Despite their massive presence in the lighting industry, GE has always felt a step behind when it came to smart bulbs. Their C by GE branded LED light bulbs are dubbed “smart”, but felt dumb compared to competitors. They could only be controlled through bluetooth which left them limited. Only a few functions were available and your phone had to be within the bluetooth range to make it work. GE is attempting to fix this by selling a bridge named C-Reach that will unlock new features.
The C-Reach Hub is a small, white box that plugs into an existing electrical outlet. It will work by connecting existing C by GE lights to your home’s Wi-Fi. The two C by GE lights affected are the C-Sleep and C-Life models. The C-Life is a dimmable LED smart bulb while the C-Sleep is a tunable one that can have it’s color temperature adjusted to fit your sleep cycle.
It appears the only thing the C-Reach will provide is the ability to use voice controls through Amazon Alexa and Google Home. While GE has stated that Apple HomeKit support is coming, it is currently not available at this time. Voice controls will allow for turning on and off the light as well as dimming.
With a $50 price tag, we don’t see much value in the C-Reach hub unless you’ve already fitted your house with C by GE light bulbs. And if you have, it might require multiple bridges to connect to all the bulbs given Bluetooth’s limited range.
There are currently a slew of quality Wi-Fi enabled lights such as the LIFX Mini which will provide many more features and controls for a few bucks more. Or if you want to have a central hub for your bulbs, Philips is still the king with their feature rich Hue lighting system. Their bulbs are also currently cheaper.
If you are however looking to add voice control to your existing C lighting, GE is offering up some holiday deals. A starter kit with 2 C-Life light bulbs and the C-Reach will sell for $49.99 during Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale. You can also purchase a starter pack with 2 C-Sleep bulbs and a C-Reach for $64.99. These are $10-$15 savings off the standard retail price.
GE Lighting C by GE C-Reach Voice Control Enabling Smart Bridge
$8.99 in stock
Features
- GE C-R for home convenience
