Connected bulbs are an essential part of a smart home infrastructure, but it's not always easy to know which one to buy. Some have to connect to a proprietary or Zigbee controller, which in turns communicates with your router. Although this tends — or rather, used to — make the bulbs cheaper, it means you have to stick to this particular architecture and to already own the hub. Otherwise, you can turn to Wi-Fi smart bulbs, which connect directly to your router and don't need any intermediary to do so. Although these could be more expensive than the previously mentioned bulbs, their price is now significantly more affordable than what it used to be.