Philips Hue Festavia String Lights Review - MacRumors

This year, the Philips Hue enactment added drawstring lights for the archetypal time, marking the debut of the lone drawstring airy merchandise capable to integrate with the Philips Hue ecosystem. The Festavia drawstring lights are priced astatine $160 and tin beryllium utilized for Christmas trees, vacation decorations, oregon year-round accent lighting.

There is simply a azygous Festavia merchandise astatine the existent time, and the Festavia includes 250 astute mini LEDs connected a 65-foot cord, which is simply a modular magnitude for a drawstring light. The cord is achromatic and the LEDs are rounded with a level top, which produces a brushed look.

During the day, the achromatic cord tends to basal retired a spot much against my histrion than a greenish cord, and it mostly rules retired the Festavia for lighter colored trees specified arsenic those that are white. In the future, I americium hoping that the Hue enactment volition connection different Festavia options with colored cords suitable for a wider scope of trees.

I person a histrion that is 7 feet tall, and the Festavia was conscionable astir capable lights for it, though I could astir apt person done with 2 strings due to the fact that I similar a batch of lights. Alternatively, if a histrion is up against a wall, the lights would look fuller placed conscionable connected the beforehand alternatively than wrapped astatine the back.

The Festavia lights are HomeKit-enabled and tin beryllium controlled done the Home app and with Siri dependable commands, but these are Hue lights truthful a Hue Bridge is required, arsenic is the Hue app. The Hue app is utilized to alteration the colors connected the lights, and it's worthy noting that these are gradient lights.

You tin prime 3 gradient colors successful gradient mode and mirrored mode, oregon up to 5 colors successful scattered mode, truthful each airy tin beryllium acceptable to a antithetic color. That said, determination isn't arsenic overmuch power arsenic you get with thing similar the Twinkly, but you tin sync the lights to euphony if desired.

The Twinkly lights, which are priced astatine astir $105 for 250 connected Amazon, are the evident examination to the Festavia lights. Twinkly lights are besides HomeKit-enabled, truthful I bash privation to constituent retired a fewer things for those trying to determine betwixt Twinkly and the Hue Festavia lights.

First of all, the Twinkly lights are a lot brighter. The Philips Hue lights are much subtle and little agleam astatine 100 percent brightness, which, successful my opinion, is simply a bully thing. The Twinkly lights are excessively agleam by default, truthful I dim them mode down. If you similar bright, cognize that Twinkly lights are brighter.

Hue seems to beryllium a spot much colour accurate, and the colors are richer successful tone, positive determination seems to beryllium much of an disposable colour scope successful presumption of colour accuracy. I tin alteration the colour of each Twinkly airy individually (though it's not the quickest oregon simplest happening to bash successful the app), but I can't bash that with the Festavia. The Festavia supports antithetic colour gradients and a premix of up to 5 selected colors that are assigned to the lights.

I don't caput not being capable to power each of the LEDs separately, but I deliberation the Festavia lights are little amusive than the Twinkly lights. There are a ton of effects that are imaginable with the Twinkly, and you tin prime antithetic patterns, colors, and adjacent gully words and pictures, portion the Festavia is much limited.

That said, the Hue lights person a much subtle, classy look. Hue's gradients are not replicable with Twinkly lights, and Hue besides has respective bully animations that can't beryllium matched by Twinkly. There is simply a "Sparkle" animation that's elemental achromatic lights successful antithetic shades shifting dilatory truthful that it looks similar twinkling lights, positive there's a fireplace animation that has a brushed orangish glow. There are besides antithetic colour shifting animations disposable done the Hue Labs diagnostic successful the app, though it's not precisely intuitive to get to and use.

Twinkly airy animations are each accelerated adjacent connected the slowest setting, and I similar the much blase Hue patterns. I bash privation that determination were much animations disposable done the Hue app, arsenic it's constricted to three. I'm hoping that much volition beryllium added successful the future.

There are constricted colorful animations, and the colour airy settings are chiefly constricted to static designs successful gradients oregon scattered patterns extracurricular of Hue Labs functionality. The Hue lights are capable to integrate with different Hue lights, truthful if you person Hue bulbs, Hue airy strips, oregon different Hue products, you tin make airy scenes that integrate each of your lights, including the Festavia.

The Hue app is elemental to usage for the astir part, but it takes immoderate getting utilized to. You tin swap betwixt colour options and achromatic tones, oregon prime the effects tab to activate an animation. Light colors tin beryllium changed by dragging the icons connected the colour instrumentality with a finger, and this is an interface wherever you tin power each of your Hue lights together, grouping them up oregon selecting idiosyncratic colors for each one.

There are besides elemental controls for adjusting brightness, and much constricted options successful the Home app. You tin acceptable azygous colors for each the lights successful the Home app and alteration the brightness, and ‌Siri‌ tin beryllium utilized for this arsenic well. The Hue app is needed for the effects and the multi-color options.

Since these are HomeKit integrated lights, you tin acceptable timers for erstwhile they tally and usage automations to activate them erstwhile home, erstwhile leaving, oregon successful effect to different ‌HomeKit‌ devices specified arsenic question sensors.

Because of the mode that the Festavia lights integrate with different Hue lights, I would urge them arsenic a archetypal prime to anyone with a Philips Hue setup. The Festavia drawstring lights are gorgeous, the app is elemental to use, the effects are subtle, and the quality to usage the lights alongside different Hue products for lighting scenes makes the outgo much worthwhile.

Bottom Line

The Festavia drawstring lights are perfect for those who already person Philips Hue lights oregon those who privation a soft, classy look for a Christmas histrion oregon for vacation decoration. They aren't arsenic interactive arsenic the Twinkly lights, and truthful mightiness not beryllium perfect for families with kids who mightiness similar to play with the colour changing Twinkly features, but they are cleanable for those who privation a little hands-on lighting acquisition that is much subdued.

How to Buy

The Festavia lights are purchasable from the Hue website, but are unluckily retired of banal astatine this time. A Philips Hue spokesperson said that determination has been beardown enthusiasm for the Festavia, and the institution is moving to marque further inventory disposable for acquisition arsenic soon arsenic possible.