Smart Light Brand Lock-In: How to Avoid It in 2026
The $400 Mistake I Made With My First Smart Lighting Setup Three years ago, I outfitted my entire two-bedroom apartment with a single brand’s smart bulbs — fourteen of them, plus two light strips and a bridge. The app was polished, the colors were gorgeous, and the scheduling worked beautifully. Then I moved, bought a house with twice as many fixtures, and discovered that expanding my setup meant buying exclusively from that same brand at premium prices. A comparable bulb from three other manufacturers cost 40–60% less, but none of them could talk to my existing bridge. ...