CES 2023: GE Lighting adds new Cync hexagon panels, bulbs, and customizable neon lights

GE has been a leader in the lighting world for decades, and it’s not one to balk at the smart home world, with its own innovative solutions by Cync. 

The smart lighting company is introducing a full Dynamic Effects entertainment line to the market Tuesday ahead of CES 2023, with features designed to make lighting by Cync part of a truly immersive experience.

The Cync Dynamic Effect line features new neon rope lighting that permits custom shapes, hexagonal wall panels, and some new A19 and BR30 light bulbs that can display up to four different colors at once. These all offer up to 16 million colors to choose from, pre-set and custom-created light shows, music syncing using integrated microphones, automations, and integrations with Alexa and Google Assistant — with no hub required.

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Kara Perdue, vice president of Product Management at GE Lighting, said of the launch, “We’re looking forward to launching additional Cync Dynamic Effects products that expand our immersive, innovative smart home ecosystem to bring even more personalization and fun for the home.”

And fun it is. I personally love telling Alexa that “I’m going to make a video” and have my Cync lighting in the background switch to a ZDNET green, or that “I’m in a meeting” and have it change to a volcanic red effect to alert others who may enter my home office.

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But the fun doesn’t stop at custom effects and automations: One of the new additions, the Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Neon-Shape Lights, aka Neon Rope Lights, can be trimmed to size and shaped however you’d like to create custom light fixtures on your walls, complete with app controls and effects.

Continuing the entertainment and creativity theme, GE Lighting’s new Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Hexagon Panels are RGBW hexagons reminiscent of the Nanoleaf Hexagons, though they will be cheaper, at $169.99 for a seven-pack and $199.99 for a 10-pack.

The first additions to the new lineup of products are set to launch beginning in March and into the second quarter of the year, and range in prices from $19.99 and $26.99 for the A19 bulb and BR30 bulbs respectively, which are cheaper than the Philips Hue equivalent that go for $50 each. The Neon lights will be priced from $79.99 to $119.99.

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These new entertainment-focused smart lights join the Cync Dynamic Effects indoor/outdoor light strips launched in late 2022, one of the few outdoor light strip options on the market. These strip lights are controlled with the Cync app, powered by Savant, which features different dynamic color effects to choose from, as well as the option to create your own and sync it with music. 

Built to last, these strips feature a flexible coating to achieve an IP65 dust and moisture resistance rating, and are available in 8-, 16- and 32-foot lengths.

In addition to these updates, GE Lighting announced a new integration with Schlage of its Cync app, powered by Savant. This will allow Schlage Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt and Encode Plus users to set routines and automations with their lock using the Cync app, like turning on an entryway light when the front door is unlocked, for example. 

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As far as Matter support, GE Lighting is committed to bringing the new smart home connectivity standard to its users, but only for future product launches. According to Casey Klock, director of Product Launch, there will be no retroactive upgrades to the Cync line. This means that the new Dynamic Effects line, which runs on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), won’t be Matter-compatible, but future launches should be.

Though this puts Cync a bit behind the competition like Nanoleaf, Philips Hue, and, more recently, Govee, the more affordable prices could encourage users to opt for the GE Lighting lineup. And, with the Cync app offering a decent user interface and more Cync smart home products down the line, a smart home Cync ecosystem doesn’t sound like a far-fetched concept.