NeoPixel RGBW LEDs (Cool White) combine full colour with crisp white output using 4 channels and 32-bit colour control. This pack includes 10 white-cased 5050 SMD LEDs using the 800 kHz NeoPixel protocol—an RGBW-capable library is required.
What’s better than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB + White LEDs. These NeoPixels pack four LEDs into a single package — red, green, blue, and white — giving you far more flexibility for lighting effects, especially when you need proper white alongside full colour. They use the same integrated LED driver found in NeoPixel strips, so you can build your own RGBW layouts just like any other NeoPixel project.
This version is RGB + Cool White with a white casing, supplied as a pack of 10 individual LEDs for you to solder into your own designs. Internally, each NeoPixel is “split”: one half handles RGB, while the other is a white LED with a yellow phosphor. When unlit it resembles a yellow starburst, but once powered up it’s extremely bright. Each channel is controlled with 8-bit PWM, giving 32-bit colour overall (8 bits × 4 channels), ideal for combining vivid colours with cool white highlights.
These are compact 5050 (5mm × 5mm) SMD LEDs, fairly easy to solder and one of the most space-efficient ways to add multiple bright LEDs to a project. For prototyping, 5050-size LED breakout PCBs make them much easier to use on a breadboard.
NeoPixels use the 800 kHz data protocol, which requires precise timing. Their PWM rate is 400 Hz, which works well but can be noticeable if the LED is moving. By comparison, DotStars run at 20 kHz PWM, giving smoother blending and no visible pixelation during motion (so DotStars are recommended if your project allows them).
Each NeoPixel contains its own microcontroller and behaves like a shift register: it reads incoming data, keeps the first part for itself, and passes the rest down the line. This lets you control an unlimited number of LEDs by sending a long data stream. Once brightness values are set, PWM runs internally, so the LEDs keep displaying without constant updates.
A full tutorial is available covering wiring, power calculations, and example code. Important: you’ll need a NeoPixel library that supports RGBW. Using an RGB-only library will give very strange results. The Adafruit NeoPixel library supports RGBW, but other libraries may require modification. Also note that the blue LED sits close to the white phosphor, so blue light can bleed into the white, meaning blue may appear slightly mixed with white.
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