If this is your first venture into the world of smart lighting, the Philips Hue Go is a great place to start. Philips has become the de facto brand for smart lighting technology, but many of their devices have a price tag that reflects their premium reputation. The Hue Go, on the other hand, is usually priced between $75 and $100, making it one of the more affordable options in the Philips lineup without sacrificing any of the smart features that make these lights so much fun. Its portable design, versatility, and functionality as a standalone device make it our top choice. 

Best Overall

Philips Hue Go

  • Minimalist design

  • Portable

  • Super versatile

  • Not too expensive

  • Requires Philips Hue Smart Hub to access all features

With its ultra-minimal half-sphere shape, the Hue Go is an understated but stylish addition to any room. It’s also powered by a rechargeable battery so you can move it wherever you want — even outside. Choose exactly the right shade of colored light (there are over 16 million options available), or simply set it to your preferred temperature of white light. You can control it using the Philips Hue app or the buttons on the device, but if you want to access smart features like voice control and smart home integration, it has to be connected to a Philips Hue Smart Hub.

Best Budget

HUGOAI Bedside Lamp

  • Inexpensive

  • All the basic features of higher-end smart lamps

  • Compatible with most smart home hubs

  • Uninspiring design

  • Requires its own app, making it less convenient for people who already have branded smart lighting in their house

This is a great option for a bedside lamp with a little extra ambiance, or for a kid’s room or nursery. If you want a color-changing lamp to integrate into your smart home system — or if you just want a lamp that you can control from your phone — the Hugoai lets you enjoy those features without going all-in on an expensive smart lighting setup. It’s available in both black and white.

The term “sleep hygiene” is something of a buzzword these days, but we all know that looking at our phones and laptops before bed can mess with our natural sleep cycles. The Casper Glow bedside light is made by the popular mattress company and is designed to work with your body’s light response to make it easier to fall asleep and wake up in the morning. At night, it starts out bright enough for reading and slowly dims to a warm sunset orange to ease you into sleep. In the morning, it mimics a sunrise to gently wake you up, much like a wake-up light alarm clock. Our favorite part is the series of intuitive gesture controls, like twisting it to change the brightness or gently shaking it to turn on a very dim light when you need to get up in the middle of the night. Plus, its minimalist design looks great on any nightstand. 

Best for the Bedroom

Casper Glow Light

  • Dims as you fall asleep and brightens to wake you up

  • Intuitive gesture controls

  • Multiple lamps can be synchronized

  • Not compatible with existing smart home setups

Best for the Entertainment Center

Philips Bloom

  • Provides large splashes of colored light

  • Wide compatibility with smart home and entertainment systems

  • Aesthetically not that great

Like other Philips Hue smart lighting products, the Bloom lamp allows you to choose from millions of different colors. You can also set it to white light and use this lamp as a spotlight for artwork or architectural features. The one downside is the look of the actual device. Its pedestal design and white plastic body seems out of place displayed on a table somewhere, which is why we recommend tucking it into your entertainment center to get the full light effect without making it a focal point.

With its budget price tag and built-in Bluetooth speaker, this little table lamp from Marrado is a great option for a child’s room or nursery. Smart lights tend to be pretty expensive, so you may not want to leave a $200 lamp where it can easily be knocked around — for under $40, the Marrado has similar features to many of the lamps on this list except for the actual smart home integration and remote control. Bluetooth connection allows you to stream audio from your mobile device through a speaker in the lamp base.

Best for the Kids’ Room

Marrado Bedside Lamp

  • Built-in Bluetooth speaker

  • Wireless and rechargeable

  • Affordable

  • Not app-controlled

  • No smart home integration

This lamp is cordless and rechargeable, so there are no dangling wires. Plus, its LED lights are cool to the touch, provide ambient 360-degree light, and the adjustable brightness can be dimmed down to a nightlight. Kids will also love the color-changing capabilities and choosing which shade they want in their room.

Best Standalone Device

GE Lighting C Wi-Fi

  • Older model
  • Design takes up a lot of space

The GE Lighting C lamp has many of the same features as the other smart lamps on this list, including custom color settings, timers, smart home integration, and even a wake-up light setting. The main difference is that you can use this lamp as a virtual assistant to voice-control it or ask it questions. The ring design is eye catching but quite large, so it may be harder to use it as a desk or bedside lamp depending on your space restrictions.

The Dyson CSYS Desk Light is the definition of a splurge, but it’s also the most beautifully-design smart lamp we’ve come across. Designed with a special cooling mechanism to preserve the longevity of the LEDs, Dyson claims that this lamp will deliver the same quality of light for up to 60 years (and maybe if you spread out the cost across the next few decades, then it doesn’t seem quite as expensive). 

Best Design

Dyson CSYS Desk Light

  • Looks amazing

  • Brand claims light is engineered for eye comfort

  • Not internet connected or smart home compatible

  • Very expensive

Dyson also claims to prioritize eye comfort in the lamp’s design, as it was created with built-in glare protection, low flicker, and a special “Bubble Optic” lens that delivers extremely uniform light. The bulb also mimics sunlight as closely as possible. There is a touch-sensitive sliding dimmer on the lamp stand and the arm can be easily adjusted any way you need it. But above all, this lamp looks like an amazing piece of engineering and is bound to become a focal point of any room you put it in.

About Our Trusted Experts

A former editor for Lifewire’s product round-ups, Emmeline has spent years in the world of e-commerce combing the internet for the best new products out there. Her specialty is consumer tech.