Why You Can Trust CNET Dyson Lightcycle Morph is the Optimus Prime of LED lamps
Billed as the company's most advanced light to date, the Lightcycle Morph transforms into four different kinds of lamp. It's built to last 60 years -- and it starts at $650.
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Dyson may be best known for its vacuums and bladeless fans, but it also makes other products, including swanky LED lamps. The company says its latest model in that category, the Lightcycle Morph, is the most advanced light it's ever engineered -- and it does seem like a nice upgrade over the Lightcycle, which I took a look at last year.
Available now, the Morph comes in a $650 desk model (£500, which converts to about AU$980) and a floor model ($850 or £650), as well as three color options (the third color, brass, is currently only available at dyson.com).
The aptly named Morph is something of a Transformer of lamps thanks to its ability to contort into one of four different lighting options. When it's facing down, it's a standard task lamp, the kind you use for reading, writing and studying. But when you swing the arm over and dock the head into its perforated aluminum-polycarbonate composite stem, you get this cool candlelight effect that turns the Morph into a mood light you can chill out to.
You can also turn the head and direct it up at a wall or the ceiling to illuminate a room. The Morph rotates at three points -- the stem, the elbow and the head -- which makes it more flexible than previous Dyson Lightcycle models.
The fourth lighting option isn't so different from the third, but you can use it as a kind of spotlight, directing the head at a specific item, such as a piece of artwork that you want to showcase. There's also a USB-C port that you can use to charge your devices.
Like last year's Lightcycle, this is equipped with Dyson's special heat-pipe technology, which Dyson says efficiently cools the LEDs to protect them against fading and discoloring. With normal use, the Morph's LEDs shouldn't degrade for 60 years, Dyson says. In other words, this light could outlive you.
The Morph has a cool mode that can automatically adjust its color temperature to the time of day in your location. It's called "daylight tracking" and the idea is that it delivers the right light for the right time of day and reduces the amount of blue light as you head into the evening hours. That way your circadian rhythm doesn't get messed up and you can sleep better.
You'd expect a high-tech light like this to have an app and it does. You can adjust the amount of light and color temperature from the app and also select preset modes such as studying and relaxing. There are also away modes and you can have the light wake you up along with your alarm.
I haven't lived with the Lightcycle Morph so I can't tell you if it can really help you sleep better and improve your mood, but as far as LED lamps go, it's certainly got an eye-catching design and appears to be versatile. It may be a while before it gets a price drop, but there's a lot to like if you can afford it.
The USB-C charging port.