Smart bulbs are all the rage these days for people who are building up their collection of smart home gadgets. They're relatively cheap and colorful, and you can have them glowing in your lamp within minutes of opening the box. But the ease of setup hides a tradeoff that becomes obvious the moment someone else in the house flips the wall switch out of habit. The bulb goes dark, loses its Wi-Fi connection and refuses to respond to the app or voice assistant until the switch is flipped back on. And after a power outage, many smart bulbs turn back on at full brightness — not ideal during nighttime storms.

Smart switches, however, solve both of these problems. Rather than making an individual bulb intelligent, smart switches replace the wall switch itself, keeping it wired directly into your home's electrical system. That means anyone, from a houseguest to your grandparents to your toddler, can turn the lights on the way they always have — without downloading an app or learning a new interface. For households with mixed tech comfort levels, that matters more than the fact that you can change the color of the lights. A smart switch just controls power to the light or fixture.

This isn't a case for ditching smart bulbs altogether (because their chameleon character is quite impressive), but if you're deciding where to start your smart home upgrade, smart switches offer a more practical and inclusive foundation.

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