Ready to turn your house into a smart home? Replacing your dumb bulbs with smart ones is perhaps the easiest way to start. Many smart bulbs can be screwed into existing light sockets, and they can be controlled remotely, put on schedules, change colors, and more. If you're feeling more ambitious, you can venture into smart string lights, light strips, wall and ceiling fixtures, smart lamps, and even smart lighting for the yard or other outdoor areas. Our guide to the best smart lighting can help you navigate the thicket of options, from the various smart light manufacturers (like Philips Hue, LIFX, Nanoleaf, and Wyze) to the connectivity standards (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Matter). We'll also let you know which voice assistants (like Alexa, Apple's Siri, and Google Assistant) work with which lights. TechHive's editors and contributors have been testing smart bulbs and lighting products practically since the category was invented. We continuously test the latest smart lights, accessories, and the apps that control them.

Your evenings could be so much nicer if you added some colorful smart lighting to your garden, backyard, or patio. And now that these Govee smart outdoor string lights are on sale for 65 on Amazon, there's never been a better time to transform your outdoor space. Normally 100, these RGB string lights are listed on sale for 80 -- but you can slash a further 15 off that price by clipping the on-page coupon, bringing the final price down to 65. Govee's outdoor string lights can be customized for every season and holiday, whether summer vacation, Halloween, or Christmas. They're also great for everyday nights, allowing you to enjoy time outside with friends and family in whatever lighting that suits the mood. You can pick from among 16 million colors for these lights, but they also come with 47 preset scene modes.

I tested three different string lights designed to go on a Christmas tree, and Twinkly's were easily my favorite. They're beautiful and easy to set up, and the black cord blends in nicely into the tree (the cord also comes in green). The app's Gallery tab has tons of premade light combinations to choose from, and you can also make custom effects in the app. It lets you design a light pattern by using an existing pattern, drawing with your fingers, or even uploading a GIF. The arrangement of lights on the tree works best for gradient and stripe-style patterns though--I love how the candy cane stripe effect looks.