A highly compatible colour smart bulb.
TP - Link ’s latest multicolour Tapo bulb takes all the long suit of early model and adds spare brightness , along with Matter ascendancy . While the Tapo ecosystem still is n’t quite as broad and flexile as Philips Hue , it ’s a believable alternative , particularly if you just need a gimmick or two . This is quite a brilliant and colourful bulb , and the Tapo app micturate it well-off to get the good from it – whether you just want to change people of color manually , or integrate it into a more comprehensive impertinent domicile setup .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Tapo L535 is the in style update to TP - Link ’s mainstream colour - alter smart bulb . outwardly it ’s virtually unchanged from earlier models , but it now supports Matter – giving you a new way to integrate it with other compatible equipment . This incandescent lamp also gets a power upgrade . At 1,055 lumens , it ’s roughly equivalent to a 75 Watt conventional bulb – although I ca n’t mean when I last watch one of those .
This bulb comes in two version . I ’m testing the L535E , with an E27 Edison screw meet . you could also purchase the L535B , which has a bayonet meet – the two are otherwise identical , and they ’re identically price . Tapo bulbs do n’t require a hub , instead tie right away to Wi - Fi , so you’re able to begin using the organisation with just a individual bulb . Note that you do call for a hub for some other Tapo devices and sensors , though – worth bearing in mind if you ’re plan a more elaborated setup .
Design and Features
The TP - Link Tapo L535 is the same sizing as any regular get-up-and-go - saving lightbulb . It ’s cover by frosted credit card , so you ca n’t see individual LED or a fibril within it – just diffuse Light Within . This version simply have a go at it into a standard E27 fitting , after which you could move around the top executive on and it ’ll flash three clip to countenance you have it away it ’s quick to be sic up .
This happens in the Tapo app , for which you ’ll necessitate a smartphone or tablet with Bluetooth connectivity . That ’s only for the initial setup , after which the bulb uses 2.4GHz Wi - Fi . As I mention , the TP - Link Tapo L535 run without a proprietary hub , which is an vantage if you ’re just buying one or two and want to keep your frame-up be down . It ’s a cheap bulb anyway , costing only around £ 11 . At the clock time of my review that was around a third of the cost of thePhilips Hueequivalent .
It ’s easy to impart Tapo products in the app by tapping the plus sign , which key out my bulb without issues . The app prompts for Wi - Fi details , after which it ’ll put on any necessary firmware update . With that done , you’re able to turn the incandescent lamp on and off , control its smartness and change its colour via a simple Sir Frederick Handley Page , which also sum up how long you ’ve used the visible radiation and how much energy it ’s consumed . This ferment from anywhere you have a data point connexion on your phone – not just from your own meshwork .
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Poke around in the app and you ’ll reveal an away mode , which turns the luminosity on and off indiscriminately to help give the effect that someone ’s home plate . There ’s also comprehensive scheduling , letting you automate on / off , luminosity or colour change , and define a slicing time of up to 30 minutes between configurations . change can be triggered by clip , or by sundown or sunrise – you’re able to set events to happen a set time before or after either . There ’s a more dewy-eyed timekeeper mode to turn the bulb on or off after a put menstruum , plus configurable Party and Relax themes which flash or fade between colours .
If you ’ve got more than one Tapo bulb in the same area or room , you could group them in the app to assist you change state them all on or off at once . There ’s also accompaniment for geofencing , so you may automate lighting changes as you leave or return home . All in all it ’s a fully featured app , so it ’s a relief that it ’s also very leisurely to use .
However , you need n’t practice the Tapo app at all . Link your Tapo account with Google Home or Amazon Alexa and you could employ the TP - Link Tapo L535 with your other smart devices , control it by interpreter , or incorporate it into more challenging smart automation . TP - Link has added IFTTT support to Tapo products since I reviewed theTapo L530Ea few years ago . The Tapo L535 is also compatible with SmartThings and HomeKit . Alternatively , you’re able to use one or more Matter - compatible gadget to master it . That ’s a Brobdingnagian scope of features and flexibility for a relatively cheap smart medulla .
If you ’re considering other Tapo products , it ’s worth knowing that you ’ll need a hub to plunk for some gimmick in the kitchen range . barrage - power Tapo sensors and switch apply TP - Link ’s proprietary ‘ hoagy - G ’ low great power protocol , for which a Tapo hub is necessary . Fortunately , theTP - Link Tapo H100 Smart Hub with Chimecosts less than £ 20 . The H200 hub costs little more , or it ’s admit with theTapo Video Doorbell Camera D235 .
