fun options, including Cync’s Light Shows, which feature vibrant, moving color sets that work best with a couple of bulbs set up, and Music Shows, which react to music and sound in the room. My favorite is Candle for cozy ambiance. It always responds quickly to my voice commands, doesn’t require a hub, and can also respond to schedules I set in the Alexa app.
Are you an Apple Home user? Meross is usually my favorite Apple-focused brand, and Meross’ MSL120 light bulb is no exception. It has a fast, painless setup with Apple Home (a quick scan of the bulb’s barcode, a minute or two of waiting, and you’re done), even if you don’t have a dedicated Apple hub like the HomePod or Apple TV.
While I usually prefer the brand’s dedicated app for full control, especially since I mainly test with an Amazon Alexa setup, Apple does a nice job showing a range of whites and makes it easy to customize a colorful option. You can also connect this bulb to Alexa, Google, and SmartThings if you decide to switch off HomeKit down the line.
Tech
Onnit’s Instant Melatonin Spray Is the Easiest Part of My Nightly Routine
I’ve always approached taking melatonin supplements with skepticism. They seem to help every once in a while, but your brain is already making melatonin. Beyond that, I am not a fan of the sickly-sweet tablets, gummies, and other forms of melatonin I’ve come across. No one wants a bad taste in their mouth when they’re supposed to be drifting off to sleep.
This is where Onnit’s Instant Melatonin Spray comes in. Fellow WIRED reviewer Molly Higgins first gave it a go, and reported back favorably. This spray comes in two flavors, lavender and mint, and is sweetened with stevia. While I wouldn’t consider it a gourmet taste, I appreciate that it leans more into herbal components known for sleep and relaxation.
Keep in mind that melatonin is meant to be a sleep aid, not a cure-all. That being said, one serving of this spray has 3 milligrams of melatonin, which takes about six pumps to dispense. While 3 milligrams may not seem like a lot to really kickstart your circadian rhythm, it’s actually the ideal dosage to get your brain’s wind-down process kicked off. Some people can do more (but don’t go over 10 milligrams!), some less, but based on what experts have relayed to me, this is the preferable amount.
A couple of reminders for any supplement: consult your doctor if and when you want to incorporate anything, melatonin included, into your nighttime regimen. Your healthcare provider can help confirm that you’re not on any medications where adding a sleep aid or supplement wouldn’t feel as effective. Onnit’s Instant Melatonin Spray is International Genetically Modified Organism Evaluation and Notification certified (IGEN) to verify that it uses truly non-GMO ingredients.
Apart from that, there may be some trial and error on the ideal amount for you, and how much time it takes to kick in. Some may feel the melatonin sooner than others. For my colleague Molly, it took about an hour. Melatonin can’t do all the heavy lifting, so make sure you’re ready to go to bed when you take it, and that your sleep space is set up for sleep success, down to your mattress, sheets, and pillows.
Tech
I Tested Bosch’s New Vacuum Against Shark and Dyson. It Didn’t Beat Them
There’s a lever on the back for this compression mechanism that you manually press down and a separate button to open the dustbin at the bottom. You can use the compression lever when it’s both closed and open. It did help compress the hair and dust while I was vacuuming, helping me see if I had really filled the bin, though at a certain point it doesn’t compress much more. It was helpful to push debris out if needed too, versus the times I’ve had to stick my hand in both the Dyson and Shark to get the stuck hair and dust out. Dyson has this same feature on the Piston Animal V16, which is due out this year, so I’ll be curious to see which mechanism is better engineered.
Bendable Winner: Shark
Photograph: Nena Farrell
If you’re looking for a vacuum that can bend to reach under furniture, I prefer the Shark to the Bosch. Both have a similar mechanism and feel, but the Bosch tended to push debris around when I was using it with an active bend, while the Shark managed to vacuum up debris I couldn’t get with the Bosch without lifting it and placing it on top of that particular debris (in this case, rogue cat kibble).
