Twinkly Strings review: striking smart string lights that aren’t just for Christmas

Twinkly
Strings:
two-minute
review

The
Twinkly
Strings
are
smart
LED
string
lights
that
you
can
use
to
decorate
your
Christmas
tree
or
drape
anywhere
else
in
your
home
that’s
in
need
of
a
little
festive
cheer.
Once
you’ve
mapped
their
position
using
the
Twinkly
app,
you
can
set
them
to
a
solid
color,
take
your
pick
from
dozens
of
animations,
or
even
use
them
to
create
a
picture
(either
a
preset
from
the
app,
or
one
of
your
own).

They
come
in
four
lengths:
26.2ft
(100
LEDs),
65.6ft
(250
LEDs),
105ft
(400
LEDs),
and
157.5ft
(600
LEDs).
I
tested
the
400
LED
set,
but
250
LEDs
would
have
been
ample
for
my
4ft
tall
Christmas
tree.
The
LEDs
arrive
divided
in
two
bundles
as
shown
in
the
images
below,
so
I
hung
one
set
around
the
tree
and
the
other
across
the
room.

I
tested
the
Twinkly
Strings
RGB
lights,
but
there’s
also
an
RGB+W
version,
which
could
be
a
good
choice
if
you’re
planning
to
have
the
lights
up
all
year
round
and
would
therefore
enjoy
more
subtle
white
lighting
at
different
color
temperatures
outside
the
festive
period.
The
RGB
lights
are
available
with
black
or
green
cables,
and
if
you
opt
for
the
RGB+W
version,
then
you
can
also
opt
for
clear
cables
that
will
be
less
obtrusive
when
installed
more
permanently.

The
lights
are
positioned
on
springy,
zig-zag-shaped
wires,
which
are
easy
to
hang
and
position.
They
don’t
become
tangled
as
easily
as
conventional
string
lights;
the
shape
of
the
wire
makes
them
easy
to
bundle
up
once
you’re
done,
then
secure
each
bundle
with
the
Velcro
tie
included
in
the
box.
Although
I
had
the
black
version,
the
wires
weren’t
very
visible
when
tucked
among
the
tree
branches. 

Image
1
of
3

Once
you’ve
draped
the
Strings
to
your
liking,
open
the
Twinkly
app
on
your
phone
(you’ll
need
to
create
an
account
if
you
haven’t
used
it
before),
switch
on
the
lights
and
hold
the
button
on
the
controller
until
the
light
turns
turquoise.
The
app
will
then
be
able
to
find
the
lights,
and
you
can
connect
them
to
your
home
Wi-Fi
network.
This
worked
perfectly
during
my
tests,
as
it
did
with
the

Twinkly
Line
LED
strip
that
I
also
tested
recently.

When
that’s
done
and
you’ve
installed
any
necessary
firmware
updates
as
prompted,
you’ll
be
asked
to
use
your
camera
to
map
their
layout
so
that
the
software
can
assign
the
correct
color
to
each
bulb
to
create
gradients,
patterns
and
pictures.
There
are
two
ways
to
do
this:
Easy
Mapping,
which
requires
a
simple
straight-on
view
of
your
lights,
works
fine
if
they’ll
mostly
be
viewed
from
one
angle;
and
Advanced
Mapping,
which
uses
images
from
multiple
angles,
and
would
be
useful
if
you’ve
positioned
your
Christmas
tree
in
the
center
of
the
room
or
wrapped
the
lights
around
something
outdoors.

Simple
mapping
worked
just
fine
for
my
tree,
which
was
against
a
wall.
Interestingly,
the
software
was
able
to
deduce
where
the
lights
on
the
back
were
positioned
well
enough
to
project
a
smooth
gradient
onto
the
wall,
as
you
can
see
in
this
review’s
main
image.

