hue-lily-vs-cala

Philips Hue Calla vs Lily: What Smart Outdoor Light is Best?

In Smart Lights by Tim Brennan

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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Philips Hue Calla vs Lily: If you’re looking for the best Philips Hue outdoor lights to illuminate your yard, landscape, deck, or patio, you can find them right here.

Hits the Spot

Philips Hue Lily

Phillips Hue Lily is the best outdoor spotlight you can buy for your yard. The starter pack includes three spots, yard spikes, and wiring required for set up. You will need a Phillips Hue Hub for access to most features. These are expensive, especially if you want to buy lots of them, but you get what you pay for.

See It At Amazon

Pros

  • Starter pack includes three spots, spikes, and cables
  • 16 million colors and variant temperatures of white light
  • Easily set timers using the Phillips Hue app
  • Full control over dimming and brightness
  • Total DIY solution
  • Alexa Apple HomeHit and voice control
  • Mix up to five Lily and Calla lights on one power supply
  • Pairs with Nest or Samsung SmartThings
  • Weather resistant with 25,000 hour warranty

Cons

  • Requires hub for most features
  • They aren’t super bright
  • Alexa commands are limited
  • They are not cheap

Path Forward

Philips Hue Calla

Phillips Hue Cava is the best smart outdoor bollard light that will let you illuminate your way in style.  The lights are easy to install and configure using the Phillips Hue app. We will include a basic installation video below. Both Calla and Hue Lily are simple do-it-yourself projects that add huge value and beauty to your yard, deck, pathways, or patio.

See It At Amazon

Pros

  • Adds color to your yard
  • Over 16 million colors and all shades of white
  • Easily set timers with Phillips Hue app
  • Full control over dimming and brightness
  • Total DIY solution
  • Alexa for voice control
  • Mix and match up to five Lily and Calla lights on one power supply
  • Pairs with Nest or Samsung SmartThings
  • Weather resistant with 25,000-hour warranty

Cons

  • Lights must be purchased individually (no starter pack)
  • Requires Hue hub
  • No Google Assistant or Apple Siri just yet

What’s the Difference Between Calla and Lily?

So what’s the difference between these two smart lights?  One is a spot light and the other is a “ballard” light.

The Lily spotlight will illuminate whatever it is pointing at.

best philips hue outdoor lights

The Calla ballard latern makes for great accent lighting in your garden, deck, or patio.

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Related: Philips Hue Play Vs Bloom Vs Go Vs Iris: It’s Smart Light Play Time!

Hue Outdoor Lights Comparison: Lily vs Calla

If you’re looking for the best outdoor smart lights, look no further than Phillips Hue. But you pay for what you get. Yes, they are expensive. One thing to note is that these lights sell out as fast as Phillips can make them so if you want them and they are available to snatch them up. However, if you are already using a Phillips Hue bridge to control your lights indoors, you can add your outdoor lights to it.  You add up to 50 lights on an existing bridge.

Some people find these are larger (and lighter) than they expected after they arrive in the mail (a good thing).  Here are the dimensions along with some additional specifications.

Table could not be displayed.

While some customers complain that the lights aren’t bright enough for their needs, most customers who purchase these lights love them. You can choose from 16 million colors and all shades of white. The starter kit for the Lily includes three spots. Great. The starter kit for the Calla includes just a single lamp, but you can buy additional lamps and string up to five extension lights together using a single Base Kit. So for every five lights you want, you will need to purchase a separate Base Kit.

  • best philips hue outdoor lights
  • best philips hue outdoor lights
  • best philips hue outdoor lights

Best Philips Hue Outdoor Lights: Video Review [with Installation Overview]

Thanks to Erin Lawrence of TechGadgetsCanada.com for the helpful overview and setup video of both the Lily and the Calla:

As Erin points out, both of these lighting systems are super easy to install, and configuring them via the app is also a breeze.

best hue outdoor smart lights landscaping

Both lights also offer easy dimming using the app, and the ability to set timers so you can just set and forget it. At least one customer figured out to get the lights to sync up with their music. I’m going to investigate this further and provide an update here soon.

Update! Yes, they can sync with music using a variety of different apps. These include Hue Dynamic, Hue Music, Light DJ Pro, and Hue Disco. The set-up process is relatively simple: you just download app pair it with your hue hub.

Check out this video Hue lightings jamming to a reggae beat!

Awesome!

📚 Related11 Wicked Smart Home Yard Ideas for Outside 


Hue Calla vs Lily: Pricing and Accessories

The table below compares pricing between Hue Calla vs Lily and is dynamically updated every 24 hours with the latest pricing from Amazon.

Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

Prices are current as of the date and timestamp at the bottom of the table. Click the button to see the current price on Amazon.


Best Philips Hue Outdoor Lights – What Do You Think?

So what do you think of these lights?  Do you agree that these are the best Philips Hue outdoor lights for your hard earned dollar?

Do you plan to purchase either of these lights?  If so, which one do you like the best?

Do you plan on setting your outside lights to music like the video in this post?  That really is a cool reggae jam.

Please let us know by leaving a comment below.

We would love to hear from you!

best philips hue outdoor lights


Related Links

If you liked this post, you might also like these articles from our “outdoor” collection:


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Brennan

Tim Brennan, a tech blogger and host of the @TecTimmy YouTube channel, writes about smart homes at oneSmartcrib, home theaters at UniversalRemoteReviews, and AI in writing at Writeinteractive. He holds a Journalism degree from Northeastern University and has covered technology for three decades. He lives on the ocean in Nahant, Massachusetts.


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