GE announced its first-ever smart light bulbs targeted for everyday lighting and better quality sleep.
Called C by GE, the new line of connected LED bulbs can be controlled without the need of a smart hub. Instead, for bulbs are Bluetooth-enabled to allow consumers to control their lighting directly form their smartphones.
"GE wants to simplify the customer experience for smart home technology—both through how customers use the smart bulbs and how they learn about it at CbyGE.com," Linda Boff, GE's CMO said in a press release. "Simple-to-use lighting can be your first experiment in the smart home. We chose Bluetooth as the platform—a technology many users already know and trust, combined with GE's quality of light that consumers trust."
C by GE features two smart bulbs, C Life and C Sleep that allows users to turn their lights on and off, or dim them using an accompanying app.
C Life is the connected bulb that is ideal to place anywhere in the house, that is a more affordable option on the market that still provides optimal illumination, that retails for under $15.
C Sleep is targeted for the bedroom, and allows users to choose from three settings: a cool, vibrant light to help them awake up with energy in the morning, a standard daytime light,and a warm light that is said to increase the hormone melatonin before bed that aids at relaxation and a better night's sleep. C Sleep retails for $25.
GE has developed its own app that allows users to set their lighting scenes and offers lighting recommendations; however, the connected bulbs are also compatible with the preexisting Wink platform. That means the smart bulbs can interact with other smart home devices.
GE also announced the launch of first e-commerce business, CbyGE,com, that will sell he smart bulbs to be shipped directly to consumers' doorsteps. The aim of this service is to educate users who are new to the smart lighting sphere.
The company is also offering a promotion to offer a kit retailing for $50 that comes with two C Life and two C Sleep bulbs on the new e-commerce site.
