Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro evaluate: A must-have desk accessory to reduce eye strain

Yeelight constructed its identify at the again of inexpensive lighting fixtures merchandise, and in recent times it has branched out into new classes. Its newest product is the Monitor Light Bar Pro, and whilst it’s aimed on the gaming section, it doubles up simply as smartly for normal use.

Now, I did not actually pay a lot consideration to track gentle bars, and that’s the reason most commonly as a result of I by no means understood their application. It wasn’t till I in truth began the use of the Monitor Light Bar Pro that I noticed simply how unsuitable I used to be. Yeelight’s gentle bar does an excellent process lighting fixtures up my desk, and it does so with out calling an excessive amount of consideration to itself. I’ve used it for just below two months now, and in that point, it has made a tangible distinction to my desk setup.

And the most efficient phase (no less than for me) is that the Monitor Light Bar Pro has a secondary  set of LED lighting fixtures on the again that offer subtle RGB lighting fixtures. That by myself makes it a very simple advice in my e-book, however there may be extra: you get a wi-fi dimmer knob, Alexa and Google Assistant integration, and it pairs with Razer’s Chroma units.

So here is what the Monitor Light Bar Pro has to be offering, and why you will have to imagine choosing it up.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: Pricing and availability

The Monitor Light Bar Pro made its debut again in February for $130, and it’s now to be had in North America and choose international areas the place Yeelight has an reliable presence. In the U.S., you’ll be able to select up the sunshine bar at Amazon for $110 as of writing, and on Yeelight’s reliable web site for $117.

Yeelight is operating an unique be offering for Android Central readers that brings the price of the sunshine bar down to $98 whilst you input code ANDROIDCENTR — 25% off its retail value. The code works on Amazon in addition to Yeelight’s reliable retailer, and is legitimate till April 30. So if you are within the Monitor Light Bar Pro, you’ll be able to select it up the use of the code ANDROIDCENTR and avoid wasting money.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: What you can love

As any individual who writes phrases for a residing, I’m generally in entrance of the track for lots of the day. On reasonable, I spend round 12 hours an afternoon at my desk, beginning at 6am within the morning. 

Because I get started early and do not like switching at the downlights, I trusted Dyson’s $600 Lightcycle because the default desk gentle for the remaining two years. It’s a ridiculously over-engineered product that takes up numerous room, but it surely does a just right process illuminating my desk, and adjusts lighting fixtures mechanically in keeping with time of day.

Yeelight’s gentle bar supplies the entire illumination it is advisable ask for, and the colours are extremely configurable.

Yeelight’s Monitor Light Bar Pro is an more uncomplicated resolution for my use case. The gentle bar has a graceful cylindrical design that permits it to hang its personal in opposition to the most efficient track gentle bars, and it affixes to the stand by means of magnets — making set up a breeze. It will also be turned around via up to 25 levels, so when you have a big paintings floor, you’ll be able to simply modify the attitude of the sunshine bar.

The stand has a counterweight and hangs in the back of the track, and the sunshine bar is powered via USB-C. It wishes 10W of energy, so you might be the use of the bundled wall plug to run the sunshine bar.

Because of the low profile of the stand, the Monitor Light Bar Pro works with flat or curved displays, and I used it with Xiaomi’s 27-inch gaming track for the remaining two months. The gentle bar has a string of LEDs that do an excellent process illuminating a workspace, and also you get the power to trade between cool and heat hues.

The gentle bar additionally will get very vibrant; extra continuously than now not, I left it on the lowest brightness stage, and that was once greater than ok for my wishes. The skill to manually set the colour temperature makes numerous distinction in day-to-day use; I generally get started off with heat hues and turn to cooler tones as soon as there may be enough ambient gentle within the room.

What makes the Monitor Light Bar Pro stand out much more is the second one row of lighting fixtures on the again. These supply ambient lighting fixtures, and feature RGB LEDs with 16 million colours. They do not supply a lot in the way in which of illumination, however they are now not supposed to; they are only for atmosphere.

