The holiday season is almost upon us, and many of us will soon decorate our homes for Christmas. Whether you're satisfied with a tree and a modicum of tinsel, or plan a decorative light show that needs clearance from air traffic control, the festive period isn't complete without fairy lights.
Now, smart home aficionados will be able to link their festive decorations with the rest of their system, thanks to the Philips Hue Festavia. Born from the same tech that created the Philips Hue system, Festavia is designed with Christmas in mind.
A 20-metre string of 250 mini-LED bulbs should prove plenty for most applications. Simply open the Hue app on your smartphone and you can turn lights on or off, adjust the brightness, change the colour and setup timers or schedules for automated changes.
You can even set a colour gradient to change along the length of the string – red to green would be appropriately festive. And, thanks to the Philips Hue technology, you can sync the lights to your Spotify, letting them flash in time with your favourite music.
New to the Festavia are two lighting styles, which look to mimic traditional fairy lights. Sparkle makes the LEDs twinkle, just like your old fairy lights, and is an especially festive inclusion. Scattered focuses on the colour of the lights, and allows you to randomise up to five colours along the length of the string, rather than as a gradient from one end to the other.
The Philips Hue bulbs have been sat atop out best smart bulb buying guide for a long time, so you can feel confident in the technology you're buying into. For those who already have a smart home setup, particularly those with the Philips Hue bulbs, this feels like a convenient no-brainer.
They aren't cheap – setting you back $159.99 / £139.99 / €159.99. The Festavia will be available to purchase from the 15th of November. Keep an eye out for Black Friday deals too. Despite this being a new product, the Hue range is notorious for good deals, and could save you some money.
