Google - Smart Light Starter Kit with Google Assistant

PROs: - If you are having trouble setting up the Google Home Mini, the bulbs thankfully still function as regular LED bulbs upon initial power-up--no flashing, blinking, blanking or waiting for an app or voice assistant to pair - Though the Mini is the draw here, there is a 'C by GE' app that still allows Bluetooth-distance remote control for power, brightness, schedule/timer setting, and one-touch "scene" settings (Good morning, I'm home, Party, etc.) - The color temperature is not tunable (for that, you would need the C-Sleep bulbs), but the 2700K preset has a pretty comfortable incandescent bulb-like hue that is reasonably conservative and therefore versatile for typical duty - With the Google Home Mini, setup and integration into a fledgling (or even more extensive) home network is pretty much instantaneous and you get all the hands-free voice activation you could want for power, scheduling, brightness levels, and out-of-the-home control - Take the bulbs out of the equation, and you have a smart speaker which handles natural language pretty well providing all the personal voice assistance and trappings of a Google-enabled device you could possibly want (okay, except for maybe a screen) - Once you have the Google Home app on the go, you can control all the lights via the Home app and the Mini from anywhere you have a network connection--nice for adjustments while on the road - Voice Match was actually an intriguing feature; you can set up the Mini to recognize different voices in your household and then Google will respond accordingly--for example, not including your 9 year-old's music requests in your music search/playback history CONs: - This is truly a "mini" smart-home starter kit--with no smart outlets or other sensors, what you get are the bulbs for about a $5 premium over the full-priced Google Home Mini...that's a decent value if you were paying full price for the Mini to begin with, but a harder sell with the Mini at a discount because the lights are just decent smart bulbs in and of themselves (there are certainly better and more capable bulbs out there) - The smart speaker and streaming media playback on the Mini tends to work best with a Youtube and/or Google Play subscription--I have neither, and would often ask Google to play me some "X" only be to be told I'd need a subscription for THAT particular band, song, album, etc...but here was a streaming radio station that probably offered something similar. I get it, you don't get something for nothing, and if you're fine with commercials in your Spotify or just whatever Pandora serves up free you'll likely be fine, just be aware that maximum responsiveness to your musical whims is probably going to come with an extra price tag! - Though the bulbs are set at a pretty comfortable color temperature, you cannot change the "color" of white for this set--if you are looking for daylight or more blueish hues (or even colors), you need to look elsewhere, or just get the Mini by its lonesome and grab a different set of smart bulbs - The bulbs are not WIFI enabled--they are Bluetooth, which means at least one needs to be within 40-50 unobstructed feet of the Mini, and the other bulb at least the same to its mate (if they are not in the same general area). This somewhat limits how deeply you can dip your toe in the smart-home waters--if you want to put a bulb out in the entryway and the other on the back porch, the Mini needs to placed such that it can reach both bulbs (or at least one which then daisy-chains to the other) - If you mess up during the bulbs setup, or just need to start over, there is an 11-step factory reset procedure that alternates between on/off cycles that vary from 2 seconds to 5-10 seconds each. I was able to get the bulbs reset multiple times while switching between the 'C by GE' app control, and using the Google Home Mini, I sometimes needed 3-5 extra on/off cycles to finally get the reset confirmation blinks in the bulbs Summary review: I can see why these are sold together as a starter kit...but the truth is, you don't NEED the Mini to use/configure the LED bulbs...any Bluetooth-enabled device and the C by GE app can provide the same sort of control; at least within Bluetooth connectivity distances. So I approached this set from the perspective that it's an easy way to see what sorts of things are POSSIBLE if I had a smart home centered around something like the Mini. In that sense, this starter kit definitely gets things going, especially if you use the bulbs in a pronounced location like a dark basement or entryway where you'd love to be able to control the lights with your voice. But otherwise, the draw here is really the Mini itself. It does so much more than just control THESE particular bulbs, or even control smart appliances/objects in general. With constant voice assistant capabilities, you'll be surprised how often you end up saying "Okay Google"...and then querying the "verbal Internet" for answers to all things serious (how can I tell if I'm having a heart attack) and mundane (what's the weather going to be like tomorrow?). As a smart speaker...well, it's a smart object that has a speaker built in, and you'd be surprised how loud it can get, but the fidelity is only okay. With a number of these dotted around the house, I think they would make great "ambience" speakers all streaming the same soundtrack to your life (or maybe even something different from speaker to speaker), but I wouldn't want to do any critical or even loud party listening as the "oomph" just isn't there...and I did notice just a hint of distortion start to creep in at higher playback volumes. So is this set for you...honestly, I would think the answer comes down to the value proposition. If you were prepared to pay nearly full price for a Google Home Mini anyway (or if you can snag this starter set on a sale), I think it's a no-brainer. You get everything you were going to get from the Mini anyway, and you can set some home lighting automation or program some cool effects like "Okay Google, get ready for the movies" and your voice will magically activate a scene (that you've pre-programmed of course) that lowers the bulb's brightness to a home theater-friendly level. The bulbs themselves will work without the Mini so if you had other designs on where the Mini was going to go or how it was going to be used, it's almost like you can get two unrelated products nearly for the price of one. But if you're budget conscious and can snag the Mini on a deal in and of itself, there are much more flexible and capable smart bulbs out there to play with...cautiously recommended.