You can modify the brightness of the sunshine bar and alter colours with the Xiaomi Home app, however there may be an more uncomplicated means: the Monitor Light Bar Pro comes with a bundled wi-fi dimmer knob this is implausible to use. 

The wi-fi faraway makes it extraordinarily simple to flip the sunshine bar on or off and alter the colours.

The faraway has a rotary design that permits you to simply build up brightness via turning it clockwise (and vice versa), and you’ll be able to trade between heat and funky tones via urgent down at the faraway and turning the knob.

You too can simply flip the sunshine bar on or off with the faraway, and it really works with each the principle set of LEDs on the entrance and the ambient RGB lighting fixtures on the again. In day-to-day use, I simply relied at the wi-fi faraway to modify colours at the gentle bar and switch it on or off.

For extra granular keep watch over and the power to arrange modes for gaming or motion pictures, you can want to use the Xiaomi Home app. It has a colour wheel that permits you to select lighting fixtures choices for the ambient gentle, and you’ll be able to additionally transfer to the similar hue as the primary gentle. Similarly, you’ll be able to choose cool or heat tones for the primary gentle and modify brightness ranges.

The Monitor Light Bar Pro connects over Wi-Fi, however it is restricted to the two.4GHz band, so you are going to want to have that enabled for your router if you wish to have the sunshine bar to be detected inside Xiaomi Home.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: What wishes paintings

The handiest factor I’ve with the Monitor Light Bar Pro is the third-party integration, or lack thereof. The gentle bar formally works with Razer’s Chroma platform, however getting it to paintings with different units in finicky at highest, and it does not attach to different RGB lighting fixtures products and services like NZXT Cam or Corsair’s iCUE.

I’ve numerous Corsair merchandise, and the truth that I will’t combine the RGB lighting fixtures with the remainder of the units on my desk is a bit of of a letdown. But rather than that, I shouldn’t have any problems with the sunshine bar.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: The pageant

Yeelight’s gentle bar is a pricey possibility on this class, and if you do not want to spend as a lot, you’ll be able to select up choices for lots much less.

Baseus, a Chinese producer that makes cables and charging equipment on par with Anker and Aukey, additionally makes a gentle bar that prices simply $28, and as you would believe, there are a couple of downsides. You get simply 3 colour modes — 2800K, 4000K, and 5500K — and there is no wi-fi faraway. But if you are in search of a budget-focused possibility, it nails the fundamentals.

If you do not care concerning the Monitor Light Bar Pro’s RGB lighting fixtures, you’ll be able to avoid wasting money and get the Xiaomi Mi Computer Monitor Light Bar. This is the first-gen style of the sunshine bar, and it has the similar set of LEDs for the primary gentle, and also you even get the similar wi-fi faraway. At $70, this is a just right price.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: Should you purchase it?

You will have to purchase this if:

• You want to remove darkness from your desk and not using a cumbersome desk gentle
• You need a gentle bar that is extremely customizable
• You’re in search of a very simple means to arrange ambient RGB lighting fixtures

You should not purchase this if:

• You need tight integration with Razer Chroma or different RGB lighting fixtures products and services

Yeelight’s Monitor Light Bar Pro does an excellent process lighting fixtures up your desk, and it does so with out taking over any room at the desk itself. You get greater than ok brightness with the sunshine bar, and the extent of customization on be offering makes it a no brainer. The wi-fi faraway is considered one of my favourite options, because it permits a very simple means to keep watch over the brightness ranges, modify the colours, or flip the sunshine bar on or off.

The RGB ambient lighting fixtures is an added bonus, and total, the Monitor Light Bar Pro is a must-have addition to your desk if you are like me and spend all day in entrance of a track. I exploit the sunshine bar each time I’m at my desk now, and it makes a tangible distinction; my eyes do not really feel as fatigued on the finish of the day.

So if you wish to have a hassle-free means of illuminating your desk, you can need to check out the Monitor Light Bar Pro.