The Best Smart Light Strips in Canada of 2024

Philips Hue makes the best smart bulbs, so we had high hopes for this light strip. TLDR: It’s wonderful, but unless you’re already invested in a Philips Hue ecosystem, we’d recommend skipping this light strip as it requires a Hue hub (an additional cost) to access the best features. Bluetooth-only control is available with the Philips Hue Bluetooth app, available for iOS and Android, but you’ll need to be within range in order to use it. The light strip works with like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Microsoft Cortana, SmartThings, and IFTTT.

Offering 1,600 Lumens, the Philips Hue Light Strip Plus is one of the brightest on the market. In the app, you can set the lights to one of 16 million colours or opt for one of the many awesome preset light settings.

One feature that impressed us is that the cut segment can be reused and reconnected to other portions of the strip using the Philip Hue connector. This is not the case for most smart light strips. You can sync them with your home entertainment system, which is a really cool feature, but the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box is required to make it work.

Overall, we think this light strip is sleek, easy to use, and full of awesome features, but, due to cost, is best for people who already have other Philips Hue lights at home or those interested in creating a singular smart lighting system.

The Govee Glide RGBIC Wall Light uses adhesive for installation and displays a lovely range of colours, but it's a bit of a different take on a light strip. Made from plastic, the 7-piece gadget snaps together to create a thick bar of light that's ideal for gaming and watching movies. It's made with Govee's RGBIC technology, which means it can display multiple colours at the same time in a really neat "flowing" effect.

While it took some elbow grease to lock the pieces into place, we soon forgot about the short-lived headache after watching the strip transform into an immersive lighting experience. The device features a built-in mic, which can listen for nearby sound to create a light show in real-time when music mode is enabled. (Alternatively, you can use any device running the Govee app to activate this setting if you don’t want to use the light’s built-in mic.)

The wall light, which connects over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, works well for hands-free voice control with Alexa and Google Assistant to adjust the colours, brightness, scene modes, and power. The wall light comes with six straight pieces and one angled corner piece. In total, it has 19 lighting segments that can display up to 57 vibrant colours at once.

One downside is the light's limited configuration options due to the positioning of the power cord, as it can only be installed going in one direction. Another downside is that you can’t connect multiple wall lights together. But as long as you don’t mind the limited orientation, this is a fantastic accent lighting option that can easily enhance any game room, home theatre, or anywhere you want a quick pop of smarts and colour.

You may not be familiar with Minger but the brand is owned by Govee. While Minger’s lights don’t offer any integration with Alexaor Google, we had no problems controlling them in the Govee Home app. One thing to note is that the lights are Bluetooth-enabled and do not connect via Wi-Fi, limiting the connection range.

Minger’s adhesive LED lights have a built-in mic that automatically syncs with any nearby sound, including from a speaker or TV.

The bonding tape on the back of the lights started to lose its stick after a couple of days and we had trouble sticking the lights back in place after moving them once, but a small set of support hooks is included with the lights, so those can be used to hold the lights in place if the adhesive gives out.

Given the Bluetooth-only connection, it takes longer to connect and control these lightsthan other Wi-Fi-enabled options we tested. However, if you’re looking for smart lights that don’t require a smart speaker or smart assistant app, Minger’s DreamColor LED Strip Lights are the right choice.

The Geeni Prisma Plus didn't give us any trouble during setup or installation. The light strip works with AlexaGoogle, and Microsoft Cortana. Geeni’s Strip Lights are uniquely waterproof, meaning they can be used outdoors, too.

Like others, Geeni’s strip lights can be trimmed to size or combined with extender pieces up to 9.8 feet. Creating schedules, choosing colours, dimming the lights, and selecting from one of nine premade lighting scenes are all possible with Geeni's Prisma Plus Light Strip.

These lights are attractive, fairly bright, and feel well-made, but the humming noise coming from the power adapter each time we adjusted the colour seemed to cheapen the product.

Another thing we didn’t like was the lack of adhesive tape on the remote control, leaving no easy way to attach it to the wall. We were also unable to log into the Geeni app on both an iPhone and Android at the same time, which could create a problem for households with multiple users. However, the app does offer two-factor authentication to help secure your account.

Overall, Geeni’s Prisma Plus Strip Lights are a great option for anyone looking to add smart lights outdoors, but there are better options in our guide.

At 1800 lumens, the Eve Light Strip is among the brightest we've tested, offering a wide array of full-spectrum white and colours to choose from. While we had a nice and easy experience with the Eve strip, there are a few things upfront to know before you buy. This strip light isn’t as customizable as others on our list since it doesn't offer any fun lighting effects or presets—you're limited to single colours only.

The light strip also is not compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Instead, it works exclusively with Apple's Siri. When using Siri voice control, you can give commands to change the colour, adjust the brightness, and turn it on/off. To control these lights away from home using Siri, you need an iOS device that functions as an Apple home hub, like an iPad, Apple TV, or Apple HomePod.

Given its compatibility with Apple products, the light strip also supports HomeKit Adaptive Lighting, a new iOS feature that automatically adjusts the colour temperature of the strip light as the day goes on. Additionally, the Eve Energy app, which can also be used to control the light, is only available for iOS. For these reasons, Android users should avoid this light strip.

Like most strip lights, Eve's can be trimmed to a smaller size, or you can add a few of Eve’s extension strips up to 32.8 feet. We had issues with the adhesive backing, which tore off in a few spots during setup and made the lights hard to stick into place.

If you want a strip light that only works with Apple HomeKit, this is the one to buy.

Sylvania’s Full Color Flex Strip is one of the few HomeKit-enabled light strips we tested. Unlike Philips Hue and Sengled, a hub isn’t required—doesn't require a hub and you don’t even need a Wi-Fi connection. However, as was the case with other Bluetooth-only lights we tested, response times were slow and the app takes a few seconds to connect to the lights.

Like others we tested, Sylvania's HomeKit strip lights come with millions of colour options, adjustable white light, and dimming capabilities. To control these lights away from home using Siri, you need an iOS device that functions as an Apple home hub, like an iPad, Apple TV, or Apple HomePod.

We struggled to connect these lights with Apple HomeKit and, for that reason, would recommend our No.1 pick for a faster and simpler setup with Apple products. A couple of other things to note: the adhesive backing isn’t as strong it could be, and the plug is also larger and heavier than other models we tested.

Sengled’s Smart LED Multicolor Light Strip is easy to arrange and was overall a pleasant experience to use.

The Sengled app offers lots of features like scheduling, group control, colour/temperature choice, and brightness. The app also offers email account verification, which sends an authentication code to your email address when a new login is detected. These lights also offer something unique that others we tested don't: energy monitoring. While it’s not a necessary feature for strip lights, it can be useful for tracking consumption.

One thing to know is that these lights do require a hub. While a compatible smart hub is an extra cost, it may be worth the money if you plan on expanding your smart home with other Sengled smart bulbs. We paired the strip lights with a Sengled Smart Hub and were almost instantly connected. Sometimes hubs can be tricky to get up and running and connected with smart home devices, but we were pleasantly surprised by the ease of the entire process.

All things considered, we’d recommend this LED multicolour light strip to anyone who already uses Sengled smart bulbs.