Disclaimer - I was given this product in return for my fair and honest review. TL;DR version - this would be okay for apartment dwellers, but the Google Smart Light Starter Kit featuring the C-Life by GE bulb is otherwise a 4-star smart speaker with tons of features and smarts paired with a "smart" lightbulb that isn't exactly smart. Also, a bad value for its regular price, but the "smart bulbs" themselves are also a bad value compared to other superior options for around their same price point. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Google Smart Light Starter Kit will always look enticing to the unknowing consumer, because who doesn't like the idea of including a smart lightbulb (in this case, C-Life by GE) with a Google Home Mini smart speaker for a decent overall price compared to buying the speaker and a smart bulb by themselves? Looks can be deceiving. I'm not going to talk much about the Google Home Mini (referred to as a GHM from here on out), because if you're reading this, chances are that you know it's a small smart speaker device that you can get answers to your questions from and control most home automation devices from nearly every manufacturer with. Unlike non-Google brand Google Assistant speakers, you can also use it with the FREE Google Voice VoIP phone service - just like with its big brothers, the Google Home and the Google Home Max - to make outgoing phone calls with terrific audio quality (but not to receive incoming calls or contact emergency services). With more and more abilities being added to Google Assistant, you can use it to order food, electronics, clothing, and more though various retailers that have embraced the service. It also functions as a Chromecast Audio receiver and can control your Chromecast-equipped TV, speakers, or your Android TV-based smart TV. If the next version of the GHM were to add an audio output, the GHM is the perfect small smart speaker in my book. But enough about that, because there are tons of reviews and articles about the GHM and how awesome it is. What I am going to talk about is the the other part of the package package. A decent enough smart speaker that I would give 4 stars to in its current iteration is brought down by what GE passes off as a "smart" bulb. For me, there's not enough of a feature set here to justify calling it smart. While you can turn the bulb on and off and set its brightness via the Google Home app or through Google Assistant, that's about it for the bulb's "smarts". It also uses a Bluetooth connection that requires the GHM that comes in the package; powering down the GHM it's paired to effectively makes the smart bulb the equivalent of a cheap LED bulb you'd pick up in your local hardware store, and Bluetooth's limited range compared to WiFi means the GHM and the bulb need to be placed in close proximity with each other. Metallic light fixtures, water pipes, HVAC ducting, and electrical wiring affect the usable range distance between the GHM and the bulb. A setup note for the C-Life bulb states that if you use multiple bulbs, they can create a mesh network, but all bulbs need to be placed within 40 feet of each other. The good about this kit is it's at least extremely easy to set up. You set up the GHM inside the Google Home app on your Android device (Kit Kat or later with a Bluetooth 4.0LE capability) or iOS (iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5, iPad 4rd Gen, or iPad Mini 2 or later device running iOS 10 or later), and then you're prompted by the Google Home app to pair the C by GE bulb to the GHM. Sorry PC and Mac users, you need a portable device to get this going. I did try to pair the bulb with other Google Assistant smart speakers I have that aren't the GHM in the package via the Google Home app (I have 3 different brands, all with Bluetooth 4 connectivity). None of the other speakers were able to discover up the C-Life lightbulb, which means to use C-Life lightbulbs with Google Assistant, you pretty much need a GHM or other Google-branded smart speaker. If you're looking at the "Made for Google" C-Life or C-Sleep bulbs and you have a non-Google brand Google Assistant speaker, it's just not going to work. The good news here, at least, is that you can control the bulb away from home as long as it maintains a connection with the GHM. My GHM and C-Life are located about 15 feet apart and the two devices have lost connection with each other a few times, but nothing a quick power cycle can't fix (in each case, it was always resetting the bulb). While the lightbulb can pair with the C by GE app for iPhone and Android, this also gives you a basic Bluetooth-connected remote controlled lightbulb and the inability to control it away from home. Because of this, I highly recommend that you stay completely away from GE's app when it comes to this bulb, because you will have issues getting it to work with the GHM if you have previously paired it with the C by GE app. (I did try this by the way; it's a major pain to unpair a C-Life bulb from any device because of the strangest on-off cycling pattern you need to follow to factory reset it.) Also, the bulbs can only pair with ONE device, be it a GHM or a phone. Once paired with a GHM, however, you can use multiple devices with the Google Home app installed to control the bulb; you'll just need to do the "Invite" thing inside of the Google Home app so people on other Google accounts can use the C-Life bulb and all of the other smart devices you have under Google Home's control. The C by GE app also warns you that you should really pair the C-Life bulb with the GHM and not the app. (I ignored this warning in the name of science.) Like I said, a decent 4-star speaker is brought down by a lightbulb pretending that it's smart. While I might recommend this for apartment dwellers, I highly recommend that you look into other ways of doing smart lighting in your home or apartment. WiFi-connected smart bulbs from other manufacturers are inexpensive and far more flexible. Lighting systems based on Z-Wave, ZigBee, Wink, and other protocols have greater range than the Bluetooth-connected C by GE lightbulbs. Finally, the GHM and other Google Assistant smart speakers can be had on the cheap. Now if you can find the Smart Light Starter Kit for the same price as a GHM by itself, then go for it since you'd get a free remote-controlled lightbulb.

