Products at a Glance
Features and considerations
You need to consider lamp style when choosing your next desk lamp, such as ‘banker’, gooseneck and swing-arm lamps. Perhaps the most suitable for modern desks are lamps such as the gooseneck and the swing-arm, as these can be posed in many different positions. This lets you get light right where you need it at a particular moment in time.
Some modern desk lamps allow USB and wireless charging, which means you don’t have to search round for a mains socket.
Some lamps have different colour modes, too, to suit ambient light levels and your mood or eyes. Some lamps can be dimmed to suit your eyes, mood and ambient light levels.
Smart lamps let you connect your desk lamp to smart-home tech such as Apple HomeKit so that you can activate and control them remotely, or as part of a wider setup.
You should also consider if you want a desk lamp that uses a traditional bulb or uses LEDs to illuminate your workspace.
How we picked the best desk lamps in 2022
We chose the best desk lamps in 2022 using a combination of factors including adjustability and price. It’s best to try a lamp before purchase, if possible, to make sure that it meets your needs.
Product Reviews
- Automatic light adjustment based on ambient light levels
- Wider light area than with traditional desk lamps
- Can articulate it in many different ways
The BenQ WiT Desk Lamp is designed to overcome the limitations of regular desk lamps to reduce eye strain and improve your working or reading experience. You can also articulate it in many different ways.
It can cast a wider range of light than a typical traditional desk lamp, for example, which casts a more even light. Indeed, BenQ says its light area is up to 150 times wider than that of a traditional lamp.
The BenQ WiT Desk Lamp also reduces contrast glare compared to traditional lamps, which reduces the uneven light and monitor glare. The flicker free light also helps to reduce eye fatigue and strain.
An ambient light sensor can adjust the lamp to ambient light levels automatically, which saves you time and effort. Alternatively, you can use a rotary knob on the lamp head to adjust brightness or colour temperature to augment ambient light levels and help reduce eye fatigue.
This is the best desk lamp in 2022 if you want a stylish and highly adjustable desk lamp.
- Can sync with local daylight to automatically set light levels
- Ease of setting changes via app and control surfaces
- Can articulate the lamp in a variety of ways
- Not cheap
The Dyson Solarcycle Morph is a highly configurable desk lamp that you can twist and turn in many different articulations. It has more than one light source, too, as even the stand is capable of emitting light.
You can swipe or tap two strips to change colour temperature and brightness. This lets you mould the light to your desire quickly and easily. You can also use the Link app to control the Solarcycle Morph, which lets you adjust settings remotely to save time and effort.
The Solarcycle Morph can change its light settings to match local daylight levels, adding smart flair and ease.
The integrated USB-C port lets you charge devices such as smartphones, which is convenient because you don’t have to search under your desk for mains socket.
Dyson says the LEDs are rated to last a whopping 181,000 hours, so that’s a fair few years all being well.
This is the best desk lamp in 2022 if you want a highly adjustable, high-end and stylish desk lamp.
- It's compatible with popular smart-home tech
- You can select different brightness modes
- Limited articulation compared to certain more expensive lamps
This Meross device looks like just another LED desk lamp. However, it’s compatible with a variety of smart-home tech, so you can control it as part of a wider setup. It’s compatible with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and SmartThings, so you have a good set of options.
The lamp head uses 54 LED beads to produce light and its flicker-free tech should reduce eye fatigue during use. You can choose between brightness levels to find one that meets your needs or ambient light levels. You can dim the lamp, too.
The lamp has a timer that turns it off to save energy should you forget to do so, which is handy. You can also use the app to create ‘scenes’ that combine various settings such as brightness and colour temperature to save time setting options.
The Meross device’s lamp head can be articulated 180 degrees vertically and the stand can fold down 90 degrees.
This is the best desk lamp in 2022 if you need an inexpensive smart device.
- You can split lamp head for wider light coverage
- Costs less than $20
- Limited articulation compared to certain more expensive lamps
The Amazon Basics HSD9030B is a modestly priced LED gooseneck-style desk lamp. You can split the head apart (up to 90 degrees) to spread the light over a wider area for more flexible illumination options.
The HSD9030B has three colour modes (natural light, white light and yellow light) so you can set it to match your mood or to augment the ambient light levels. You can also set a timer to turn the lamp off after 40 minutes, which should help to save money on energy bills should you forget to turn it off.
This is the best desk lamp in 2022 if you just want a cheap and basic desk lamp with some different colour modes.
Our Verdict
Best Desk Lamp in 2023
The Dyson Solarcycle Morph Desk Light is highly desirable and we’d have one in a heartbeat if money was no obstacle. However, the BenQ WiT Desk Lamp wins Editor’s Choice due to its adjustability, innovative design and price.