With the Lidl Smart Starter Kit you can take a nice step to make your home smarter. If you have this set you can remotely switch 3 lamps on/off, give these lamps all the colors of the rainbow and dim them.

You can control the lamps with the supplied remote control. The Gateway links everything together using the Zigbee protocol. It is nice that this was chosen because it works more stable than via a WiFi connection. Actually, no WiFi is used at all because the Gateway connects to your internal/external network via a UTP cable.

Of course it is possible to make home really smart by automating everything through rules. Think, for example, of automatically switching on your lights when the sun goes down. Some more complex rules can also be made, but up to a certain level. This will suffice for most novice users. If you really want to go wild, the lack of variables is a showstopper.

This set is quite well put together but it all feels a bit cheap. If we look at the lamps, they weigh almost nothing and cheap plastic has been used. Now that's not necessarily a requirement, because once it's in place, you can't really touch it.

What disappoints me are the colors that the lamps give. These look rather artificial and therefore not very natural. The operation is fine and during my tests the lamp did not miss a single command. The system also reacts smoothly and without hitches.

The supplied remote control is rather large. The advantage is that you do not lose it so quickly. Pressing the buttons feels a bit cheap.

The installation of this starter kit is not very complicated and every user should be able to do it. The steps are clearly explained and did not cause any problems.

Privacy

What I do find a point of attention is that Lidl has a processor agreement with the following parties:

- Google (for speech part)
- Tuya (Chinese manufacturer of smart home products)
- Hanghou Tuya
- Microsoft Netherlands
- Nexmo
- The Weather Bit
- Geetest Wuhan
- Apple

There are quite a few.

It is also striking that you are asked whether you want to see personalizing advertisements (eg Vodafone, EON and Lidl) and whether you want to sign up for the newsletter. Fortunately, you can turn this option off.

I cannot determine what Lidl does with your data from the conditions. Maybe nothing at all, but maybe everything. It is of course up to you to decide what you think about this.

Contents:

- Intro
- Installation
- Controls/scenes
- Google home link
- Competition/Comparison
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Video Review
- Conclusion