Skip to main content

Sony’s new ‘Multifunctional Light’ lets you yell at your family from the ceiling

Sony’s marketing team must’ve been exhausted when they gathered around the conference table to brainstorm a name for its new smart light.

Instead of coming up with something catchy, funny, or downright clever, it went instead with “Multifunctional Light.” Because it’s a multifunctional light.

Recommended Videos

But even then, this may be considered by some as a misnomer, as this particular product isn’t just multifunctional, it’s really multifunctional – beyond what most clear-minded people would surely expect with a light fixture.

Stick the Frisbee-like device on your ceiling and the thing’s ready to take over your life, or at least your home. First off, it does the obvious stuff, connecting to your smartphone so you can control its brightness in a few taps from the comfort of your sofa. You can also program it so it’ll come on at specific times, handy as a security device if you’re away on vacation or simply for the comfort of arriving back at night to a lit home.

OK, so what else does Sony’s Multifunctional Light do, exactly? Well, it comes packed with sensors that can, for example, monitor temperature, so if it’s too cold, it’ll communicate with your heating system to get the place toasty. The light also activates the air conditioner if it detects high levels of humidity, while another sensor, this time for motion, means the light can turn on your TV when it detects you’re in the room.

Heck, it even has a memory card slot (the jury’s still out on what exactly it’s for), as well as a speaker and microphone. The Multifunctional Light’s promo video (above) appears to show mom calling home and addressing her children through the light’s built-in speaker, an act that in reality will probably freak most kids out the first time it happens. Imagine – “Daddy, Daddy, Mommy’s in the light!”

Of course, the built-in speaker means it can also play music, while the microphone, well, couldn’t it be used to listen in to others’ conversations?

Sony’s all-singing, all-dancing, and all-functioning Multifunctional Light hits the Japanese market in the first half of this year, after which the company may send it beyond its shores. Possibly with a different name.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
8 things you didn’t know smart lights could do

Smart lights are among the simplest products to add to your smart home. After removing your old bulbs and screwing in the new ones, you’ll instantly be able to adjust their brightness or tweak their color. And while those features alone are a good reason to bring them into your home, there’s a lot more to most smart lights than you’d imagine.

Of course, each smart light comes with its own set of caveats, and not all of them can perform the same task. Philips, Wyze, Sengled, Nanoleaf, and dozens of other manufacturers are churning out smart lights nowadays -- and you can even find unique products such as LED strips or smart lamps that bring their own twist to the category. This variety has led to an explosion of innovation, with smart lights now able to perform tasks well beyond simple illumination.

Read more
Nanoleaf reveals new Matter-enabled smart lights at CES 2023
The Nanoleaf 4D TV syncing lights to the colors on TV.

Nanoleaf, a manufacturer of smart lights, introduced several new products to its lineup during CES 2023. The most exciting addition is the Nanoleaf Skylight, which mounts onto your ceiling to provide an impressive array of light shows. It’s also completely modular and can be arranged into a variety of shapes to fit every space in your home.

The Skylight connects to your smart ecosystem through Wi-Fi and works with Matter -- meaning you shouldn’t run into any compatibility issues with your current setup. The modular ceiling fixture can produce more than 16 million colors, its brightness can be adjusted through the accompanying smartphone app, and you can even set schedules to automatically adjust its settings throughout the day. The only downside? It won’t be launching for quite a while, with an expected release date in the third quarter of 2023.

Read more
GE Lighting shows off flashy new smart lights at CES 2023
The GE HD+ Wafer Downlights set to vibrant colors.

GE is expanding the capabilities of its smart lights, with Matter support, new product launches, and improved functionality all arriving throughout this year. The news dropped during CES 2023, with GE Lighting revealing not just new smart lights, but also an intriguing integration with Schlage smart locks.

Matter integration might be the most exciting announcement from GE, although we still don’t have specific dates for its arrival. The company did mention that Matter compatibility will be coming to the GE Lighting lineup throughout 2023. The team did reveal, however, that the Cync Full Color Direct Connect Smart Bulb and the Cync Indoor Smart Plug will be the first to receive Matter-compatible versions. Unfortunately, previously produced Cync gadgets are not expected to receive an over-the-air update adding Matter support.

Read more