• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechInternet of Things

GE gets into e-commerce to sell its HomeKit connected lightbulbs

By
Stacey Higginbotham
Stacey Higginbotham
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Stacey Higginbotham
Stacey Higginbotham
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 29, 2015, 11:17 AM ET
Image courtesy of GE

Who says the Internet of things can’t change business models? General Electric is launching its own online store to sell a newly launched connected light bulb for the residential market. Like many startups in the connected home space, these bulbs (called C by GE) aren’t even available yet. If you sign up now, your lights won’t arrive until January.

The lights cost $49.97 for a starter pack with four bulbs, but there’s a 20% discount for people who sign up now. That’s a great price for connected light bulbs, given that the cheapest bulbs on the market today are about $15 for the GE Link bulbs.

The bulbs come in two flavors. One is the C Sleep, which is for bedrooms and is designed to mimic the sun’s natural light throughout the day and help people end up sleeping better at night. There’s also a C Life bulb which offers a warm, white light that can be dimmed or brightened for a variety of everyday tasks such as reading or working.

The lights are the ones that GE pre-announced in May that would work with Apple’s (APPL) HomeKit home automation framework. They will also work with the Wink hub and with your smart phone using Bluetooth. That means you won’t actually need a hub (or even an iPhone) if you want to control them.

For consumers, lighting is low-cost and low-risk way to experiment with the smart home, and for GE (GE), lighting has so far been a good way to experiment with unique business model associated with the Internet of things. I can’t imagine what it may come up with if it can build a product that attracts a large number of consumers.

For more on GE’s innovations watch this Fortune video:

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

About the Author
By Stacey Higginbotham
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

LawElon Musk
Musk misled Twitter investors before 2022 buyout, jury says
By Isaiah Poritz, Jef Feeley and BloombergMarch 20, 2026
1 hour ago
bespectacled man scratches the back of his head during congressional hearing
CryptoCryptocurrency
Kalshi locks in $22 billion valuation, gaining slight edge over its rival Polymarket
By Carlos GarciaMarch 20, 2026
4 hours ago
Big TechEntrepreneurs
Mark Cuban reads 1,000 emails a day—now he’s using a Mac Mini to fight the AI-generated flood threatening his clean inbox obsession
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 20, 2026
5 hours ago
Stressed out job seeker on laptop
Successjob hunting
Job seekers aren’t imagining things: the number of candidates ghosted by employers just reached a three-year high thanks to AI
By Emma BurleighMarch 20, 2026
8 hours ago
SuccessCareers
AI boom is fueling demand for skilled trades—and demand for technicians, HVAC workers, and electricians is soaring, with six-figure salaries to match
By Preston ForeMarch 20, 2026
9 hours ago
LawX
Three Tennessee teenagers are suing Elon Musk’s xAI for creating sexually explicit images of them
By The Associated Press and Travis LollerMarch 20, 2026
10 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.