For the purposes of this review, I'm sticking solely to the lighting kit - I've previously reviewed the C-Life bulbs and quite frankly, I find their strategy of limiting controlling the lights to either a Google Home or App premise severely limiting. So this review will be written from the stance of what I believe this kit to be - a practical gateway into building a smart home. The kit comes with a chalk white Google Home mini and a single light bulb. Google's Home mini is their smallest device that also boasts the full power of Google Assistant and home automation. Depending on where you are in your smart home journey, you might find that some smart home devices work better with Google Home than others do. An important item of note is - just because something works with Google Assistant does not mean it'll work seamlessly with Google Home. For example, my GE C-Life, Wemo, Hue, Sengled lights all work with the Google Home. So too, does my Simplisafe alarm system and Logitech Harmony setup. However, the one that doesn't play nice out of the box is my Ring video doorbell. Not really surprising since Amazon bought Ring. I also have a Chamberlin garage door opener, but they want me to pay to link my accounts... no thank you. I added the smart light to my existing setup in my home office as well as the Google Home mini. I honestly have nothing but good things to say about Google's platform. The AI is intelligent and always learning, and you can also mute the microphones when company comes over. If you're feeling paranoid, you can also log into your Google account and verify nothing's been recorded when the mic is off and you can also delete your request history. I set up the bulb that came in the kit to be controlled by my Google Home mini in my office - so now, when I walk into my office, I can simply tell Google Home mini to turn on the light and it works! A key difference from Google and Amazon's management system is that Google Home currently does not support creating custom groups - but, it's totally easy to work around. For example, if I'm speaking to the Google Home we have in the family room and I tell Google to "Turn off the lights", it'll only turn off the lights in the family room. If you're on the fence about getting into home automation, then this is a painless way to get started. As always, if you're adding this to an existing setup, you need to do the research and see if it'll work with what you have or if you'll have to make some compromises.

---SETUP--- This device requires two items to set up, the included Google Assistant (a Wifi speaker) and the included WiFi light bulb. The lightbulb is installed like any regular light bulb and works with or without WiFi. The Google Assistant needs to be plugged into the wall with the included adapter and requires the download of the Google Home app to complete set up. ---FEATURES--- The key feature of this starter kit is that it turns individual, compatible WiFi light bulbs into smart lights that can be controlled with your voice. Included are one Google Assistant speaker and a regular sized light bulb. ---PERFORMANCE--- The performance of both the speaker and the light bulbs were very responsive. After I learned the specific commands that Google recognizes for the lights, I was able to get them to do what I wanted. ---EXPECTATIONS--- The product meets my expectations. I was able to dim the lights from 1% to a full bright of 100%. The particular light bulb included (760 lumens) only goes to a very bright yellow. I own two other WiFi light bulbs (800 lumens) that are also a bright yellow but all together installed on the same ceiling fan, they didn’t look any different in terms of brightness. The previously installed light bulbs were all white lights, but since these are going in a theatre room, the yellow with dimmable option works better for me. ---VALUE--- The price for the starter kit in terms of value is very good. Even if you don’t end up liking the way the WiFi lights work, which I didn’t think I would but now I can’t stop dimming them constantly because I can, you still get a Google Assistant speaker, which on its own can tell you the weather, the time, be an alarm clock, and do all sorts of other things you ask it to, like search up definitions of words while you’re reading a book. ---APPROVAL--- I highly recommend this product for people who are trying to dip their toes into what a smart home could be for them. It’s an easy and cheap way to see what smart homes are all about and you can start growing your setup over time.

