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Add to SafariWhen comparing Cree Connected vs Tik Tech Smart LED Light Bulb, the Slant community recommends Tik Tech Smart LED Light Bulb for most people. In the question“What are the best smart bulbs?” Tik Tech Smart LED Light Bulb is ranked 6th while Cree Connected is ranked 13th. The most important reason people chose Tik Tech Smart LED Light Bulb is:
At just $10, these don't cost much more than a regular lightbulb. They offer RGB lighting, there's no need to pay for a hub, and offer scheduling options as well. This is a fully featured smart bulb for half - or even a quarter the price of the competition.
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Inexpensive
At just $15, this is one of the most inexpensive smart bulbs available. It's great not only as a first step into smart bulbs, but also as an inexpensive addition into a Philips Hue or other compatible bulb system.
Pro Many options for automation
Robots is an easy to use automation tool that lets you take control and create your own recipes for your bulbs to follow (flash blue when you receive a text, flash red when the door opens, etc). Shortcuts are also supported - you can setup a cluster of lights to all enter a pre-determined mode with the touch of a single button. Also supported is scheduled lighting - you can have the lights dim near bedtime, and start to illuminate in the morning to help ease the sleep process.
Pro Compatible with many ecosystems
At launch it was only compatible with Wink, but since then has added Staples Connect, SmartThings, and Philips Hue Bridge support. This allows for a wide range of hardware (at varying prices), as well as your choice of ecosystem.
Pro Affordable
At just $10, these don't cost much more than a regular lightbulb. They offer RGB lighting, there's no need to pay for a hub, and offer scheduling options as well. This is a fully featured smart bulb for half - or even a quarter the price of the competition.
Pro Basic setup
Because there's no hub to hook up, the setup process is simple. Just pair the bulbs with your phone, and you can connect up to 32 bulbs. Giving access to family/friends is easy too - as long as you both are on the same Wi-Fi.
Cons
Con Below average color rendering
The colors that the Cree connected provides are just below average for smart bulbs. At 80% of the spectrum, they fall behind the GE Link (90%), Belkin WeMo (88%), and Osram (81%) but a hair ahead of the Philips Hue (79%).
Con Hub required
You will need a hub, but at least you can pick your choice of hardware from cheap solutions ($30) that just control the lights to $50+ systems that can be the brains for your whole connected house.
Con Poor lightswitch dimming
As with all smart bulbs with in-app dimming, dimming from a lightswitch provides less than optimal results. The two dimming systems both try to take control, which results in flickering and some buzzing.
Con A bit dim
At 600 lumens, these bulbs are 25% dimmer than most other bulbs. This will make illuminating rooms - the primary function of light bulbs - a bit more difficult although not impossible. The bulbs may not be sufficiently bright to simply replace existing bulbs...you may need to add an extra lamp or lighting fixture to provide the same amount of light or deal with a slightly dimmer room.
Con Unintuitive app
While the app contains everything needed to make the most of the smart bulbs, it places features inside menus where you wouldn't expect to look. For example, one of the sections is called "Lab" where you can find the Colorful, Game, Music, and Night Light settings. The timer button is a different color, is located below the other buttons, and has a square outline. There you can find the expected settings suitable for a timer section.
Con Limited range
Bluetooth has its benefits, although it only has a short range. You need to physically be near the bulbs in order to change their settings, while other Wi-Fi bulbs (or bluetooth bulbs connected to a Wi-Fi hub) let you control your lights from around the world as long as you have an internet connection.
