This year, the Philips Hue line added string lights for the first time, marking the debut of the only string light product capable of integrating with the Philips Hue ecosystem. Festavia string lights cost $160 and can be used for Christmas trees, holiday decorations or year-round accent lighting.
There is currently only one Festavia product, and the Festavia has 250 Smart Mini LEDs on a 65-foot cord, which is an ideal length for a string light. The cord is black and the LEDs are round with a flat top, creating a softer look.
During the day, the black cord stands out a little more against my tree than the green cord, and it mostly rules out Festavia for lighter-colored plants like white. In the future, I’m hoping the Hue line will offer other Festavia options with colored cords suitable for a larger range of trees.
I have a tree that is seven feet tall, and the Festavia was enough light for that, although I could probably do with two strings because I like lots of light. Alternatively, if a tree is against a wall, the lights will show full front instead of wrapping around the back.
Festavia lights are HomeKit-enabled and can be controlled via the Home app and via Siri voice commands, but they’re Hue lights so a Hue bridge is required, such as the Hue app. The Hue app is used to change the colors of the lights, and it should be noted that these are gradient lights.
You can select three gradient colors in gradient mode and mirror mode, or up to five colors in scatter mode, so that each light can be set to a different color. That said, you don’t have as much control as you get with something like Twinkle, but you can sync the lights to music if you want.
The Twinkly Light, which costs about $105 for 250 on Amazon, is an obvious comparison to the Festavia Light. The Twinkly lights are also HomeKit-enabled, so I’d like to point out a few things for those trying to decide between the Twinkly and Hue Festavia lights.
First, twinkly lights are a a lot The brighter Philips Hue lights are more subtle and less bright at 100 percent brightness, which is a good thing in my opinion. The twinkly lights are too bright by default, so I dim them If you like bright, know that twinkly light is brighter.
Hue seems a bit more color accurate, and colors are richer in tone, plus there seems to be a greater range of available colors in terms of color accuracy. I can change the color of each twinkly light individually (though it’s not the quickest or easiest thing to do in the app), but I can’t do that with Festavia. Festavia supports different color gradients and supports up to five selected color mixes defined in the lights.
I don’t mind not being able to control each LED separately, but I think Festavia lights are less fun than twinkly lights. Twinkly has a lot of effects and you can select different patterns, colors and even draw sounds and pictures, while Festavia is more limited.
That said, Hue lights have a more subtle, classy look Hue’s gradients are not replicable with Twinkly Lights, and Hue has several nice animations that Twinkly can’t match. There’s a “sparkle” animation that slowly shifts white lights of different shades to look like glowing lights, plus a fireplace animation that has a soft orange glow. The app also has various color shifting animations available through the Hue Labs feature, though it’s not exactly intuitive to get and use.
and sparkle. pic.twitter.com/bLMhRrRLaP
— Julie Clover (@julipulee) November 30, 2022
The twinkly light animations are fast even on the slowest settings, and I prefer the more sophisticated hue patterns. I wish there were more animations available through the Hue app, as it’s limited to three. I hope that more will be added in the future.
There are limited color animations, and color lighting settings are primarily limited to static designs of gradients or scattered patterns outside of Hue Labs functionality. Hue lights are able to integrate with other Hue lights, so if you have Hue bulbs, Hue light strips, or other Hue products, you can create light scenes that integrate all your lights, including the Festavia.
The Hue app is easy to use for the most part, but it takes some getting used to. You can toggle between color options and white tones, or select the Effects tab to activate animations. Light colors can be changed by dragging icons on the color wheel with your finger, and this is an interface where you can control all your Hue lights together, group them, or select individual colors for each one.
The Home app has simpler controls and more limited options for adjusting brightness. You can set a single color and change brightness for all lights in the Home app, and Siri can also be used for this. Hue app required for effects and multi-color options
Because these are HomeKit integrated lights, you can set timers for when they’re turned on and use automation to activate them when you get home, when you leave, or in response to other HomeKit devices like motion sensors.
The way the Festavia lights integrate with other Hue lights, I would recommend them as a first choice with a Philips Hue setup. The Festavia string lights are gorgeous, the app is easy to use, the effects are subtle, and the ability to use the lights alongside other Hue products for light scenes makes the cost more than worth it.
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Festavia string lights are ideal for those who already have Philips Hue lights or those who want a soft, classy look for Christmas trees or holiday decorations. They’re not as interactive as Twinkly Lights, and so might not be ideal for families with kids who might like to play with the color-changing Twinkly features, but they’re perfect for those who want a less hands-on lighting experience. more subservient.
how to buy
Festavia lights are available for purchase from the Hue website, but are unfortunately out of stock at this time A Philips Hue spokesperson said there is strong enthusiasm for the Festavia and the company is working to make additional inventory available for purchase as soon as possible.
