Chinese tech giant, Xiaomi, has taken on the likes of Philips Hue, with the release of its affordably priced Yeelight Aurora Lightstrip Plus – compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
A far cry from the traditional Chinese knock-off brands of old, Yeelight has instilled a decent amount of quality into the Aurora Lightstrip Plus, with the sturdy device recognisably well-built the moment you unbox.
Claimed to be ‘easily moldable’, the lightstrip can be curved to change direction, but naturally does not bend a full 90-degrees. It does offer a notable amount of flexibility, and easily swerves around corners.
For added customisation, users can easily cut the lightstrip at certain points if too long.
The Aurora Lightstrip Plus is compatible with the Yeelight App and Mi HOME App, and offers several pre-set functions including customised lighting scenes.
Despite coming curved in the box, the product is easily flattened, and affixes well onto straight panels. The underlay adhesive sticker is easily peeled back, ready to affix onto your preferred furniture/wall etc.
Overall, it feels sturdy and well built. The panelling is smooth, meaning you can’t feel each individual light bulb, but rather a smooth overall strip.
Illumination is considerable, and much more than I expected, especially at this price point.
The lights give off a vibrant yet relaxing hue, with colour and brightness easily adjustable via the app.
Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, I had no problems issuing voice commands for hands-free control.
One of my favourite features, is the strip’s ability to sync music with light colours, changing hues to the beat of a song.
I can imagine the Aurora Lightstrip Plus being a firm favourite for entertaining households, changing colour to suit a party’s ambience with ease.
The Aurora Lightstrip Plus is extendable up to 10 metres, with each extension including a plastic hardlock to secure joins. Overall, peace of mind.
Unlike Philips’ Hue range, Yeelight’s Aurora Lightstrip Plus does not require a hub, and is only reliant on home Wi-Fi to set-up the app.
Set-up and syncing with the app is super easy, and does not take long at all.
The lightstrip also includes a white manual side switch, which is stylish enough to keep on display – the third means of controlling the smart lights, in lieu of voice commands or app control.
The manual control can turn the lights on/off, with a long press and hold triggering a colour change.
The associated app also features a timer and scheduler function, which is a nifty function for today’s modern smart home.
Functionality includes the ability to trigger a gradual ‘sunrise’ effect (similar to Philips Hue lights), ‘warming up’ light colour closer to a person’s wake up time.
Using the lights for over a month, I did not find the lights to grow excessively hot at all.
This was concern of mind, as I affixed the lightstrip to the underside of my bed.
The lightstrip has remained affixed and performed as claimed. Virtually no qualms.
As an added sweetener, there’s a decent amount of cord connecting the lightstrip to the wall mount, meaning there’s extra flexibility to affix the strip to your preference.
Launched on Indiegogo in September for $49, Yeelight’s Aurora Lightstrip Plus achieved over 1000% of its original funding goal.
The lightstrip is now available to purchase from several Australian and international e-tailers, and is notably cheaper than Philips’ Hue variant [above $100].
Despite its affordable price, the Yeelight Aurora Lightstrip Plus has not skimped on quality, and truly behaves like a well-built smart light, not dissimilar to more expensive options.
