Why you can trust TechRadar
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
WiZ Filament Bulb review
The WiZ Filament Bulb Clear 25W ST19 E26 is a color-changing smart bulb that features a coiled LED strip in place of a traditional filament.
It’s available in the US and the UK under slightly different names to reflect the difference in wattage, bulb shape, and fitment, but they have the same feature set and look very similar.
Known as the WiZ Filament Bulb Clear 25W ST19 E26 in the US, or the WiZ Filament Bulb Clear 40 W ST64 E27 in the UK, it has a list price of $32.99 / £27.99, and can be found at WiZ and Amazon.
Image 1 of 2
I love the Filament Bulb’s classic shape, and was pleased to find that it didn’t feel overly fragile. I have mixed opinions about the coiled LED strip. I found it looked nice in warmer whites and red, but due to the combination of different colored LEDs, it proved a bit of an eyesore when in other colors, with the brightness turned up when using it in my lamp.
If you want a light that can light up a room in addition to providing some nice mood lighting, then this bulb won’t be suitable. It’ll just about do as a reading light if your book is positioned right next to it, but it’s not ideal – although I believe this is often the case due to the nature of filament-style bulbs.
While it looks pretty on certain settings, the width of the LED strip may prove off-putting if you’re looking for a more authentic-looking filament bulb. If so, you may be better off looking for a non-color filament-style alternative, which you can also find from WiZ, Philips Hue, and various other brands.
The Filament Bulb was pleasingly straightforward to sync with the WiZ V2 app, as it was automatically detected, and it connected to my Wi-Fi quickly and without any fuss.
Unfortunately, the WiZ V2 app isn’t as intuitive as the Govee and Nanoleaf companion apps – although it would take a lot for an app to compare to the Govee Home app, which you’ll have probably guessed if you’ve already read my review of the Govee Table Lamp 2. Despite this, the WiZ V2 app provides access to a variety of useful functions, such as the control menu, which offers some static presets that include warm and cool options, and night, TV, and relax lighting modes, along with a few others.
I could also choose hues from a color graph, adjust the color temperature using a slider, or choose one of the twenty-five dynamic presets, each offering different color palettes and motions. I could also alter the speed of the color changes, though this adjustment was applied to all of the dynamic presets, rather than individually.
The brightness was easy to adjust using a slider on the home screen or when adjusting settings in the control menu. Thanks to the rhythm function, which I set to change between different modes based on the local time, I was able to get the brightness and color temperature to adjust automatically throughout the day. There’s also a schedule feature, which I used to get the Filament Bulb to turn off at a set time.
I found the Filament Bulb could be slow to respond when switching between the Dynamic lights. And it was also a bit long-winded applying each one, as it asked me which room I wanted to apply it to each time, despite only having one setup. But I could set four of my preferred light settings on the home screen, up to eighteen in the quick action folder, or save them as scenes, so at least the process was quicker once I’d picked my favorites.
On the subject of scenes, I found it far more efficient to fine-tune the lighting effect I wanted in the control menu before saving it as a scene. While the same settings are available when creating a new scene, the bulb didn’t immediately reflect any changes I made. Instead I would only get to check the result after creating and enabling the new scene, which wasn’t ideal, meaning it was often better to tweak the lighting settings first.
Connecting the Filament Bulb to my Echo Dot (5th Gen) was nice and simple, as it was automatically detected by my Alexa app. I needed to put the Filament Bulb into pairing mode, which was a case of switching the light off and on until it began to pulse blue, and the syncing process took just moments to complete. I could then use voice commands to get the Filament Bulb to change colors, temperature, and brightness, which was very convenient, especially as my requested changes were applied promptly.
Despite the disappointing elements of the app, once I’d fine-tuned the lighting effects and set up the automations and voice control, I quite enjoyed testing the Filament Bulb. Overall, I was pleased with the quality for the price. So, if you’re looking for a vintage-style bulb with modern smart features and want to change up the ambience with a little color, it’s worth checking out the WiZ Filament Bulb Clear 25W ST19 E26.
If you love smart lighting as much as I do and want to explore some other fantastic options, then I highly recommend checking out our best smart lights buying guide.
WiZ Filament Bulb review: Price and specs
Price | $32.99 / £27.99 |
Model | US: Filament Globe Clear 25W ST19 E26 UK: Filament Bulb Clear 40 W ST64 E27 |
Colors | Multicolor |
Lumens | US: 300 / UK: 470 |
Temperature | US: 1800-2100K / UK: 2200-6500K |
Connectivity | 2.4GHz WiFi, Bluetooth |
App | Yes |
Voice control | Yes |
Dimmable | Yes, using the app |
Additional features | Matter compatible, motion sensor (with 2+ bulbs) |
Should I buy the WiZ Filament Bulb?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
WiZ Filament Bulb review: Also consider
How I tested the WiZ Filament Bulb
- I tested the WiZ Filament Bulb for one week
- I tested the different features and customizable settings
- I observed its performance and brightness levels
I used the WiZ Filament Bulb on my desk in my office and in my living room. I screwed the bulb into a table lamp before powering it on and evaluating the setup process on the WiZ V2 companion app.
I explored the features, testing how different colors and settings looked, and created my own presets and scenes. I also tested how bright the bulb was both in daylight and in a dark room.
I synced the WiZ Filament Bulb with my Alexa app to check how straightforward the process was and to test out voice commands, which I did by altering the brightness, colors, and powering the bulb on and off.
