Light up any space with incandescent light at an irresistible price.
Today, smart lights come in vastly different shapes and sizes. ECOLOR aims to bring smart lighting into the budget realm while maintaining compromises. You’ll get cute little portable lights in the shape of eggs and crescent-shaped ambient lights from this brand. When it comes to form factor, as long as you keep an open mind, the sky is the limit. However, if you’re looking to add an ethereal glow to your living room accessories or car interior, smart light strips are the way to go.
In addition to quirky ambient lights, ECOLOR also offers a wide range of smart LED strips. This review will take a look at the ECOLOR Rainbow LED Strip, ECOLOR Smart LED Strip, and ECOLOR Interior Lights. While they share the same heart and soul, all three products share some key differences here and there. Happily, they do have one enticing trait in common: cheap.
ECOLOR Rainbow LED Light Bar
Bottom line: ECOLOR’s rainbow LED strips can withstand soaking wet and you can cut them to any length. You get advanced features such as segmented controls, a large number of modes and extensive controls through the companion app. It’s a near-perfect product, with the only caveat being that there’s no voice assistant support.
OK
- segment control
- Music sync and other modes
- Companion app and dedicated remote
- Cuttable and waterproof
bad
- No Alexa or Google Assistant integration
- Not the best physical remote
Amazon $30
ECOLOR Smart LED Light Bar
Bottom line: Smart LED strips can illuminate your home with 16 million colors, all 300 LEDs showing the same color at once. In the box comes the handy ECOLOR app and physical remote. Trim the light bar to your desired length and enjoy any lighting preset you like.
OK
- Cuttable strips
- Music sync and other modes
- Companion app and dedicated remote
- very good deal
bad
- No Alexa or Google Assistant integration
- Lack of IP rating
- Segmentation control is not provided
- IFFY physical remote control
Amazon $19 Newegg $25
ECOLOR interior lights
Bottom line: Much like the rainbow strip lights, these interior lights from ECOLOR cost no more than a few bucks and some change. Despite the low cost, you can bring the same segmented controls, multiple modes, waterproofing and multiple control methods to your car.
OK
- segment control
- Music sync and other modes
- Companion app and dedicated remote
- water proof
- very simple setup
bad
- No Alexa or Google Assistant integration
- not cut
- So-so physical remote
$21 on Amazon
ECOLOR Smart Light Bar Review: Price and Availability
All three types of light bars from ECOLOR are available on Amazon. ECOLOR Rainbow LED Strips come in a box of two rolls of 16.4 feet each and usually retail for $30. The ECOLOR Smart LED Light Bar also comes in a set of two 16.4-foot rolls. They’re only $19 because you can’t have segmented control of LED bulbs.
Meanwhile, the ECOLOR interior lights are $25 on Amazon, though you’ll usually find them discounted by $3 to $4 less. The interior lights consist of four light bars, each approximately 2 feet long.
ECOLOR Smart Light Bar Review: what would you like
When it comes to cheap brands like ECOLOR, what most customers are looking for is value. ECOLOR’s smart light bars definitely play a role in this. Thanks to the dazzling SMD 5050 LED bulbs, you can achieve pleasing color results. No matter which type of smart bar you choose, you can choose from 16 million colors. A rainbow LED light bar sits at the top of the pyramid, doing its best to have only one left: no Alexa or Google Assistant support. Rainbow Strip Lights are IP65 waterproof, cuttable, and you can control them via bluetooth or with an IR remote.
ECOLOR’s smart light bars provide pleasing color effects.
You also get segmented controls, allowing you to set different shades for a set of three consecutive LEDs. This means you can create your own custom rainbow. That’s a lot of customizability for 150 bulbs. The companion app goes a step further, enabling you to set an automatic power on/off timer, point the camera at anything and choose a color for the light bar, and even make the lights react to music. The response sensitivity can be controlled, and the brightness can also be changed.
A companion app goes a step further, offering extensive control and customizability.
Now, ECOLOR smart LED strips are different from rainbow LED strips because you don’t have waterproofing or segmented controls. There’s no smart assistant integration either, but you do get twice as many LEDs (300 to be exact). Other than that, it’s pretty much the exact same experience. Since you’re using the same ECOLOR app, you get camera color selection, brightness and sensitivity controls, preset loads, 16 million color wheels, and scheduling options.
Just like the indoor smart light strip, the ECOLOR indoor light is also very easy to set up and has the same function. Unlike cheaper smart LED strips, you do get waterproofing and segmented control. The lights also connect to your phone via bluetooth, and again the experience is exactly the same. One thing I particularly like about the interior lights is that all four light strips connect to a controller that plugs into the car’s lighter slot. I can’t express how easy it is to set them up. To his delight, my old father-in-law, who is not very tech savvy, was able to install these lights without any assistance.
What really elevates these strips is the very smooth ECOLOR app.