Accessory Winner: Dyson
Dyson pulls ahead because the Dyson Gen5 Detect comes with three attachments and two heads. You’ll get a Motorbar head, a Fluffy Optic head, a hair tool, a combination tool, and a dusting and crevice tool that’s actually built into the stick tube. I love that it’s built into the vacuum so that it’s one less separate attachment to carry around, and it makes me more likely to use it.
But Bosch does well in this area, too. You’ll get an upholstery nozzle, a furniture brush, and a crevice nozzle. It’s one more attachment than you’ll get with Shark, and Bosch also includes a wall mount that you can wire the charging cord into for storage and charging, and you can mount two attachments on it. But I will say, I like that Shark includes a simple tote bag to store the attachments in. The rest of my attachments are in plastic bags for each vacuum, and keeping track of attachments is the most annoying part of a cordless vacuum.
Build Winner: Tie
Photograph: Nena Farrell
All three of these vacuums have a good build quality, but each one feels like it focuses on something different. Bosch feels the lightest of the three and stands up the easiest on its own, but all three do need something to lean against to stay upright. The Dyson is the worst at this; it also needs a ledge or table wedged under the canister, or it’ll roll forward and tip over. The Bosch has a sleek black look and a colorful LED screen that will show you a picture of carpet or hardwood depending on what mode it’s vacuuming in. The vacuum head itself feels like the lightest plastic of the bunch, though.
Tech
Right-Wing Gun Enthusiasts and Extremists Are Working Overtime to Justify Alex Pretti’s Killing
Brandon Herrera, a prominent gun influencer with over 4 million followers on YouTube, said in a video posted this week that while it was unfortunate that Pretti died, ultimately the fault was his own.
“Pretti didn’t deserve to die, but it also wasn’t just a baseless execution,” Herrera said, adding without evidence that Pretti’s purpose was to disrupt ICE operations. “If you’re interfering with arrests and things like that, that’s a crime. If you get in the fucking officer’s way, that will probably be escalated to physical force, whether it’s arresting you or just getting you the fuck out of the way, which then can lead to a tussle, which, if you’re armed, can lead to a fatal shooting.” He described the situation as “lawful but awful.”
Herrera was joined in the video by former police officer and fellow gun influencer Cody Garrett, known online as Donut Operator.
Both men took the opportunity to deride immigrants, with Herrera saying “every news outlet is going to jump onto this because it’s current thing and they’re going to ignore the 12 drunk drivers who killed you know, American citizens yesterday that were all illegals or H-1Bs or whatever.”
Herrera also referenced his “friend” Kyle Rittenhouse, who has become central to much of the debate about the shooting.
On August 25, 2020, Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, traveled from his home in Illinois to a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, brandishing an AR-15-style rifle, claiming he was there to protect local businesses. He killed two people and shot another in the arm that night.
Critics of ICE’s actions in Minneapolis quickly highlighted what they saw as the hypocrisy of the right’s defense of Rittenhouse and attacks on Pretti.
“Kyle Rittenhouse was a conservative hero for walking into a protest actually brandishing a weapon, but this guy who had a legal permit to carry and already had had his gun removed is to some people an instigator, when he was actually going to help a woman,” Jessica Tarlov, a Democratic strategist, said on Fox News this week.
Rittenhouse also waded into the debate, writing on X: “The correct way to approach law enforcement when armed,” above a picture of himself with his hands up in front of police after he killed two people. He added in another post that “ICE messed up.”
The claim that Pretti was to blame was repeated in private Facebook groups run by armed militias, according to data shared with WIRED by the Tech Transparency Project, as well as on extremist Telegram channels.
“I’m sorry for him and his family,” one member of a Facebook group called American Patriots wrote. “My question though, why did he go to these riots armed with a gun and extra magazines if he wasn’t planning on using them?”
Some extremist groups, such as the far-right Boogaloo movement, have been highly critical of the administration’s comments on being armed at a protest.
“To the ‘dont bring a gun to a protest’ crowd, fuck you,” one member of a private Boogaloo group wrote on Facebook this week. “To the fucking turn coats thinking disarming is the answer and dont think it would happen to you as well, fuck you. To the federal government who I’ve watched murder citizens just for saying no to them, fuck you. Shall not be infringed.”
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