Xiaomi Mi Desk Lamp Pro MTJD02YL Review - The Best Smart Lamp with Apple HomeKit

Lighting products from Xiaomi have never disappointed me. I love every one of them, from light strip, ceiling lamps, bedside lamps, to desk lamps. However, there is an iconic product that I’ve seen in many places all over Asia, that is the Xiaomi Desk Lamp. That lamp was released more than 4 years ago and it is still my favorite smart lamp so far.

Therefore, I’m so exited to know Xiaomi has upgraded it to the Xiaomi Desk Lamp Pro MTJD02YL. How is the new version better and is it worth the upgrade? We’re going to find out in the review.

Unboxing & Testing

Design & Lighting Quality

Xiaomi still chooses a minimalist design with the new Desk Lamp Pro. Although there are some changes in the design, we still can recognize the Xiaomi product since the exterior is all white. Unlike its predecessor, the Lamp Pro is much taller and more flexible. It features a three-axis rotation adjustment; Specifically, you can rotate the lamp, the lamp arm, and the main arm which is connected to the base. Moreover, you can also turn the main arm to the left and right. The design provides users with a lot of flexibility. You can lift the lamp up to the height of 2’2″ (66cm) or lower to just 3″ (7cm) from the desktop. When I work on my laptop, I can turn the lamp to another direction to avoid glare.

What I love the most is the large round LED panel which spreads the light evenly on a larger area. Even when I look directly to the light, it still feels so soft and comfortable for my eyes. Then, when I adjust the lamp to raise the lamp, it can cover almost my whole desktop. The Mi Lamp Pro’s light is not only more uniform but also much brighter than the first generation’s. Even when adjusting to the highest position, it still can deliver up to 570 lumens while the first gen’s was just 300 lumens.

This is a smart lamp but you totally can use it as a normal desk lamp. The knob on the base allows you to turn on/off and adjust brightness and color temperature of the lamp. Notably, the color temperature range of the lamp is 2,500K to 4,800K while the previous version’s range was 2,500K – 6,500K. Obviously, Xiaomi has made the light warmer and more comfortable for our eyes. Obviously, the range between 4,800K and 6,500K is not suitable for home use and it is a great idea to get rid of it.

Smart Features

Most people buy this Lamp Pro because of its smart features and I have no complaint regarding its performance. This is one of the first Xiaomi lights compatible with Apple HomeKit and it works flawlessly. The setup process takes less than 1 minute since basically, I just needed to scan the QR code sticked to the base. Afterwards, the lamp will show up in the Home app; I can control the lamp’s brightness and color temperature within the app or I can also give voice commands to Siri. Notice that I can’t change color temperature with Siri.

If you don’t use Apple HomeKit, you can install the Mi Home or Yeelight app to connect it to Google Home or Amazon Alexa. In case you want to use the lamp on multiple ecosystems, you need to install the Mi Home app first, then add it to HomeKit, Google Home, or Alexa. You still need to use the Mi Home app anyway because that is the only way to receive firmware updates. If you are in the United States, you might not see the Mi Desk Lamp Pro in the list of supported devices because it is not officially launched in the market; Therefore, I had to change the server to an Asian country to make it appear. The Mainland China and Singapore have this product but somehow I couldn’t set it up in the Mi Home app. The trick here is is to change to Hong Kong server; I tried many other servers but it seems like Hong Kong is the only compatible server that allows me to set up the Mi lamp in the United States.

All in all, the Mi Desk Lamp Pro is a worthy upgrade if you spend a lot of time reading or working on your desk. In case you use it just as a backlight for your laptop/workstation, the 1st-gen Mi Desk Lamp is more than enough.