NeoPixel RGBW LEDs (Natural White, Black Casing) add a dedicated white channel to classic NeoPixels for richer lighting effects. This pack includes 10 compact 5050 SMD LEDs with 32-bit colour control—an RGBW-capable NeoPixel library is required.
What’s better than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB + White LEDs. These NeoPixels combine red, green, blue, and white LEDs in a single package, 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 they behave exactly like standard NeoPixels, just with an extra white channel.
This version is RGB + Natural White with a black casing, supplied as a pack of 10 individual LEDs ready to solder into your own designs. Inside each NeoPixel, the LED is “split”: one half handles the RGB output you already know, while the other is a white LED with a yellow phosphor. When unlit it resembles a school bus, but once powered on it’s extremely bright. Each channel is controlled with 8-bit PWM, giving 32-bit colour overall (8 bits × 4 channels), perfect for mixing vibrant colours with natural white tones.
These compact 5050 (5mm × 5mm) SMD LEDs are fairly easy to solder and are one of the most space-efficient ways to add multiple high-brightness LEDs to a project. For prototyping, we recommend using 5050-size LED breakout PCBs, which make them much easier to work with on a breadboard.
NeoPixels use an 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 use a 20 kHz PWM rate, producing smoother colour blending with no visible pixelation when in motion (DotStars are recommended if your project supports them).
Each NeoPixel contains its own microcontroller and functions like a shift register: it reads incoming data, uses the first portion for itself, and passes the rest along the chain. This allows you to control an unlimited number of LEDs by sending a single stream of data. Once brightness values are set, the onboard PWM takes over, so the LEDs continue displaying without constant updates.
A full NeoPixel tutorial is available covering wiring, power usage calculations, and example code. Important: you’ll need a NeoPixel library with RGBW support. Using an RGB-only library will produce incorrect results. The Adafruit NeoPixel library supports RGBW, but other libraries may require modification.
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