Tapo L535E

If you need brighter, controllable colour light for living rooms, kitchens or task areas, a multicolour smart bulb that’s easy to set up and works across Alexa, Google and Apple ecosystems fixes that problem — no hub required. The Tapo L535E gives you higher-than-average output and app-based power tracking so you can replace dull 800-lumen bulbs with something more useful. ## What makes it worth it Tapo’s L535E pushes about 1055 lumens (a 75W incandescent equivalent) while drawing only 8.6W, so it’s noticeably brighter than many colour smart bulbs and relatively efficient. It’s Matter‑certified and supports Wi‑Fi onboarding (with Bluetooth commissioning), which means it can interoperate with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Home without forcing you to buy a separate bridge. The bulb also reports real‑time power use and estimated cost in the Tapo app, a feature you rarely see on consumer colour bulbs at this price. ## Where it falls short Colour accuracy and full professional-grade tuning details (CRI numbers) are not prominently published, so if you need studio-level colour fidelity the specifications aren’t transparent. Also, manufacturer apps can be clunkier than the polished Hue ecosystem, so advanced automations may take more setup. Buy this if you want a very bright, Matter‑ready multicolour bulb with energy monitoring and no hub; skip it if you insist on the absolute best colour accuracy or native Philips Hue Bridge features.

£8.99