Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Very bright compared to standard string lights
- Tons of configuration options
- Ample third-party ecosystem connectivity options
Cons
- Very expensive
- Looks naked; needs more bulbs on the line
- No hardware controls
Our Verdict
LIFX lights up the outdoors with impressive–if expensive–new string lights.
Nothing livens up a back yard like a set of string lights, draped in a gentle arc over the deck or the yard to create a festive glow in what would otherwise be uninviting darkness.
But oddly, today there are only a handful of smart string lights (which I define as bulbs hanging down from a string) on the market, namely from Govee. Competing offerings from Nanoleaf and Philips Hue are really just glorified holiday lights that are more suited for a dorm room than hanging in open air over your outdoor space.
A new smart string light option has arrived from an unlikely source: LIFX, a smart light pioneer that hasn’t released a new product in years, owing to the fact that its parent company went into receivership in 2022. Feit Electric bought the brand in August of that year, and finally it seems the innovation engines are churning at LIFX again.
At full strength, the lights pump out a total of 600 lumens, which can easily illuminate a backyard area.
Design and setup
Rest assured that the LIFX design mindset has not changed. These peculiar string lights look like they could have been made by no one other than the company, with big, chunky cylinders attached to a thick, rubberized wire. Each cylinder is a little over 3 inches high, so the bulbs make an impact even when they’re turned off.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lighting.
Fortunately, you don’t have to fit these bulbs into lamp sockets–often a challenge with generally oversized LIFX products–but you do have to figure out how to string them from one anchor point to another.
As with most string lights, you’re on your own in this endeavor. You have 12 lights spread across 24 feet of line to work with, and you’ll need to account for 6 extra feet of cable on the plug end of the line that includes two breakout boxes. (One of the boxes is large, containing all the electronics; the smaller box carries a single button on it that I’ll cover in a moment.)
The line is heavy compared to standard, lightweight LED string lights, so it takes a little wrestling to get it into position. Atop a 20-foot ladder as I was, arranging the lights can be a bit of an ordeal, though I was able to string them between a metal conduit pipe on my house and a nearby tree limb without much overall hassle.
With two feet between each bulb, LIFX String Lights can lose some of their impact.
With two feet between each bulb, LIFX String Lights can lose some of their impact.
Christopher Null/Foundry
With two feet between each bulb, LIFX String Lights can lose some of their impact.
Christopher Null/Foundry
Christopher Null/Foundry
Getting the power line run to a socket isn’t the most elegant part of the setup, but naturally your mileage will vary depending on where you have a power outlet available. LIFX includes a number of screws, wall anchors, and metal clips that you can use to make permanent connections to the wall, but I was able to use zip ties for mine.
The strip light wire comes in multiple pieces, connected by four-prong connectors with waterproof gaskets that screw tightly over each connection. You can daisy chain up to three strings of lights for a grand total of 72 feet of lighting, with connectors at the end of each string. (I had just a single strand for review.)
Buttons and app control
Users may find the small breakout box mentioned above to be confusing, as the single button is easily mistaken for a power control. Instead, the button is used only to put the lights into pairing mode and to “re-count” the number of lights connected if you add a second or third string. Why LIFX wouldn’t configure this button to do double duty for folks who don’t have a cell phone handy is a mystery.
In the absence of other physical controls, you’ll need to use the LIFX mobile app to interact with the string lights. Setup is quick through a QR code scan (you’ll find the code on the tiny quick start manual, so don’t lose it), after which the lights quickly bridge to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network.
Once configured, the interface is largely the same as you’ll find with most of LIFX’s products, the only big difference being that you’re controlling 12 lights at once instead of a single bulb.
Each bulb contains three addressable zones, so while you can certainly set all the bulbs to white (with color temperatures ranging from a very warm 1,500 Kelvin to a cool 9,000K) or a single color, it’s a lot more fun to use dynamic modes that populate the string with multiple static colors or shift dynamically with flicker, “flame,” or “spooky” effects.
The app interface is largely the same as you’ll find with most of LIFX’s products, the only big difference being that you’re controlling 12 lights at once instead of a single bulb.
The app interface is largely the same as you’ll find with most of LIFX’s products, the only big difference being that you’re controlling 12 lights at once instead of a single bulb.
Christopher Null/Foundry
The app interface is largely the same as you’ll find with most of LIFX’s products, the only big difference being that you’re controlling 12 lights at once instead of a single bulb.
Christopher Null/Foundry
Christopher Null/Foundry
A music visualizer lets the bulbs shift in time with ambient music, and a strobe light feature is available if you’re mercifully seizure-free.
LIFX calls its latest lighting technology “Polychrome,” which enables the use of a new color wheel that, per the company, features “finer saturation control,” and which allows you to pick multiple colors to appear on the bulbs (up to three) with greater ease.
You can also tap the “Complementary” function; just select your favorite color, then the app will automatically pick two ideal accent colors to go alongside it, preventing the risk of any aesthetic embarrassment from choosing clashing hues.
At full strength, the lights pump out a total of 600 lumens, which can easily illuminate a backyard area without assistance from any other ambient light (depending on how high you have the lights strung, of course). By comparison, the standard LED string lights I have installed elsewhere on my property provide only 100 lumens.
The lights themselves look great, but the line does seem a bit naked with two feet between each bulb. A typical string light will offer twice as many bulbs along the same length of wire, and it really makes a difference. LIFX doesn’t need the extra bulbs to provide extra light, but they would help to provide a better overall aesthetic experience.
The LIFX String Light is compatible with HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings; a Matter update is also on the way. I connected the lights to both Alexa and HomeKit with no trouble. (Confusingly, LIFX’s app insisted that the lights were “not found” by HomeKit, even though they did appear in the Apple Home app.)
Should you buy the LIFX String Light
As nice as the LIFX String Light looks, price is naturally the biggest consideration here. With a list price of $150 ($129 street at Home Depot), the lights cost as much as four strands of standard, white-only string lights, which might make for a tough sell.
LIFX products have always been on the pricy side, but these string lights are exceptionally expensive–easily the most expensive on the market. For comparison, Govee’s string lights are currently just $64 for 96 feet of lighting.
I love the LIFX String Light, but if I had to make this purchasing decision from scratch, I’d probably opt for cheaper, longer, standard string lights and simply connect them to an app-controllable smart switch. That said, there’s no way I’m climbing back up that ladder anytime soon to change the LIFX bulbs out.
