MultiZone and LAN message transmit rate

The LAN protocol documentation states the following:

Maximum recommended message transmit rate to a device: 20 per second

This rate is not really an issue when communicating with a light that has no zones. It does become an issue when updating each zone of a big LIFX Z with multiple strips. With 10 chained strips it would take 10*8 = 80 messages if you want to update each independent zone (without packet loss). With the recommended rate this would take 4 seconds.

When applying themes with the LIFX Android App I noticed that the App sends messages to a LIFX Z faster than this 20 per second rate. Things also don’t seem to break when I send more than 20 messages per second myself. So that leaves me wondering if the recommended rate still applies?

I don’t work for LIFX so I cannot say for sure, but I’ve noticed that each new generation of products from LIFX seems to raise the transmit rate. For example, my gen 3 bulbs are far more reliable with high levels of updates, while my old 800 whites can occasionally lock up and not respond. So I’d say going over 20 messages per second for the LIFX Z is probably okay.