Give fun, keep fun.

We’re sympathetic to the argument that “smart lighting” is an answer to a question that nobody asked. This Sunbeats Bluetooth LED bulb isn’t solving any real problems the way, say, dishwashers and penicillin did. One could say that making a lightbulb change colors and play music through an app on your phone isn’t the most socially urgent application of technology.

One thing it does do, though, is make lightbulbs interesting enough to give as gifts.

Imagine how ridiculous that idea would have been 20 years ago. “Oh, uh, a lightbulb. Funny. Is my real gift, like, hidden inside it? Are we still friends?”

But now? Now you can give one of these Sunbeats bulbs and get a reaction ranging from “Huh! This looks kind of cool” to “OMG! This is gonna be awesome in my room!”

And we say “one” advisedly. These bulbs aren’t really made to be used in tandem. Their relatively primitive Chinese origins means that you can basically only pair one bulb per phone. And forget about integrating them into some kind of Nest or HomeKit system.

Their relative dumbness actually makes them a great My First Smart Bulb. Anybody who can screw in a lightbulb and work a smartphone can start playing with this bulb within minutes.

Why, then, are we selling them in pairs if they don’t work in pairs? It’s cheaper to ship them that way. So what are you supposed to do with two of them? Maybe keep one and give one. Maybe one’s for your bedside lamp and one’s for your spouse’s. Maybe you have two kids that each have smartphones. We’re confident this is a problem you can solve without technology.