First impression of the Yeelight 1S / V2
Update 05. August 2020
There is a new model of the smart Yeelight LED. The Yeelight 1SE is a "Lite" variant of the Yeelight 1S / V2. The new model is cheaper, has a low power consumption of only 6 watts, but at the same time also has a lower brightness of only 650 lumens. In our Yeelight 1SE post you can find more information.
The Yeelight Smart LED is a smart home lamp from the manufacturer "Yeelight", a Xiaomi subsidiary specializing mainly in living space lighting. As one of the first internationally available Yeelight products, the smart LED lamp has undergone an extensive upgrade. In the following test we compare the new Yeelight V2 (1S) directly with the first version 1 of the inexpensive Philips Hue alternative.
Difference between Yeelight V2 vs. Yeelight 1S
Before we start our test, let's go into the differences between the Yeelight V2 (YLDP06YL) and the Yeelight 1S (YLDP13YL). The Yeelight 1S is the more recent model that was released at the end of 2019. Here is the comparison:
- Size: the Yeelight 1S is 6 x 6 x 12.4 cm a little more compact than the Yeelight V2 (6.5 x 6.5 x 13 cm)
- Consumption: the Yeelight 1S uses 8.5 watts a little less than the Yeelight V2 (10 watts)
Design, workmanship and delivery
The design of the pear has been revised. Yeelight has said goodbye to the gray aluminum housing. Instead, the 2nd generation relies on a modern, neutral white housing with a checked pattern. The lamp adapts perfectly to different furnishing styles. The LED lamp is optionally available with an E27 or E26 socket. The processing is not objectionable. The scope of delivery is not worth mentioning and only includes a user manual in addition to the lamp. As expected, a lamp base adapter is not included.
OPERATION
Commissioning is easy and does not differ from other Yeelight products with WiFi connection. In order to be able to use the smart functions of the Yeelight V2, you need the Yeelight app. This is available in the respective stores for both Android and iOS mobile devices. Within the app, you select the setup of a new device. A setup wizard guides you through the setup steps in which the bulb is connected to the WLAN. You should make sure that the mobile device used for the setup is in a 2.4 GHz WLAN (not 5 GHz!), As otherwise the data transfer of the WLAN access data is not possible.
Luminous flux and consumption
According to Yeelight, there is an upgrade in terms of luminous flux and power consumption. Instead of 600 lumens (generation 1), the luminous flux of the new generation should be 800 lumens. In the comparison test, there is only a slight difference in brightness, which is hardly visible to the naked eye.
Left Yeelight V1 / Right Yeelight V2
There is a noticeable slight color deviation in the dark shades. Here version 2 shows a clearly too high proportion of white, which is why colors appear washed out. In particular, the red display is visibly affected by this. According to Yeelight, however, it is just a bug in the firmware that will be addressed in future updates. The color temperature is between 1700K and 6500K. The manufacturer does not provide any information on the color rendering index (CRI).
According to Yeelight, the power consumption has increased from 9 watts to 10 watts. The slightly increased power consumption is understandable and fluctuates between 2 and 10.3 watts depending on the color and brightness. The lower power consumption in standby, which the manufacturer promised, which is said to have dropped from around 1.2 watts to 0.5 watts, is incomprehensible. Several test measurements showed an increased power consumption of 1.3 watts in standby. When asked, Yeelight explained the increased standby consumption by saying that the internal structure had to be completely revised through the Apple HomeKit integration. After all, you should have opted for new components that consume more electricity. The service life is given as 25000 hours.
Left Yeelight V2 / Right Yeelight V1
Smart app control
The aforementioned Yeelight app is the control center for all Yeelight products. Functions of the app include remote and time-controlled switching on and off, a free choice of brightness and color, an individualized color change and various scene modes, such as sleep, wake-up or party mode. The lamp only reacts with a slight delay to inputs via the app. The Yeelight pear receives control signals directly from the Yeelight servers, which are located in China, Singapore, the USA and Germany, among others. If the Yeelight V2 is integrated into a WLAN with internet access, it communicates constantly with the assigned server and can therefore be controlled remotely, such as the cellular network. What sounds practical on the one hand can become a security risk because remote access cannot be switched off!
Voice control is provided via Amazon's Alexa and the Google Assistant. The Yeelight pear was easily integrated and controlled in the test using the Alexa app. Support for the Apple HomeKit platform will be submitted with a future firmware update, which will not appear until autumn 2018!
Yeelight YLDP06YL (V2) Yeelight YLDP13YL (1S)
Beautiful design
Good workmanship
Easy commissioning and operation
Scene modes
Free color selection
Alexa and Google Assistant control option
High proportion of white in (dark) colors
Delayed Aplle HomeKit integration
Standby consumption
The biggest upgrade has been the Yeelight 2 design version. Due to the simple white housing, the LED lamp adapts to a variety of interior styles. At the same time, the lamp has to contend with some teething problems. Striking is above all the increased proportion of white within the color representation. The increased luminous flux from 600 lumens to 800 lumens is hardly noticeable, but nevertheless ensures higher energy consumption. The same applies to the standby consumption, which is not as promised lower, but even slightly higher.
If you are faced with the choice of whether it should be the Yeelight V2 or the older V1, you should decide on the design alone. The Apple HomeKit integration, which in turn could speak for the new Yeelight generation, is expected in the fall of 2018!
Ingo
2. April 2018 22 to: 48
Good evening, can I integrate the new Yeelight into my existing Philips Hue system? Second question: GearBest also has the YLDP05YL. what's the difference? Greetings, Ingo
Timo admin
2. April 2018 22 to: 53
Hi Ingo, Philips Hue uses the ZigBee standard, which the Yeelight does not currently support. Hue Bridge and Yeelight Bulb won't work. The YLDP05YL is the model name of the exclusively white glowing Yeelight V2 pear.
Ingo
3. April 2018 13 to: 53
Hello Timo, thank you very much for your quick answer. I thought to myself that the Philips Bridge would not work. I have now ordered 1x the new and 1x the old pear to compare. Greetings, Ingo.
C0d
3. April 2018 21 to: 51
I have several of the old ones and two of them whine as soon as you dim them or change the colors. If someone has the new model, please let me know if they are still whining. Otherwise I would be very pleased with the higher brightness and lower consumption.
Timo admin
3. April 2018 22 to: 07
Hi C0d, I know the one with the whirring, humming or beeping sound. Mostly it is due to the electronic ballast or the dimmer of the LED lamp. I will report how the new version behaves as soon as my test copies arrive.
DB
29. November 2018 11 to: 41
How do I connect the Yeelight to the Homekit?