What really elevates these strips is the very smooth ECOLOR app. It takes a few seconds to set up the first time, and from there you can get used to the interface in minutes. It’s all very simple and designed to make your experience fun. If you like a setting you used in the past but forget how to get it again, you can simply browse through the most recently used presets and voila! If you use multiple identical light bars, you can rename each light bar in the app. This makes it easy to tell the difference between bedroom lights and living room lights, since you just have to label them “bedroom” or “living.” The only problem is that the name cannot exceed ten characters.
ECOLOR Smart Light Bar Review: you don’t like
The lack of Alexa or Google Assistant support is a common shortcoming of all ECOLOR products. Whether you choose interior lights, rainbow LED strips or smart LED strips, you won’t get any voice assistant integration. That means you have to rely on your phone or physical remote to interact and control the light strip every time. For those who like to maintain a well-connected smart home ecosystem, this can be a big deal. Unable to connect ECOLOR’s smart light bar to your Google Home app or physical Nest Hub.
The lack of Alexa or Google Assistant support is a common shortcoming of all ECOLOR products.
Using your Android phone’s Bluetooth to control lights is no problem, but the outdated IR remote isn’t pleasant to use. You definitely don’t get much customization, the remote has to be pointed directly at the controller box for it to work. The remote doesn’t work well if it’s too far away or if there are too many obstacles in the way.
With cheaper smart LED strips, you also don’t get IP ratings or segmented control. Since the rainbow LED strip has these features, I see no reason why anyone would skimp on $10 to miss out on waterproofing or customizability. Personally, I’d rather get the rainbow lights because you get two rolls of the same length. Yes, the Rainbow LED strip has 150 LEDs, and the Smart LED strip has 300 bulbs, but they’re bigger and give off significantly more light to make up for it.
ECOLOR Smart Light Bar Review: competition
Considering all the great smart lighting brands and options, the competition for ECOLOR strips is pretty stiff. Govee’s RGBIC Wi-Fi+Bluetooth LED Strip fights well against the ECOLOR Rainbow LED Strip and the ECOLOR Smart LED Strip. While the Govee gives you Alexa and Google Assistant, all other specs are identical to the ECOLOR Rainbow Lights. Govee’s option also costs More than ECOLOR. Obviously, price is where the ECOLOR smart light bar wins.
The Govee interior light goes head-to-head with the ECOLOR interior light at $20, while the latter costs $25. While Govee light bars offer a more affordable package, ECOLOR’s lights bring segmented control to the table. Interestingly, the more affordable Govee interior lights also don’t offer Alexa or Google Assistant support.
In addition to Govee’s smart light strips, Daybetter’s smart RGB light strips are also a good choice. Daybetter’s smart light bars can fit smaller budgets, just like the ECOLOR. You can get two 50-foot reels on Amazon for about $30 in a box that includes a music mode, an app, smart assistant, and an IR remote. However, Daybetter’s smart strip doesn’t offer segmented controls and isn’t waterproof.
ECOLOR Smart Light Bar Review: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if…
- You need waterproof and cuttable lights
- your budget is not very big
- You need 16 million colors
- you need extensive control
- You like physical remotes and app controls
You shouldn’t buy this if…
- You need Alexa or Google Assistant integration
- You need a fully functional physical remote
There really isn’t much reason not to recommend ECOLOR’s smart light strips to others. If you want a more customizable and waterproof lighting system, I recommend skipping the ECOLOR Smart LED Strip. If you can live with the lack of a voice assistant and a somewhat crappy IR remote, the ECOLOR Rainbow LED Light Bar and ECOLOR Interior Lights are a no-brainer. A great mobile app more than makes up for these deficiencies in a great set of smart light strips.
At the end of the day, ECOLOR’s smart light bars stand out from competing brands. You can expect seamless Bluetooth connectivity, an easy setup process, and a ton of customization. The 3M adhesive on the back of the strip lasts for a long time, and the color results are impressive in this price range. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed with these awesome smart light strips.
ECOLOR Rainbow LED Light Bar
Bottom line: Bask in the light of your own custom rainbow with the ECOLOR Rainbow LED Strip. Perfect for indoor or outdoor use, thanks to an IP65 water resistance rating, there’s a lot to love here, and not a lot to hate.
Amazon $30
ECOLOR Smart LED Light Bar
Bottom line: The ECOLOR Smart LED Light Bar may not be waterproof, but it definitely doesn’t compromise on quality. 300 LED bulbs emit a dizzying 16 million colors, and the ECOLOR app offers music sync and other fun modes.
Amazon $19 Newegg $25
ECOLOR interior lights
Bottom line: Why stop decorating once you’ve finished your home? ECOLOR interior lights bring a beautiful multi-colored glow to your vehicle. Features like music sync mode and segment control bring a whole new vibe to the car.
$21 on Amazon
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