Aukey’s Aura ring lamp is a versatile light lacking major smart features

With the advent of YouTube, Twitch and other video streaming platforms, the popularity of home video production has soared. As such, gadgets like ring lights have become increasingly pop with amateur creators equally they offer vivid, uniform lighting that gives videos a more professional feel.

Many videos and streams feature a 'talking head' style of content. Band lights excel in these videos, particularly in pop content like video game streams or makeup tutorials, where the creator'southward face is featured prominently throughout the video.

A quick search on Google pulls up several videos about why you should apply a ring calorie-free, where to go ring lights, which ring lights offering the best bang-for-your-cadet, then on. And, of course, that Google search brought many, many links to available band lights on Amazon.

Ane such light, Aukey'south Aureola ring light, stands out from the rest. While non necessarily designed with video production in mind, this unique LED desk lamp works for many uses, from video to photography to just looking wing.

Keen lite, great colour

Aukey Aura purple

I don't brand YouTube videos, and while I have streamed on Twitch occasionally, I wouldn't phone call myself a streamer. However, when I beginning saw the Aureola, my thoughts went immediately to reviving my long-expressionless Twitch aqueduct with improved lightning, courtesy of Aukey.

This wasn't meant to be — my Twitch channel will stay dead for now — merely I did detect several other uses for the Aura.

Start and foremost, the Aura made for excellent photography lighting. I take a lot of photos of phones and other tech for work. However, when I piece of work from home, it can be challenging to find skilful lighting to take pictures.

The Aura has mostly solved that problem for me. While it isn't perfect — bluntly, the lighting in my apartment is abysmal at best — with some effort, the Aura can create unique scenes for my photos. If you read MobileSyrup regularly, yous may have seen the picture below heading a story well-nigh dark mode coming to Google Assistant.

Aura photo prop

The Aura has several unlike colours it supports, including purple, turquoise, xanthous, blue, green and red. Thanks to these colours, I can often tailor the scene to work precisely with the item I'm photographing.

When I'1000 not on the job, the ring light makes for a dandy addition to my room. The white color option is a nice warm calorie-free, not overly harsh. Plus, the brightness is adaptable, making the Aureola an splendid reading light.

Further, if I desire something more than heady, the Aureola offers several 'moving' light modes. Options include a 'filling' animation where the circumvolve slowly fills up with light or a 'breathing' animation where the light pulses gently. There are also several 'spinning' options, with ane color, four colours and more. Finally, you lot can too choice 'auto' mode where the Aura will cycle through all the colours it supports.

Overall, the Aura has a lot going for it. Thanks to the wealth of colours, animations and settings, this band light can serve multiple purposes dutifully. However, there a few areas holding back the Aureola.

A light this capable needs smart features

Aukey Aura remote

For me, the biggest issue with the Aura was its reliance on a remote command to function.

To exist clear, I don't mean that the remote worked poorly. To the contrary, the remote worked exceedingly well — I could control the lamp with it from an entirely different room in my apartment.

My showtime upshot with the remote is its structure. Its plastic shell felt shoddy at times. Some buttons, mainly the centre 'Mode' button, would click other buttons if you pressed with any force.

As for the buttons themselves, if you lot don't have the user manual, information technology can be hard to determine what some of them do. I misplaced my manual shortly after setting up the calorie-free and spent most of my time with it testing buttons to see what they did.

Thankfully, I learned later that Aukey allows you to download a PDF of the manual from their website, which includes instructions on which buttons practice what. However, the whole feel of learning how to command certain features wasn't great, particularly considering that the remote is the but way to command the light.

Worse, if the 2 triple-A batteries in the remote — which aren't included — die, or if you lot lose or break the remote, it means you can't command the Aura calorie-free anymore.

It's a frustratingly simple problem to solve, and at that place are a variety of solutions too. For one, the base of the light could have featured a few control buttons. Alternatively, Aukey could accept made the remote rechargeable, so users wouldn't demand to worry virtually batteries.

Aukey Aura blue

Better all the same, why non permit users to control the light with an app on their phone? Aukey already has a 'Dwelling house' app for decision-making its smart gadgets — that same tech could easily extend to this light.

And for that matter, I should be able to control the Aura with Google Banana or Alexa.

Whatever or all of these solutions would have significantly improved the usability of the Aura light. Instead, the omission of these features stands as a glaring flaw.

One other nitpick I had with the lamp was that its cord was quite short. Information technology'south hardly a deal breaker, merely I did find it restricted my options regarding where I could plug it in.

At this cost, you may be improve served with another light

Aukey Aura red

Aukey's Aura light stands out for its power to fill many needs. From a band lite for your burgeoning YouTube aqueduct to a unique reading lamp, the Aura tin can handle just well-nigh any need yous have of a light.

Information technology also offers several lighting options, presets and colours. All told, there's a lot packed into this lamp that helps justify the $120 price tag, especially compared to other band lights on Amazon. In a preliminary search, I found most quality ring lights available were in the same price range just lacked the versatility of Aukey's lamp.

That said, the Aura misses on a few fundamental areas that I call back would make it a significantly meliorate buy for most people. Assistant and Alexa support, or fifty-fifty just the power to control the low-cal with a smartphone app, would take made the Aura an easy sell.

Ultimately, unless you really need the band-shaped light, I think you'd exist meliorate off with something like a LIFX Wi-Fi smart bulb. LIFX bulbs offer many of the aforementioned features along with Assistant and Alexa support, options to control the light with your phone and, depending on the lite you buy, a lower price as well.