Aiming to offer voice-controllable LED smart lamps at an affordable price point, Aoycocr has launched a line of lighting that brings broad compatibility with the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant ecosystems, while also enabling Apple Siri Shortcuts control. These RGBW color lamps have been designed to draw a bead on the feature set of lamps from industry pacesetter Philips Hue, while costing as much as 70% less.
So how well do they live up to that high expectation? Following integration testing in our Digitized House Labs, very well indeed. Read on for the details.
Aoycocr Color LED Smart Bulb: Out of the Box
The Aoycocr color LEDs we tested were the 10-watt (900 lumens) variation. These LEDs run over W-Fi networks, so there is no need for a separate hub to use them (most Philips Hue LED lamps will require purchase of the Hue Bridge). For initial setup, we used the free Smart Life app, available on both Apple iOS and Android platforms.
We began by creating the required Smart Life account through the app. Pairing the LEDs with the app was straightforward, but does require manually turning the light switch on and off rapidly to activate pairing mode.
The Smart Life app includes 3 main tabs: Home, Smart, and Me. The Home screen includes a list of all paired devices, and simple tap-to-control gestures can be used to switch the lights on and off. Tapping the Custom Functions link displays the on/off status, color mode, and brightness of the lamp.
The Smart tab enables configuring Scenarios (scenes), as well as Automations. Once Scenarios are created, they will appear on the Home screen above the devices. And finally, the Me tab gives access to account management, granting family members access, various settings, help screens, and more (including steps on how to connect to Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Watch).
When using the Smart Life app, tapping on the lamp icon for a given device displays a screen with fine-grained controls for the lamp, including the White and Color buttons to control color temperature. Scene gives access to specific pre-configured lighting modes, such as Night, Read, Leasure, and more. Finally, a Schedule button allows the configuration of daily schedules for automation operation.
Aoycocr Color LED Smart Bulb: Voice Control and More
Following initial setup of your account and lights, you can add voice activation support through Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. These services are added via their usual processes, by using either the Alexa or Google Home apps, searching for the Smart Life skill or action, and authenticating with a Smart Life account. Once that is done, the lamps can be controlled with standard voice commands. For example, with Alexa, the command “Alexa, turn off the bedroom light” can be used.
In both the Alexa and Google Assistant ecosystems, setting up voice control also brings on-screen controls for the Aoycocr lamps in the respective Alexa and Google Home apps. Additionally, the lamps will appear on Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub (previously named Google Home Hub) and compatible smart displays.
Furthermore, on Apple iOS 12 or higher, Siri Shortcuts can be set up. Through the Smart Life app, any Scenario (scene) you have configured can be linked to Apple iOS through a Siri Shortcut. During Shortcut setup, you will record a personal phrase for each one you configure. For instance, the voice command “Hey Siri, Sunrise Scene” will run a Smart Life scene connected with the personal phrase “Sunrise Scene.” In our testing, we simply used the Smart Life Scenario name as the Shortcut personal phrase for simplicity’s sake.
Still more integration for Apple users is available for watchOS, where the Smart Life app can be set to show controls on Apple Watch. Keep in mind, however, that the Aoycocr bulbs do not have Apple HomeKit compatibility, so they will not appear on the Apple Home app.
For fans of the popular IFTTT (If This Then That) automation platform, you get out-of-the-box compatibility with these lamps. So, you can script away.
Aoycocr Color LED Smart Bulb: The Bottom Line
These Aoycocr color LED smart bulbs fully live up to their billing as a cost-effective alternative to many much more expensive LED smart bulbs. They are exceedingly well integrated with the Smart Life app, as well as within the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant ecosystems—offering responsive and effective voice control. Furthermore, they offer good integration with the Apple ecosystem through Siri Shortcuts and Apple Watch support.
If there is a downside with these lamps, it lies in their inability to go to the cooler side of the white light spectrum, so if you plan to use them primarily for basic white light be aware they are in the range of 2700K warm white. But you still have a rainbow of well-saturated colors to choose from. We can highly recommend them.
