Nothing brightens the festive season like seeing homes festooned with brilliant coloured lights, adding some sparkle to the winter gloom. Italian tech company Twinkly has taken Christmas lights to the next level with its ecosystem of LED lights, which can be controlled via an app from your smartphone or via Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Apple Home System.
Gone are the days of disjointed light displays, with individual strings blinking at different rates — Twinkly can bring your whole illumination creation together, and using its mapping technology and enough lights, can create a cohesive look that will be the envy of the street.
To better understand Twinkly products, we got hands-on with the Pre-lit Wreath
(the multi-coloured and white edition) and a 12-metre string of unimaginatively named C9 Bulbs, which are a pine cone set new to the Twinkly line-up this year.
The pre-lit wreath is a good size, at 60cm in diameter, with a nice amount of foliage that can be adjusted to sit perfectly, ensuring all the gaps are evenly filled. Around the wreath, there are 50 evenly distributed lights that blend well with the wires concealed within the greenery. Once it has been finessed and lit, it looks impressive, with some very effective colour gradients, light shows, and shimmering blend effects just using the individual controller.
You can gain much more by hooking up the wreath to your wifi network at home and then linking the smartphone app to the wreath. While it might seem like overkill for some lights on a wreath, the results are worth it — five minutes setting up the system, which includes pointing your smartphone camera at the wreath to map the lights, gives you fine control over every detail. At the most basic level, it ensures that the pre-programmed light patterns light up the right bulbs at the right time, but you can delve in and programme individual bulbs to create your own bespoke light show. The app also works across other Twinkly devices, including the C9 Bulbs, which we’ve also got our hands on.
While the wreath — and its technology — is impressive, we didn’t like that there isn’t a hanging point built into the frame of the wreath. The cord for the power supply is a little short, too, so make sure to hang it close to a socket, or you’ll need to conceal the extension cord as well.
It’s also for indoor use only, which is a little unusual, given that the traditional placement for a Christmas wreath is outside, on the front door. If you are looking for a wreath to greet your Christmas visitors as they approach, this one isn’t for you. If you are happy to have it inside the hallway, you won’t be disappointed.
Alongside pre-lit trees, standard light strings and light curtains, this year Twinkly has introduced C9 Bulb string lights — these pine cone-shaped bulb lights come in two lengths, 12 or 24 metres, with 40 and 80 bulbs per string, respectively. Each of the faceted bulbs houses a colour-changing LED light that shines out radiantly. They are weatherproof so that they can be used both inside and outside without risk of damage year after year. Each bulb has a built-in gutter clip so they can be quickly and easily attached to create your festive masterpiece.
The C9 pine cone bulbs are a very nice-looking string of lights, which are great either on a tree or around the house, inside or outside. The pine cone shape gives them a lovely, almost retro, look, which is very fitting for the festive season. C9 Bulbs can be linked with other Twinkly products, whether that be the same lights set or a completely different kit, to pull together your display.
The quality of the C9 Bulbs is excellent — they feel very solid and sturdy, so there is no concern about damage while installing them. The cabling between the bulbs has plenty of flexibility yet looks robust so that it won’t be easily kinked and damaged during use or storage.
We love that the lights can all be used in sync with each other and are so easily mapped using the app. The app is straightforward to use, not only for initial mapping but also to control the lights once you have them where you want them. The wreath has 48 pre-programmed light displays, but there’s an infinite number of combinations that can be made within the app, from simple solid lights or fades from one colour to another, to complex patterns and even displays that react to music. However, while the latter is a great feature, it’s limited to what your linked phone can hear. Wander out of range with your phone or switch to another app, and the lights stop.
New to the Twinkly line-up is the Plus line. If you’re looking to create a larger, more durable display, you’ll like that the controller can be used for a greater number of LEDs (up to 1,000, compared to 600 for the standard range), and the lights have a higher IP rating so that they can withstand more weathering. For your traditional once-a-year festive fiesta, though, the difference will be minimal. Plus line is limited to five of the most popular Twinkly products: Icicle, Strings, Dots, Curtain and S14.
Twinkly’s Christmas collection prices start at £60, and with a great range of products, you’ll find something to set your Christmas off to a Twinkly start.
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