As anyone who does even a small amount of research will be able to tell you, the smart light market is dominated by Philips Hue, the ecosystem owned by Signify. However, there are other brands out there on the market and one of the alternatives is Lifx (pronounced Liff-ex, I believe), making a range of LED bulbs and strips - and they offer some distinct advantages over Hue.

First, the Lifx range does not require a hub or bridge, and connects directly to your router, making it a less expensive ecosystem to get into. Second, it also promises a wider range of color options, and thanks to what Lifx calls Polychrome Technology, (16 addressable LED zones), offers more complex effects.

The Lifx also offers integration with voice commands via Alexa, Google Home and Apple Homekit as well as IFTTT support.

It all sounds great, and I was keen to set it up and try it out. But does it deliver?

I started with a 2m light strip, which at the time of writing can be picked up from Amazon UK for £79.00. This makes it a bit more expensive than an equivalent Hue strip but then you do save on the cost of the bridge. A one-meter extension strip costs £24.99.

The Lifx app gives you fine control over colors.

Setup unfortunately proved to be a little frustrating - essentially, the first time around it didn’t work despite my house having blanket Wi-Fi coverage. The second time running through the app I had more luck and set up completed - but then, oddly – the light disappeared from the app! At this point, it was time to do a factory reset – which involves turning the Lifx strip off and on again five times in rapid succession. Frankly, this felt odd – why not just have a single hardware reset button? Once done, the light flash to show that it has been reset. A third run-through of the setup got the strip working, and since this third time, it has proven to be stable.

However, there are some oddities. We wanted something distinctive to name the light and chose to call it “Jarvis”, and so my son could control it on his phone he is set up for guest access. However, on his app, the light appears initially as a “LIFX light” and then a number but when we click on it it only then correctly appears in the app with the light name and the room. It also took a couple of goes to get it recognised by Alexa for voice control, but once it’s working, it is always satisfying to be able to ask your lights to turn on and off

The Lifx app offers are range of built-in effects

Once past the setup oddities though the Lifx proves its worth by simply being extremely bright and intense. The app is also fun to play, offering a range of options. You can change colors by sliding your fingers across a dial, or you can select from a large range of blended color options or a solid color of your choice. There are also several pre-built effects, such as “Animate”, “Color Cycle" or "Strobe" effects. The music visualiser is meant to pulse in time to the music, and while it does seem to react it was not truly responsive to the audio to my eyes – a Hue Sync box setup is much more convincing in that regard.

Ultimately, the Lifx is a brighter and more colorful alternative to a Philips Hue strip. However, while the fact that it doesn’t require a bridge makes it less expensive initially, it does so at the cost of system robustness and a trickier setup process. If you are tempted, I would recommend purchasing from a store that has a solid returns policy just in case you find it too difficult to get working reliably. Persevere though, and you’ll be rewarded with a rich, and vibrant color strip that will make your room stand out.