LIFX (pronounced Life-X) is a line of energy-efficient, multi-color,

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

enabled, digital addressable

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

light bulbs that can be controlled via a Wi-Fi equipped device such as a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ea ...

History

LIFX was originally manufactured by LiFi Labs, a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

-based company founded by the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

Phil Bosua. LiFi Labs introduced the idea of smart lighting on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

, before any alternative products could be found in market, and have since attracted large attention. Consequently, the company managed to raise $1.3 million in public funding, followed by a $12 million series A investment round in mid 2014. LIFX was also one of the first products to participate in the Works with

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

program. On February 3, 2015, LIFX 2.0 was launched. This included

IFTTT IFTTT (, an acronym of If This Then That) is a private commercial company that runs online digital automation platforms which it offers as a service. Their platforms provide a visual interface for making cross-platform if statements to its us ...

integration, remote access and an

Android Wear Wear OS (also known simply as Wear and formerly Android Wear) is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables. By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer, or ...

app. In April 2015, LIFX was renamed LIFX Original; two new products were launched at that time, expanding the range to include a tunable white light, the White 800 and the Color 650. By May 16, 2015, the LIFX iOS app had added support for the

Apple Watch Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...

. On October 1, 2016 the third generation LIFX bulbs shipped, including the flagship 'flat top' bulb reminiscent of the original A19 product, as well as BR30 bulbs, a GU10 track light, a LIFX Downlight, the LIFX+ bulbs (a bulb that added an infrared channel to allow boosted security vision for cameras through glass, down long passages and across longer distances) and the hugely popular LIFX Z light strips. In September 2017 support was added for Apple HomeKit. In November 2017 the company released the LIFX Mini bulbs, LIFX Beam, a modular set of LED bars that join with magnetic connections, and the LIFX Tiles, another module smart feature light for LED wall displays and ambient lighting. These were an early example of LIFX's polychrome technology going beyond their original use in the light strip, with the Tile using an array of LEDs to create many addressable areas within the one 'light' and enabling new effects and features in the smart lighting space. LIFX was acquired by ASX listed Buddy Technologies (BUD) in early 2019. The assets of LIFX were acquired by Feit Electric in August 2022.

Products

LIFX A19

The LIFX A19 is a Wi-Fi enabled LED downlight with millions of colors and many shades of white controlled using a Wi-Fi enabled device.

LIFX BR30

The LIFX BR30 is a Wi-Fi enabled flood light with millions of colors and many shades of white controlled using a Wi-Fi enabled device.

LIFX GU10

The LIFX GU10 is a Wi-Fi enabled track light fixture with millions of colors and many shades of white that can be controlled with a Wi-Fi enabled device.

LIFX Downlight

The LIFX Downlight is a Wi-Fi enabled trim for a

recessed light A recessed light or downlight (also pot light in Canadian English, sometimes can light (for canister light) in American English) is a light fixture that is installed into a hollow opening in a ceiling. When installed it appears to have light shi ...

with millions of colors and many shades of white that can be controlled via a Wi-Fi enabled device.

LIFX+

The LIFX+ is a Wi-Fi enabled LED light bulb with millions of colors and many shades of white that also emits

infra-red light Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

to assist security cameras in lighting up dark areas. The bulb can be controlled via a Wi-Fi enabled device and is available in A19 and BR30 shapes.

LIFX Mini

The LIFX Mini is a Wi-Fi enabled LED light bulb controlled using a Wi-Fi capable device. The bulb has a smaller profile than the company's flagship bulbs. The bulb is 9 watts and produces 800 lumens. The bulb comes in three variants. LIFX Mini Color with millions of colors and thousands of shades of white, LIFX Mini Day & Dusk which outputs only shades of white, and LIFX Mini White which outputs only a 2700K color.

LIFX Z Light Strip

The LIFX Z light strip is a color-changing, Wi-Fi enabled LED light strip.

LIFX Beam

The LIFX Beam is a color-changing Wi-Fi enabled light bar.

LIFX Tile

The LIFX Tile is a set of fully integrated illuminated panels that offer millions of colors and many shades of white plus the ability to add animated effects.

LIFX App

The LIFX app for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

, Android, Windows 10,

watchOS watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the only dev ...

and Android Wear manages and controls LIFX bulbs. LIFX lights can also be controlling using Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana,

Google Now Google Now was a feature of Google Search of the Google app for Android and iOS. Google Now proactively delivered information to users to predict (based on search habits and other factors) information they may need in the form of informational c ...

, and Amazon's Alexa intelligent personal assistants. LIFX apps for

Windows 10 Mobile Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10. Wind ...

and

Microsoft HoloLens Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/ mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking techn ...

are currently in the works.

Works with LIFX

IFTTT connects LIFX bulbs with apps such as Facebook, Twitter, The Weather Channel and

Google Calendar Google Calendar is a time-management and scheduling calendar service developed by Google. It became available in beta release April 13, 2006, and in general release in July 2009, on the web and as mobile apps for the Android and iOS platforms. ...

. It can also connect the lights with the GPS location of a smartphone and motion sensors. When a

Nest Learning Thermostat The Nest Thermostat is a smart thermostat developed by Google Nest and designed by Tony Fadell, Ben Filson, and Fred Bould. It is an electronic, programmable, and self-learning Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat that optimizes heating and cooling of homes ...

notices that the home is unoccupied, LIFX bulbs can be configured to switch themselves on and off throughout the day to make it seem like someone is home. If a

Nest Protect Google Nest is a line of smart home products including smart speakers, smart displays, streaming devices, thermostats, smoke detectors, routers and security systems including smart doorbells, cameras and smart locks. The Nest brand name was ...

detects smoke or carbon monoxide, LIFX bulbs can be configured to provide a visual alert. When you press Flic, it can turn LIFX lights on or off, change the color and more. LIFX lights can be controlled using the

SmartThings SmartThings Inc. is an American home automation company headquartered in Mountain View, California with a software development center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 2012, it focuses on the development of eponymous automation software and a ...

and

Logitech Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...

Harmony ecosystem. LIFX light bulbs can be controlled via Amazon echo or echo dot using Alexa voice control to turn on off or dim. LIFX can be controlled via Google Home device as of March 28, 2017. LIFX can be controlled via Microsoft's Cortana as of Feb 16, 2018. LIFX can be controlled using Mycroft.ai using an installable skill as of 2018-09-12.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://lifx.com Home automation companies Kickstarter-funded products Companies based in Redwood City, California Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area IOS software WatchOS software Android (operating system) software Wear OS software Windows software Companies based in Melbourne