When comparing MagicLightSmart LED Light Bulb vs Ion Audio Sound Shine, the Slant community recommends Ion Audio Sound Shine for most people. In the question“What are the best smart bulbs?” Ion Audio Sound Shine is ranked 3rd while MagicLightSmart LED Light Bulb is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Ion Audio Sound Shine is:
Ion is traditionally an audio company, so it isn't really surprising that they managed to create a product that offers good audio quality. These won't provide the same boom as dedicated speakers, but they'll do the job for most tasks. It should also be noted that these don't need a wall plug - all the power they require can be taken from any regular light socket.
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Pros
Pro Easy bulb managing
You can select up to 5 bulbs to be part of a group, and a single bulb can be part of multiple different groups. This lets you manage the bulbs room by room, which is much easier than changing each bulb individually.
Pro Lighting modes for any occasion
Through the app, you have access to many lighting modes. From 'disco' which pulses in-beat with the music to timers and configurable color pallets to even selecting a color by using your phone's camera and looking at an object, these lights seem to have it all.
Pro Control the lights from anywhere
Because they use Wi-Fi, these bulbs can be controlled from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. That means that you can turn your lights on from work if you are expecting a delivery, you can turn them on while you're on vacation to deter buglers and more. Also, it's convenient. You can turn your lights on at home when you leave from work, or by tapping your phone to a NFC tag (if you use third party software and set it up beforehand).
Pro Great at reproducing all colors
Instead of a typical RGB setup, this uses RGBW LEDs. That is, there is a red LED, a green LED, a blue LED, as well as a regular white LED. This allows for more natural whites - regular RGB bulbs try to mix a white color by turning all 3 LEDs on but depending on where you are standing you may be closer to the red LED, so the light will look a bit reddish. The dedicated white LED solves any potential issues.
Pro Rich, stereo audio
Ion is traditionally an audio company, so it isn't really surprising that they managed to create a product that offers good audio quality. These won't provide the same boom as dedicated speakers, but they'll do the job for most tasks.
It should also be noted that these don't need a wall plug - all the power they require can be taken from any regular light socket.
Pro Easy to use app
The app is very basic - you can control the brightness for the bulbs or turn them on and off.
Pro Simple setup
There's no hub required, and the bulbs pair easily directly to your phone. The process isn't any harder than pairing a bluetooth speaker.
Cons
Con No en mass controls
At most, you can adjust 5 bulbs at a time (if they are in the same group). That means that at night, you may have to go through the app and turn off 5-6 different rooms. There is no universal 'off' button to turn all the lights off, or change them all at once.
Con RGB or white
This bulb has a dedicated white LED, however you cannot use the white LED and turn on another LED to give it a splash of color - its either in RGB mode or pure white. You can attempt to re-create white using the RGB LEDs, and customize the color that way, however it is not possible to use all 4 LEDs at once.
Con Limited to 2 speakers
While you can have virtually endless numbers of Ion Shines hooked up at once, only 2 can play audio at once. It would be really handy if you could connect more up, as their sound would compound making it seem louder and richer.
Con No automation
Con White light only
While the lights are dimmable from your smartphone, most smart bulbs offer a RGB LED which lets you illuminate your room/house with different colors and shades of white. These lights only have 1 shade of white, and can be dimmed.