Yeelight is a smart home device maker, and it is designed to form part of the Xiaomi ecosystem. An early version of the lightstrip was launched last year. In September 2018 a new version of the lightstrip was launched after an Indiegogo campaign.
This style of lighting forms part of the emerging smart home. Gadgets within this arena can assist people with running their homes home through either voice commands or app swipes. Examples range from security cameras to smart lights, connected speakers to watering devices for plants.
The lightstrip is controlled with an app, with the app connecting to a home Wi-Fi in order to control the light (no hub is required).
The new features of the Yeelight Aurora Smart LED Light Strip capture almost anything that is possible to achieve with a lightstrip. There are the usual variations to the settings in terms of color and brightness, although the color range extends to 16 million variations. Controlled by an app, the lightstrip has a timer function and scheduler. In terms of safety, the lightstrip does not become hot, remaining at ambient temperature at each section.
There are also animations, such as the ability to configure scenes such as sunrise and sunset. Taking one of these ‘sun settings’ – sunrise – Yeelight’s LED strip starts with a gradual sunrise effect where the light gets brighter and colder as time moves closer to a person’s pre-set actual wake up time.
Another useful aspect is the plug-and-play concept. The strip light can easily be extended by adding extension segments. Also, if a strip is too long it can be easily cut-off at defined sections.
As with other smart home technologies, the Yeelight LED Lightstrip works with Amazon’s Alexa as well as Google Assistant, providing voice activation. Overall, the light strip is multi-functional and competitively priced (around $50 for a starter kit), but its key selling point is its variety of mood settings, helping to create a variety of atmosphere for the home environment.