I should also mention that , at present , few other Tapo devices support Matter . TP - Link is bestow it to its latest products , so the state of affairs should modify fairly quickly . However , the brand ’s UK representatives explain that it ca n’t wander Matter out to previous gadget via firmware update , as the early hardware is n’t compatible .
Performance
I wanted to compare the TP - Link Tapo L535 with the Tapo L530E , which I ’ve been using day by day for a few geezerhood . It ’s subtly bright , as you may see on the left in this comparison picture . Here , both bulb were at full power , and set to provide white luminousness with a affectionate 2,700 K coloring temperature . This light bulb is jolly lustrous , then , but its 1,055 - lumen yield is n’t a match for the 1,600 - lm utmost that ’s available in the Hue range . It ’s ideal for side light , but you might still involve more than one if you want bright illumination in prominent rooms .
The TP - Link Tapo L535 ’s extra light when compare with its harbinger comes with increase efficiency . This bulb waste just 7.6 W at the above setting – exactly the same as I measured from the L530E , despite the brighter result . When switch off in the app , consumption fall below my powerfulness measure ’s 0.5W lower limit , so you should n’t observe yourself go up a big electricity bill when it ’s not operating .
I primarily test the Tapo L535 in a table lamp , situate in a weak office for Wi - Fi reception . Despite this it was always responsive , convert its state nigh - instantly whenever I send commands through the app . I ’ve try out a couple of Tapo devices lately that did n’t support channels 12 or 13 in 2.4GHz Wi - Fi , as UK - spec devices should , but this electric light had no job with either .
TP - Link has tweaked the way of life coloration selection works in the Tapo app , now offer a horizontal bar for crying changes , and a people of colour wheel when you ’re edit presets . Both seem to produce more saturated colours than before , with the Tapo L535 produce robust hues across the board .
I also connected this medulla oblongata to the Flic Twist controller using Matter . This integrating supports bare push button / hold commands to ferment the bulb on or off , or to toggle its res publica . It also allows twist control that supports dimming , or separately , change the color temperature of bloodless light . All of this go swimmingly , but I could n’t get the control to change the bulb ’s genuine colour , which is supposedly a further pick . I could n’t regulate whether this was a Flic or Tapo effect , but I would n’t be at all surprised to see it secure with next software releases .
at last , it was easy to integrate the TP - Link Tapo L535 into the routines I ’ve previously configured in Google Home and Amazon Alexa . I incline to favor these for more complex scene change , such as when you want multiple overbold products from different brands to wrick off at night , or when you go out . If you favor you’re able to limit up interchangeable routines in the Tapo app , which will insure devices from both of TP - Link ’s smart home brands : Tapo and Kasa . My only criticism here is that the user port does tend to get a bit cluttered with shortcuts if you overdo it ; you may get rid of item-by-item ones from the app home screen if involve .
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Should you buy it?
It ’s easy to moderate this moderately bright , colour - change Inner Light . If you ’re building something more complex , it also works well with a extensive compass of other smart place system . It ’s with child value , too .
While the TP - Link Tapo ecosystem is comprehensive , it ’s not quite a mate for Philips Hue . It ’s deserving check what ’s uncommitted before you charge to either .
Final Thoughts
The TP - Link Tapo L535 be about £ 11 at the time of my critique . That ’s great economic value for such a versatile bulb , particularly as it does n’t need a hub , and makes it an fantabulous choice if , for example , you just require to add some playfulness to a kid ’s bedroom . The one matter to remember is that , while fairly bright , a exclusive one of these bulb wo n’t be enough to to the full light up bigger rooms .
The L535 is also a unspoiled fit as part of a wider move to bright machine , although here it ’s deserving doing a chip more inquiry to check the Tapo range includes all the contrivance you ’ll need . Even if not , however , remember that you could link up Tapo gadget to other compatible product through impudent home systems like Alexa . With that in mind , the TP - Link Tapo L535 is hard to blame .
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We test every fresh light we review exhaustively over an extended full stop of time . We use industry standard test to compare features properly . We ’ll always state you what we determine . We never , ever , accept money to look back a product .
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FAQs
Some Tapo machine are now Matter compatible , and TP - Link seems to be summate it to all new intersection . We could n’t confirm whether it will be ramble out to early devices , though .
TP - Link express that the Tapo L535 smart bulb will last 25,000 60 minutes , which is only about three years of constant use . That articulate , we ’ve lead multiple TP - Link Kasa and Tapo products for longer than that , and have n’t yet had a unsuccessful person .
Test Data
Full Specs
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