When comparing Belkin WeMo vs Elgato Alvea, the Slant community recommends Belkin WeMo for most people. In the question“What are the best smart bulbs?” Belkin WeMo is ranked 7th while Elgato Alvea is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose Belkin WeMo is:
In addition to basic timers and schedules, you can set the lights to dim over a set amount of time - from 1 minute to an hour - which can help get into and out of bed. The lights are also able to begin turning on with the sunrise (through IFTTT)
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Very configurable lighting options
In addition to basic timers and schedules, you can set the lights to dim over a set amount of time - from 1 minute to an hour - which can help get into and out of bed. The lights are also able to begin turning on with the sunrise (through IFTTT)
Pro Configurable recipies
Thanks to IFTTT (If This Then That - phone app for automation based on triggers) support, you can build your own custom recipes that suit you. There are also plenty of already created recipes from other users that you could use as well.
Pro Compatible with multiple smart bulb ecosystems
Of course its compatible with WeMo's ecosystem, but it is also compatible with SmartThings and Revolv. This allows for more options down the road, and the ability to mix different bulbs in a single setup.
Pro Good color rendering
The WeMo beast out virtually all of its competition when it comes to color rendering - the ability to accurately reproduce colors. It really only suffers when attempting to produce a vibrant, true red.
Pro Easy-to-use app
The app isn't confusing at all. It gives you 9 dynamic lighting options to choose from, such as magic hour (simulates a sunset), northern glow (simulates the northern lights), and cozy flames (simulates fire). Each of these has an option to adjust the intensity, although instead of just adjusting the time it takes to move from one color to the next it also changes the colors. For example, the Cozy Flames turn green-ish instead of the regular red with yellow and orange bursts.
Pro No hub needed
These bulbs hook up directly to your iPod/iPhone/iPad, with no need for a physical hub device.
Cons
Con Requires the WeMo Link hub
The bulbs are connected through the WeMo Link which is a central hub, which then connects to your phone. It adds cost to the setup, but thankfully you only need 1 to control a large collection of WeMo Links. This hub doesn't have any wired connections - it plugs into any ordinary wall power outlet.
Con Limited connectivity
There is no option for a remote control or web-based control.
Con Very dim light
The 430 lumens brightness of the Elgato Alvea is almost as bright as a 40-watt bulb, but not quite. These lights will be very expensive to use as primary light sources, as you'll need many of them to sufficiently light up a room. They are really only cost-effective as accent lighting.
Con Limited coloring options
While most smart bulbs let you pick from a color picker, for solid colors the Elgato Alvea has 7 to choose from (blue, green, orange, purple, red, white, yellow). Each shade is then adjustable in both brightness and shade, however it would have been much easier to just use a color palette like most other smart bulbs.
Also, while the nine dynamic lighting options are easy, they are the only dynamic lighting you can achieve. You can't set up your own dynamic color palette.
Con No Android support
Unfortunately, Elgato Alvea doesn't support any Android devices. It only works with iPhone (4S or later), iPod (5th gen) iPad (3rd gen or newer), or Apple Watch.