Once that’s recognized, you can start playing around with colors! Like most smart lights, there are plenty of options for various shades of white and bright colors, and tons of colorful themes that take advantage of the massive row of lights. Lifx’s app comes with tons of precreated themes, ranging from ones inspired by music and artists (I love the Bijutsukai and Matisse with my living room colors) to holidays and even sports teams. There isn’t a camera or similar tool to make it match what’s on your TV screen, so I usually choose a theme or color scheme to make it match the vibe of the show.
Photograph: Nena Farrell
You can use the in-app Paint tool to make custom light arrangements if none of the included designs pique your fancy. You can either paint the whole thing at once—it’ll let you choose three colors and arrange it for you—or manually control it by zone. My six bars and one corner piece have 61 zones, so 10 zones per bar plus one extra for that little corner. You can highlight and change multiple zones at the same time to get your perfect design, but it does take time.
Buying Time
The Lifx Beam isn’t anything particularly new, but I love how much easier it is to stick on a wall without worrying whether a section will pop off, and to add more segments or rearrange the shape whenever I want. It feels more like art on my wall than a regular light strip.
My only complaint is that I wish it were a little cheaper; it’s $60 for four pieces, or $150 for six. And Lifx doesn’t sell corner pieces individually, limiting the fun you can have with designs. After all these years of it on the market, it might be too late to hope for more extensions. I’m still in love with mine, though, single corner and all.