If you’re looking to set the mood with some ambient lighting, you may want to consider the Xiaomi Yeelight. Yes, you read that correctly — the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world is more than just a mobile device maker. Rather, it has expanded its reach and planted itself firmly in the home electronics space, and has done a good job of it. The Yeelight is a sophisticated and subtle product.
The beautiful $70 bedside lamp is a smart LED lighting device whose sleek design hearkens more to high concept stores than to cell phone producers. Standing nine inches tall and cylindrical in shape, the unassuming lamp is surprisingly bright and supremely functional. Save for the chrome colored base, the entire cylinder is illuminated with light of varying colors and brightness, both of which you can set. And best of all, you can set it from your phone.
The Bluetooth-enabled gadget allows you to control just about every aspect of the light, even setting a time for it to turn off as you drift off to sleep. The LED array is quite impressive, especially considering the price point, at 300 lumens, which as ZDNet explains, is effectively “the level between a match light and that of a fluorescent lighting tube.” And no matter how particular you are about your shades of blue, you’ll find one you like within the Yeelight — it has around 16 million colors in its arsenal.
A single button at the top of the lamp turns the light on and off, and you can slide your finger to adjust the brightness. Another smaller button lets you choose between white light and the wide range of colors, and if you’re in the mood for some variation, you can let the Yeelight go through its entire array at random.
The light isn’t widely available in the U.S. just yet, Xiaomi expects to bring its new line of products to the states by this summer. And if you’re in the market for a new nightlight, the Yeelight may just be your perfect companion.