Unless you're living under a rock, you've heard of Google Home and its capabilities. Whether or not you are a Google Home or Alexa user will inevitably depend on which ecosystem your invested in. If you're reading this, I'm assuming you're invested in the Google ecosystem or at least not so much invested into Amazon's Alexa. Either way, both of their "mini" devices (the Google Home mini and Alexa Echo Dot) are similar in their size and capabilities. They offer the voice link you need to your smart assistant without the advanced sound offerings. Yes, the mini will play music, etc. but it will never sound as good as any other Google Home speaker, including the Google Home. So assuming you're looking into investing in the Google Home ecosystem (I have, and I utilize it every single day) the Google Home mini PLUS GE smart bulb is a great way to start. It's also useful for anyone looking to add a Google Home mini to their house and adding smart bulbs (side note on smart bulbs, once you start buying them, you'll continue to do so, and you'll know they get expensive). In terms of setup of the mini, all you need is to download the Google Home app and plug in the mini. The home app will autmoatically detect it and set it up. Usually the first time set up requires an update that takes about 5 minutes. From there, the app does a good job of walking you through Google Home's capabilities and adjusting settings (such as what news will play when you say "Hey Google, good morning"). I've been very impressed with the app in terms of teaching you what the home could do. When it first came out, it was a complicated un-user friendly mess to navigate. I think for first time smart home users, you'll appreciate the east to set it up and learn its capabilities. In terms of the GE bulb, it too is straight forward. You screw it into a light socket. From there you can set it up through the GE app or Google Home. I prefer the Google Home app because I want to be able to control my home from one app without having to link services. For example, if you set up Phillips Hue bulbs, or GE lights through GE's app, you then have to link the services within the Home app. Not a big deal, but it's an unnecessary step for a "dumb" smart light bulb. I say this bulb is "dumb" because your options are to turn it on and off and adjust the brightness. Phillips light bulbs are a little more complex in how they're controlled which necessitates (in my opinion) utilization of the Phillips Hue app at times (like changing colors). Much like the mini, the Google Home app will find the bulb and set it up. The app walks you through assigning it to a room and from there, you just say "Hey Google" (near your Google home mini of course) and "turn off light [so and so]:" And voila. Turning lights on and off via voice is absolutely not necessary but its addicting and oftentimes, convenient. Plus, you can always turn it off from your phone from bed if say, you forgot to turn off the lamp before heading to bed. As I said from the beginning, this is a good value for those just getting to dabble in the smart home convenience. Maybe you only need/want a couple lights that you can control remotely and via voice, and if so, this is a perfect solution. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because even though this package is a good value, it could be better given the deep discounts of the standalone Google Home mini around the holidays.

Together, the Google Home Mini speaker and smart GE C-Life bulb is essentially a starter kit for someone who is looking to introduce basic smart lighting into their home. By themselves, the Google Home Mini speaker is a wonderful personal assistant, whereas the GE C-Life bulb is a very limited smart bulb. With that being said, if you’re not wanting to spend an exorbitant amount of money on high-end smart bulbs but do want to have a good LED lightbulb with basic smart lighting capabilities, than this kit is a great start. What makes this kit great is the included personal assistant speaker. After connecting it to the internet, you can make simple commands or ask any question and the speaker uses Google to answer your question or execute your command. If you haven’t adventured into the world of using a personal assistant, even on your phone, having a stand along speaker and connected light bulb is a good way to become familiar with this technology. This best part about using Google instead of the other available smart assistants (Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Samsung’s Bixby, and Microsoft’s Cortana) is its ability to understand “naturally” spoken sentences. This means you don’t have to memorize any specific commands; you can simply say, “Hey Google, can you turn on the dining room light?” Also, the Google Home app is widely compatible with many brands on the market. So, if you’re thinking of getting one of those automated robot vacuums, you’ll easily be able to pair them and use your voice to start vacuuming. Overall, the Google personal assistant speaker is a very useful device. The included LED bulb is a basic smart bulb with dimming capabilities. There are other GE C-Life bulbs that also offer white color temperature variations, such as bright white, cool white, and warm light, but this kit includes the standard warm color bulb. In comparison to other warm lightbulbs, this GE bulb does emit a good bright warm color. Regarding its “smart” capabilities, it’s definitely meant to work mainly with the included Google Home Mini speaker. Unlike other smart bulbs, which are connected directly to the internet using Wi-Fi, this bulb needs the speaker to stay connected. The bulb and speaker communicate using Bluetooth. So, if the speaker is too far away (beyond 40 feet) or powered off, than the bulb can’t be controlled over the internet. Meaning, you can’t switch the bulb on or off either through the Google Home app or by giving a command to the speaker. These limitations may be a hinderance to someone looking to setup a complex smart home lighting system, but to someone looking for basic automation, these bulbs accomplish the task. Overall, the kit was very easy to setup and use. The included hardware (speaker and bulb) is made well is good quality.

