Tried and tested: the best smart lights for home

Connected lights will not only turn on and off on command but can change colours and change the mood of your home quickly. We’ve put the best ones to the test.

There’s nothing quite like announcing “let there be light” to brighten up your home. These well-connected gadgets can make it work.

NANOLEAF LINES STARTER KIT

A novel and vibrant way to light up your walls

$249, jbhifi.com.au

PROS

– Creates striking lights

– Can light up to music

– Heaps of colour options

CONS

– Takes time to install

– Plan for best result

– Requires a wall cord

Nanoleaf has become well known for its funky lighting solutions, and Lines is one of its most striking efforts. Users must first plot the design for their wall and can connect this modular kit to create a glowing, striking pattern with it. The individual Lines can light up in two colours at a time, and users can control their look with a connected app, with voice controls, or with physical buttons. Preset scenes are available within the app, in case you want to see what’s possible, and the lights are affixed with mounting tape to protect your walls.

VERDICT: ★★★★½

PHILIPS HUE PLAY LIGHT BARS

These smart lights can extend your home cinema

$240, philips-hue.com

PROS

– Simple to set up

– Creates vibrant home cinema

– Stand upright or lie flat

CONS

– Requires Hue Bridge

– Better with Sync Box

– No angled installation

There’s a lot you can do with these two, well-connected light bars. In a home office, you can set these lights to mimic daylight or you can create funky colours on the wall. In a lounge room, you can sit them beside the TV or even mount them behind it. Plus, if you add an optional Sync Box, you can get these lights to glow with whatever colours is on the screen, like an extension of the display. The Light Bars can also be controlled by Amazon or Google voice assistants, and can be positioned horizontally or vertically.

VERDICT: ★★★★

MIRABELLA GENIO TWIN LIGHT BARS

An inexpensive way to brighten your home

$49, kmart.com.au

PROS

– Colourful result

– Easy to connect

– Google, Alexa-ready

CONS

– Boxy design

– Very basic settings

– Not Apple-ready

For a small investment, these two upstanding lights could make a big difference in your home office or gaming room. The Mirabella Genio twin lights are simple to install and require only USB power, so you can plug them into the wall or just run them from a computer. They connect to the internet using Wi-Fi and, after setting them up in an app, users can control them with Amazon’s Alexa or the Google Assistant. Their design is boxy, and they’re not designed to work horizontally, but these LED lights are good value.

VERDICT: ★★★½

PHILIPS HUE GO 2.0

A smart lamp to suit all moods

$146, amazon.com.au

The Philips Hue Go lamp can glow many different colours and accept commands from virtual assistants.

PROS

– Will glow many colours

– Works with Google, Alexa

– Features built-in battery

CONS

– Better with bridging device

– A pricier option

– Only six watts

This spaceship-style lamp can glow in all the colours of the rainbow — possibly more with 16 million options — and can be disconnected from power and keep lighting up your life for an extra 2.5 hours thanks to a sneaky built-in battery. The Philips Hue Go lamp is a little ornamental, given its size, but it’s capable of setting a mood after you connect it to a phone app with Bluetooth. If you buy a Philips Hue Bridge, or connect it to an existing one, you can also control its colour and brightness with your voice and Google or Amazon’s assistant.

VERDICT: ★★★★

CONNECT SMART HOME SMART STRIP

One of the cheapest ways to change the look of a room

$30, connectsmarthome.com.au

PROS

– Vibrant LED lights

– Can be cut to fit

– Works with Amazon, Google

CONS

– Lights warm to touch

– Limited colour presets

– Black and white cables

Whether you want to make your desk stand out, light your bathroom cabinets at night, or just change the look of a room, this modestly priced smart lighting strip will do the job. The Connect SmartHome Smart Strip is two metres long, though it can be cut to fit your space or furniture, and comes with a wall plug and a connected on/off switch. This device can connect to Wi-Fi using an app, however, and will work with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant commands and routines so they can turn on or change colour exactly when you need them.

VERDICT: ★★★

Originally published as Tried and tested: the best smart lights for home