In the smarthome era there's a lot you can do with light. You might already own a few smartbulbs, ones you can control with a word or two to Google or Alexa, and we're sure you'll agree they're awesome. But for a smartlight that is truly creative, you have to get your LEGO-building cap on. That's if you buy this thing. We check out Cololight.
Cololight is a set of connected hexagonal cuboids that are filled with LEDs. Using the included connectors, you build them into any shape you want, hook the base unit up to a USB power outlet, and the magic starts. Compatible with both the aforementioned AI assistants, you can then change the colour and pattern of the lights with your voice.
All good so far. The Cololight app is pretty handy, letting you either select an individual colour, or to cycle through a pre-programmed pattern which seems to blend throughout all the connected units. It's impressive, and because the 'switched-off' state of Cololight is a plain white block of plastic, suddenly switching them all on looks great.
However, we must admit to being slightly disappointed when the set first arrived. We need to stress just how small each individual Cololight unit is: 8cm across and 3cm deep.
Cololight don't hide this on their website, but some of the promotional images make them look far bigger. We knew we were being sent the starter set, containing three Coloights and a stand, but we kinda expected... more. Don't get us wrong, it does everything it claims to - and well - but you'll need a butt load of these things to create anything with impact.
Currently the three-unit starter kit retails for £39.99. You can get a six-unit pack, with a different, slightly better looking stand, for £79.99, so theses things definitely aren't cheap. Individual units are available, but at a price of £11.99 each, meaning if you have a specific pattern you 'd like to make with these, be it on the stand of mounted on a wall, prepare to pay up.
That said, the three we were sent have now found a home as something of a novelty desk lamp. Being able to hook it up to a smart assistant to come on with voice commands or timed with other events, is great. There aren't many other lamps that do that without using either a bulky smartplug or smartbulb.
As the app is great and connectivity to your network is a breeze, there is a lot of good to say about Cololight. We might have been disappointed by the overall size and cost of the product, but if you do have the cash to splash, and you'd like a smart wall light or statement piece, check it out.
This set £39.99
Available from www.amazon.co.uk