[[ Setup ]] The setup process was very easy. Install the smart bulb and plug in the Google Home Mini in the same room. Since the bulb is Bluetooth-based, it will only work a short distance from the Google Home Mini. 1. Download the Google Home app to your iPhone, iPad  or Android device. Upon opening the app, I saw a banner asking me to "Setup 1 Device". 2. The app walked me through setting up the Google Home Mini first. 3. The app then automatically asked me if I wanted to setup the bulb.  It quickly found the bulb and added it to my Google Home profile. [[ Performance ]] I have a mix of both Amazon's Alexa and Google Home at my house and I find that the Google Home is a little better at understanding my voice commands and a little quicker at responding. I was pleasantly surprised at the sound performance of the Home Mini's speaker.  It's definitely better than the Amazon Echo (2nd generation) with decent minds and highs and a tiny bit of bass.  Listening to Pandora was definitely doable and sounded a lot better than my iPhone's built-in speakers. The Google Home Mini also is fast to control the included GE smart bulb, responding almost instantly to commands to turn the bulb on and off and also to adjust the brightness.  However, the bulb connects via Bluetooth, which limits its range compared to other wireless connections such as WiFi, Zwave and Zigbee.  Therefore, the Google Home Mini and the GE smart bulb should be located in the same room (or the next room over) to avoid communications issues. [[ Features ]] The GE smart bulb does what most smart bulbs do: turns on and off and dims from 0% to 100%.  Unfortunately, the bulb only outputs a "daylight" color temperature only and cannot change to a warmer (or colder) white color.  It is also not a multi-color bulb, so you can't change it to "red," for example. The Google Home Mini can do a lot more than control this one bulb.  It can give you the weather, check your calendar, control other smart home products (like Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings), play Pandora and much more. Unfortunately, the bulb included with this kit will not work with an Amazon Echo and it requires a separate hub to work with Alexa. [[ Value ]] Whether you're just getting started with a smart home or you're converting from Alexa to Google Home (or maybe maintaining both?), this starter pack is a quick and easy way to jump into home automation.  The setup process is very easy thanks to the Google Home app's awareness of the Google Home Mini and smart bulb combo and the app easily walks you through the process of getting both up and running.

Pro Easy setup Faster response Con Short range Not that bright and yellow Must be paired to either Google Home or GE’s app Limited integration This is mostly a review on the C-Life and its functionality so I won’t go to much into the Google Home Mini. I’ll just say that the Mini is a great device, with a good speaker and can be linked to various smart devices. I'm only recommending this because you’re getting a great device with the Mini and get a bonus bulb to try out. The C-Life bulbs are basic and are better suited to smaller homes or those who are not smart home enthusiasts. They’re dimmable but the light gives off a warm yellow tint, and isn’t very bright. They are only a little cheaper than the better C-Sleep bulbs. They also do not integrate with any other smart home systems like SmartThings, Wink, Apple HomeKit, or IFTTT. And even though it’s bluetooth, you can only pair with the Google Home or your phone (not both). There are some advantages of choosing the bluetooth C-Life bulbs over the standard smart bulbs (WiFi, ZigBee, or Z-Wave). It’s easier to set up, has a faster response time, and the bulbs are a bit cheaper. However they have a much shorter range and requires the controlling device (either the phone or Google Home) to be close by. According to their FAQ, multiple bulbs form a mesh that help relay the commands to each other and having multiple Google Home devices is more efficient. The setup with Google Home was very simple. You don’t need the GE app since everything can be done through the Google Home App, without needing their C-Reach Hub. Once connected, you can control it with Google Home and any device compatible with Google Assistant (phones, android TV, speakers, etc.). Through the Google Home App, you can turn on/off, dim, and setup routines and schedules. The routines settings are a little buried within the menus but you shouldn’t have to access these very often. Really it’s the Google Home App that gives these bulbs better functionality. While I recommend the Google Home Mini, I can’t say the same for the C-Life. It’s just not good enough on its own. It may get better if they come out with more products that work with other systems.