Playbulb Holiday lights review
3,247 views · Published 21 November 2017 · 4:10 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: Erin Lawrence · 2017 · Science & Technology
Follow Erin on Twitter & Instagram @ErinLYYC Read more: Blog.BestBuy.ca Christmas lights have been kinda dull for much of recent history. Boring, however, was a welcome change from the fiery death sticks that used to burn on and burn up many Christmas trees. Back in the Victorian era we found attaching small burning candles to tinder-dry evergreen trees inside our holiday homes was 'festive'. Once humanity got past that, and electricity took off, we had electric light strings, which were still imperfect, burned hot, and came in limited colour options. Today, there’s no more committing to red or green. The entire colour spectrum is at your fingertips thanks to PlayBulb String lights. Playbulb string is easy to use I’m a fan of the Playbulb line of lighting devices because they’re dead simple to use; plug them in, and download the app. If you already have Bluetooth on, by the time you open the app, they’re likely already connected and will show up in your app. There’s no fidgety set-up and configuration many other ‘smart’ lights require. You could even give these to kids or seniors who aren’t technologically inclined, and they’ll be able to run them easily. Other smart lights require you to have a hub or a special Wi-Fi connection device in order for them to work. Playbulb is different in that it uses Bluetooth only so no other connection is required. That’s partly what makes these so easy to set up. You also don’t need to sign up for an account to run the system, which saves some set up time too. Playbulb String comes in lengths of 10 meters or 33 feet, with optional extensions sold separately. It’s worth pointing out you can only go to a max of 66 feet on any one plug/outlet. Smart Christmas lights make so much sense. Here’s why: who hasn’t tried to contort themselves around the Christmas tree to reach the outlet behind it to shut the lights off for the night? With connected strings, you can control them easily, and without risk of tipping the tree or crushing a gift. Playbulb app I've used numerous lights in the Playbulb collection, and they're all controlled via the Playbulb X app. The app is quite user friendly with an easy to understand interface. One menu allows you to select different lights, while a second sub-menu gives you choices over colour, brightness and special effects. Playbulb String: for indoors or outdoors I love the fact these lights are for indoor and outdoor use. They’re very versatile. Colour intensity The lights are bright when choosing primary colours. Some other colours though can look a bit washed out. pinks, orange and yellows seem to me to be a bit subtler and not as boldly coloured. The lights also can’t be controlled individually, in that they change colour as one entire string, not as individual bulbs, so you can’t get a multi-coloured effect.. Other lights in the Playbulb line that are great for every day or can be made festive for the holidays include the versatile Comet light strip, the Sphere portable lamp and the PlayBulb candle, which was recently upgraded to a second generation with a rechargeable battery. I have a comet light strip as under cabinet lighting in the kitchen, and a row of Playbulb candles lines my coffee table for fully adjustable ambient mood lighting. https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/playbulb-candle-smart-led-light-btl305-multi-colour/10752680.aspx? Playbulb Garden Playbulb Garden, sometimes seen as Playbulb Solar, is another light in the line that comes with an optional stake so you can lodge it in the garden (or the snow in the winter!) and even line up several to illuminate a walkway. The Garden lights are solar powered so they never need recharging or new batteries. Again, the Garden lights, like the other lights in the Playbulb line, are a breeze to set up. Essentially you take them out of the package, turn them on, and let the solar energy charge up the light. Once it has enough power, a built-in the sensor will automatically turn the lights onto your last setting once the sun goes down. iPhone app software bug? I did experience trouble getting these particular lights to work with the iPhone app. When I’d try t control these lights only, the app would crash. I switched over to use Android on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ and it worked just fine so hopefully a Playbulb software update will fix this soon. Bottom line; if you're looking for the easiest Smart lights on the market today, this is it.
