Philips Hue Festavia Globe Outdoor String Lights review

Philips Hue Festavia Globe Outdoor String Lights: Introduction

The Festavia range has always aimed to bring Hue’s indoor polish outdoors but, until recently, only came in a very Christmas-centric string lights arrangement.

That changed back in September, at IFA 2025, when Signify not only took the covers off of the brand new Bridge Pro, but also additional Festavia models were announced, designed to live year-round in your outdoor spaces.

The new Festavia Globe Outdoor String Lights lean into that idea with a glass-effect bulb and a miniature Lightguide-style inner tube that gives each globe a premium, decorative feel even when switched off.

They’re expensive – and you’d be able to pick up rivals from the likes of Govee and Nanoleaf at a fraction of the cost – but, as is always the case with Hue, it’s important to judge them based on their own merits, as there are a whole lot of people out there prepared to pay the premium to keep their smart lighting all-Hue.

I’ve had a set strung up in the apple tree in my backyard for the past couple of weeks. Read on to find out how well they performed.

Design and installation

The Philips Hue Festavia Globe Outdoor String Lights come in 7m, 14m and 21m lengths. I reviewed the longest version: the 21m kit, which has 30 bulbs.

As always with Hue, the pricing is eyebrow-raising, but the promise here is simple: outdoor lights that look like design pieces, behave like proper smart lighting, and survive all-year round outside, whatever the weather.

Unboxing the Globe Outdoor String Lights is a bit of a process but the packaging is tidy, with each bulb individually wrapped for protection but still fully recyclable.

The globes have far more presence than standard garden string lights. They’re not oversized like the indoor Lightguide bulbs, but the inner tube gives them that same floating-light aesthetic once they’re powered on.

The cabling layout is quite practical. You get just over two metres from the plug to the controller, another 1.5m from the controller to the first bulb, and a short run after the final bulb before the hanging loop, which helps when you’re wrapping it around fences or pergolas.

One thing to keep in mind is that they can’t be extended end-to-end, which is a shame but if you want full coverage across a long space, pick your length carefully or run multiple sets via Hue’s T-connector, which lets two strings share a power supply without actually becoming one continuous run.

Setup is the familiar Hue routine but I’d recommend getting them connected before mounting, just in case.

Like all modern Hue bulbs you can pair over Bluetooth for a quick start, or use a Hue Bridge for full scenes, zones, automations and multi-room integration.

Some Amazon Echo devices can double as Zigbee hubs, too (and also this is an option with the likes of Home Assistant as well), meaning you can add the set through your smart home ecosystem without the Bridge or activating the Hue skill.

However, if you’re coughing up for these bulbs, then the chances are you’ve got a Hue Bridge in place and that’s obviously the recommended method, and the only one that gives you maximum control and the full feature set.

I used my new Bridge Pro and slotted the Festavia set straight into an existing outdoor zone without any issues.

I first ran them along the fence, using the existing screws I had in place from testing some Nanoleaf lights in the past, and there are little holes above each bulb making this easy.

But I think they worked best, and looked the most striking in my apple tree where my method was more “chuck them up and hope for the best.”

Features

The Festavia globe lights pull from the same feature set as Hue’s more advanced outdoor gear.

Their colour range stretches from warm candle-like tones all the way to very cool 20,000K whites, with full RGB on top.

Chromasync tech helps keep colour output balanced across the string, which really matters over a long run like the 21m set.

You can run a smooth gradient that stretches from one end to the other, mirror the pattern around the centre point, or scatter the colours for a more organic, randomised feel.

Diffuse mode lets you blend up to five colours across the entire string without creating harsh breaks.

If you want something instant, Hue’s scene gallery does the heavy lifting; candlelight looks particularly good when dialled right down. Music sync also works surprisingly well outdoors.

Given the IP65 rating, you can leave them out through heavy rain, frosty mornings and the height of summer.

Each bulb is weatherproof, shatterproof and replaceable, which goes a long way in justifying the price.

Performance

Individually, each bulb only outputs 50 lumens. On paper, that sounds faint compared to an 800-lumen indoor bulb, but this is a case where volume wins.

When all 30 bulbs are strung up, the combined output creates a genuinely bright, usable backdrop.

It’s not task lighting but it lifts the whole outdoor area in a way a single fixture never could.

The chances are you’re probably looking to use them more for effect than actually lighting up an area though and that’s what they do best.

Color performance is where these Hue bulbs really shine, quite literally.

Gradients are wonderfully smooth, and the saturation holds up surprisingly well across the entire string. Even subtle blends look intentional rather than blotchy.

White light is the weaker area, but that’s expected for decorative bulbs. These lights are about atmosphere rather than brightness, and they deliver exactly that.

Final thoughts

If your outdoor space needs more personality and you already live happily inside the Hue ecosystem, the Festavia globe string lights are a seriously impressive upgrade.

They’re expensive and the lack of end-to-end extension demands careful planning, but the design, colour effects and reliability make them feel far more premium than typical garden string lights.

They turn balconies into somewhere you’d actually sit, lift patios during summer evenings and bring an instant festive twist to winter gatherings. Expensive, yes… but they’re some of the nicest outdoor smart lights you can buy.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Smart lights usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a connected light for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular light compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on how we test smart lights to learn more.