The
various
preset
animations
work
well,
and
you
can
create
a
playlist
that
will
store
them
on
the
Strings’
in-line
controller,
so
you
don’t
have
to
open
the
app
each
time
you
want
to
change
them.
Pressing
the
button
on
the
controller
will
cycle
through
your
saved
options,
and
holding
it
will
switch
them
off.

Some
of
the
preset
animations
can
be
synced
to
music,
as
indicated
by
a
musical
note
beside
its
name.
This
uses
input
from
your
phone,
or
from
the
Twinkly
Music
sound
sensor
dongle,
which
is
available
to
buy
separately.
It
would
be
nice
if
there
was
a
microphone
integrated
into
the
controller,
particularly
since
the
Music
dongle
requires
a
USB
power
supply
and
the
lights
will
already
be
using
one
of
your
electrical
outlets.

I
also
experimented
with
using
the
Twinkly
Strings
to
display
a
picture,
but
my
tree
was
too
small
for
this
to
work
well.
You
could
get
the
general
idea,
but
there
weren’t
enough
lights
visible
at
once
to
create
a
“canvas”
with
a
sufficiently
high
resolution.
It
would
be
much
more
effective
on
a
larger
tree
using
the
full
complement
of
lights.

The
Twinkly
Strings
work
with
all
the
major
smart
home
platforms,
and
I
had
no
issues
at
all
connecting
them
to

Google
Home.
The
app
found
them
immediately
and
added
them
to
my
living
room.
I
was
then
able
to
use
them
like
any
other
smart
lights,
and
create
automations
that
would
turn
on
all
the
lights
in
the
room
at
once
with
a
voice
command
(such
as
“Merry
Christmas”),
or
at
a
particular
time.

If
you
only
have
room
for
a
smaller
tree
(under
4ft)
then
you
may
find
that
the
smallest
size
(26.2ft)
is
too
long,
so
you
might
prefer
to
opt
for
the
shorter
Twinkly
Dots.

Covering
extra
large
areas
isn’t
a
problem,
though.
While
you
can’t
add
extensions
to
the
Twinkly
Strings,
you
can
group
multiple
Twinkly
products
via
the
app
and
use
them
all
together
as
a
massive
“canvas”. 

Twinkly
Strings:
price
and
availability

The
Twinkly
Strings
are
available
globally

direct
from
Twinkly,
or
from
third-party
retailers
such
as

Amazon.
The
price
depends
on
the
length
of
the
string,
and
whether
you
opt
for
the
RGB
or
RGB+W
lights.

These
prices
are
around
a
third
less
than
the
equivalent

Philips
Hue
White
and
Color
Ambiance
Festavia
string
lights.

Govee
(Twinkly’s
main
rival
for
the

best
smart
lights
on
a
budget)
doesn’t
have
a
product
that’s
an
exact
equivalent
–
its
Christmas
String
Lights
are
more
like
the

Twinkly
Dots,
with
LED
beads
inside
a
flexible
tube
that
can
be
wrapped
around
objects.

Twinkly
Strings:
specs

Should
you
buy
the
Twinkly
Strings?

Buy
it
if

Don’t
buy
it
if

Twinkly
Strings:
also
consider

Still
not
sold
on
the
Twinkly
Strings?
Here
are
two
other
options
you
might
want
to
consider.

How
I
tested
the
Twinkly
Strings

To
test
the
Twinkly
Strings,
I
wound
one
half
of
the
105ft
length
around
a
4ft
artificial
Christmas
tree,
and
strung
the
other
half
across
the
length
of
my
living
room.
I
used
the
Twinkly
app
for
Android
to
connect
them
to
my
home
Wi-Fi
network.
and
tested
both
the
simple
and
advanced
mapping
options
to
address
the
LEDs.

I
used
them
together
with
the
Twinkly
Line
LED
strip,
connecting
the
two
devices
in
the
Twinkly
app,
where
I
could
control
them
as
a
single
device.
I
also
connected
them
to
my
Google
Home
setup
and
created
custom
automations
to
control
them.

Read
more
about how
we
test.

First
reviewed
September
2024