Your speaker is in my lightbulb! No, your lightbulb is in my speaker! Thanks to the new LightFreq Square2, we’re both right.
The Square2 is a lightbulb with built-in speaker and intercom. To use it you simply unscrew your current lightbulbs and screw in the Square2. Then, via the app, you can stream music to each lightbulb separately or all of them simultaneously and even talk to other rooms via the bulb. In short, it’s a speaker system and intercom in one. Finally, it features an LED light ring that can change color.
I saw an early prototype and was very impressed. The sound was crisp and solid and I could definitely see these as an alternative to wired speaker docks and even Sonos stations. While we’re not talking audiophile quality, they are real speakers with real bass and treble response.
“The money to fund the prototypes came right out of our pockets, from the initial prototype that was hot glued together to the final prototype that we made with snaps, screws and our software and firmware design,” said Devon Alli, one of the co-founders of the company. Alli ran a recording studio in Atlanta before he started this project.
“The key difference between LightFreq and our smart bulb competitors is that LightFreq is the first light bulb to feature Bluetooth and Wi-Fi thanks to Microchip Technology. You can play as many LightFreqs at once as you want, as the number is only limited by your bandwidth. No other light bulb on the market has a built-in microphone, which is the key feature of our product,” he said. “We are bringing the world the key to the future of handsfree home automation with our built-in intercom.”
The bulbs can be controlled via the app and they are working on adding notifications to the system. It’s a fascinating idea and I was really impressed with the fit and finish when I saw the final prototypes.
A pair of the speakers costs $175 on the Indiegogo page and they are half way to their goal of $50,000. I expect they’ll be fully funded by the end of this week. Alli hopes to grab customers who might be thinking about getting a basic audio dock.
“Jam Boxes and Beats Pills can cost anywhere from $200 to $400,” he said. “Combine that with the high costs of smart bulbs, and you’ve just spent a fortune. That’s why we thought, ‘Why not combine the two and make them sound freq’in awesome?'”
