Philips Hue 800276 White and Color Ambiance LightStrip Plus Dimmable LED Smart Light (Requires Hue Hub, Works with Alexa, HomeKit & Google Assistant), 80 inch

I've been loving Philips Hue lights since I got my first Bulb kit - even if they are a bit pricey. But what sets these apart from the $20 alternatives you can find on Amazon is the Hue Sync program on Windows/Mac. If your setup includes a computer at all, these can be an essential part of your smart home lighting. They can sync with music, which is super fun, but they can also sync with your TV or Monitor to bring the colors of your screen into your space and really enhance your viewing or PC gaming experience. If you're a console gamer (I also have a PS4 and a Switch), there aren't any easy ways to sync the lights to consoles, but that's a software issue which I hope Philips addresses in the future. They've made huge strides in their software over the past year alone, so I'm excited to see where they take it next.I have currently have two of these strips set up on my entertainment center. One is stuck to the back-top portion of my 65" TV, and the other is stretched alongside the top of the back of the entrainment center, so I get lighting above and below the TV. It's amazing. With any HD or 4K content, I'm immediately immersed into the viewing experience. It makes my home feel like a catered, professional experience you'd get at a fancy store.Now, for the technical bits of the review. These lights get bright. All colors are clearly visible on my white walls, even in direct sunlight. But at night, my whole place fills with light and I can change it to any color I choose, either via the mobile app or the desktop Hue Sync program.Setup is pretty straightforward. If you have a Hue Bridge, then all you need to do it plug these into a power outlet, stick them where you need to with the pre-applied 3M tape, add your light in the mobile Hue app, and check for updates. Updates can take a while, so sit back and relax for a bit once that starts. I think each one took about 30-40 minutes for me to update, since these use an extremely low-powered (but efficient and effective) WiFi connection. After that, they're ready to be used with Hue Sync and everything else.Now, if this is your first Hue product, you'll need to also get the Hue Bridge so the lights can communicate with your home WiFi network. If you want a similar setup to what I have, I recommend starting your smart home lighting with the Hue Bulb kit that comes with 3 or 4 lights, plus the bridge for free. Otherwise, you gotta spend another $50 for the bridge standalone.Again, I know these things are pricey and a lot of people say they're not worth the price tag. But again, it's the software and the build quality/company that sets these apart. The software gets better and better with each update, and Philips isn't going away any time soon. Whatever generation bulb or strip you buy now will still be supported and updated 5 years down the road. Cheaper knock-offs will probably break down or be unsupported by then. I feel like Philips is a solid company that keeps innovating the smart home lighting experience and leading the way for everyone else. That's why I don't mind spending the extra bit for a quality product.

I have been using the Philips Hue LED Starter Set for just over a month, in conjunction with an Echo Dot, and have been loving all of the features including voice control of my lights and being able to control the brightness of my lamps. I live in a pretty dark apartment (note: that's what happens when you rent a place sight unseen, haha) so I have discovered that good lighting is especially important to making my living space both functional, cheerful, and cozy.Soon after getting my Hue I started looking at the different expansion options and the Lightstrip caught my eye. The kitchen is probably the darkest corner of my dark apartment, because the only lighting is a round, old-fashioned, overhead fixture and the vent hood light. Not exactly welcoming to someone who loves to cook, and it was even challenging to wash dishes because there was no task lighting over the sink and I could barely see what I was doing.The Lightstrip seemed Iike a perfect solution, and I finally bit the bullet after a few weeks of consideration. When it finally arrived I was feeling apprehensive about the mounting process, but it turned out to be a really simple project.I decided where I was going to place the Lightstrip under my cabinet, and then wiped down the area with alcohol. After the alcohol dried, I peeled the adhesive backing away from the strip and pressed it up there bit by bit. I wasn't sure the adhesive was actually going to hold, but with some moderately firm pressure (being careful not to press too hard on the LED lights), it was up there. Time will only tell if the adhesive sticks for the long term, but it was up in a jiffy and I plugged it in.The setup was pretty simple too -- I added it to my Hue app to connect it with the hub, and then added it to Apple HomeKit, and after a few minutes, I was able to tell Alexa to turn it on and off with my Echo Dot. All in all, simple and seamless.And frankly, when I turned it on the first time, it was so perfect that I literally laughed in delight. The light was so bright and clear and my kitchen looked so much happier and more welcoming.Also, I loved the different color options–not just red, blue, purple, etc., but even different versions of white! Bluish-white, true white, incandescent-toned white, yellow-white. So cool!One of the existing presets in the Hue app closely matched the tone of my kitchen's overhead lighting too so the difference wasn't jarring between the two lights... and if need be, I can tweak it even more using the color adjustment to get even closer.I'm really looking forward to using the Lightstrip in my kitchen. Just judging from my first few hours with it, I'm going to be pleased with my purchase–but I will come back and edit this review if my opinion changes over the life of the product.