LIFX’s new lighting system is a room accent for rainbow lovers

Lighting company LIFX has just debuted Beam, a decorative Wi-Fi-connected smart light that joins the recently announced LIFX Tile. Where the LIFX Tile is a series of square panels, the beam is a thin rail that is a more delicate room accent.

Just as with Tile, Beam supports 16 million colors including different tones of white, multiple zones per beam that can be controlled independently, and dimming. There are six beams per kit with one corner piece, and each beam has 10 blended light zones. LIFX’s website doesn’t state if Beam will have moving, color-changing effects, but given that Tile does, it’s likely that will be a feature.

These thin light rails are probably not a substitution for a room’s current lighting, but are a complement to existing decor. The slim design feels more upscale than the Tetris-like blockiness of Tile, and could easily be wall art that doubles as color-shifting mood lighting. I sometimes play around with my Hue lights for interesting moods when I host parties, but it can quickly get into rave-like territory when a whole room is flooded with saturated color. I can see how Beam’s pop could be a nice decorative element.

The LIFX Beam pack is being sold for $199.99. You’ll need to plug them into a wall outlet, but from there, they can be controlled via Wi-Fi on the company’s app, available in iOS, Android, and Windows 10.

As we previously pointed out, LIFX isn’t the first to create a lighting system like this, but it’s about your aesthetic preferences at the end of the day and what you’d like to see in your home. The LIFX Beam can be pre-ordered now with the units shipping in November.