Introducing Govee: Smart Home Lighting Solutions
Govee is a company dedicated to bringing colorful, customizable and connected lighting options into your home. Founded in 2017 in Shenzhen, China, Govee has quickly grown to become a major player in the home electronics space with a community of over 6 million customers worldwide.
But what exactly does Govee offer, and are their products truly worth the price? In this comprehensive review, we’ll analyze the pros and cons of Govee‘s most popular lighting kits to see where they excel and where they fall short.
Overview of Govee Lighting Products
Govee sells a wide variety of home lighting solutions, including:
- RGB and RGBIC LED strip lights
- LED backlights for TVs and monitors
- Smart light panels and fixtures
- Outdoor string lights
- Smart bulbs
These lights all connect to the Govee Home app, allowing you to control colors, effects, schedules and more all from your smartphone. Many products also work with voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.
Let‘s take a deeper look at some of Govee‘s most popular lighting kits and how they perform.
Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights
Govee‘s RGBIC LED strip lights allow you to display multiple colors from each LED. This creates unique effects like rainbow waves travelling down the strips.
The Pros
- Vibrant colors and effects
- 65.6 foot length provides good coverage
- Customizable with 64 scene modes
- Sync to music mode is reactive and fun
- DIY mode lets you design custom effects
- Control via app, Alexa or Google Home
The Cons
- More expensive than standard RGB strips
- Installation can be tricky for beginners
- Low voltage limits extension options
- Only 16 million color options (compared to Hue‘s 16+ million)
Overall, Govee‘s RGBIC strips provide excellent lighting effects at a reasonable price point. Just be prepared for a bit of a challenging installation process.
Govee Glide LED Panels
Govee Glide consists of modular LED light panels you can design into custom shapes. They produce uniform lighting ideal for bias lighting or accent walls.
The Pros:
- Innovative modular design
- DIY configurations unleash creativity
- Uniform, diffused lighting style
- 28 scene modes to match vibe
- Appealing modern style
The Cons:
- Relatively expensive
- Can be tricky lining up panel connections
- More limited effects versus LED strips
- Best for smaller spaces
Govee Glide panels definitely impress from a design perspective. Just be ready to make a significant investment to take advantage of the modular capabilities.
Govee DreamView T1 TV Backlights
DreamView T1 uses camera tracking to sync RGBIC backlights with colors shown on your TV screen. This expands the viewing area for a more immersive experience.
The Pros:
- Innovative real-time display matching
- Works well even in daytime
- 12 video modes adapt to content
- Good for 55-85" TVs
- Setup takes 15-20 minutes
The Cons:
- One of Govee‘s pricier options
- Limited effects compared to Hue Sync Box
- Camera mount could be sturdier
For under $200, it can be exciting to see colors splash across your walls reflecting what‘s on screen. However, competitor products provide wider effect options.
How Does Govee Compare to Popular Alternatives?
Govee lights stand up fairly well against competitors like Philips Hue and Nanoleaf in certain product categories. A few key comparisons:
LED Strip Lights
While Philips Hue‘s strips display more colors, Govee‘s effects and music sync are superior in my testing. Govee also connects directly to WiFi, while Hue requires a hub.
Light Panels
Nanoleaf‘s panels provide more dynamic effects, but they are significantly more expensive than Govee‘s Glide lineup for equivalent coverage. Glide‘s modular design is also more DIY-friendly.
TV Backlights
Here the competitors shine. Philips Hue‘s Sync box produces noticeably smoother transitions and a wider spectrum of colors. And Nanoleaf‘s Screen Mirror dongle highlights edge details better while covering the entire wall. Govee‘s DreamView camera tracking feels a bit laggy by comparison.
So while Govee isn‘t clearly "best" in any category, their products provide a reasonably good lighting experience considering the affordable price point. Just be ready to accept some minor performance tradeoffs.
Which Govee Products Should You Buy?
Based on my testing and analysis, here are the Govee products I believe deliver the most value:
Best Overall: RGBIC LED Strip Lights
For versatility and brightness per dollar, the 65.6 foot RGBIC strip lights can‘t be beat. At around $70, they make it feasible to install vibrant accent lighting across large rooms in your home.
Best Innovation: Glide Hexa Light Panels
If you want lights that will awe your guests, spring for the modular Glide Hexa panels. Arrange them in any patterns you like across your walls for geometric accent pieces that display graphics, patterns and colors.
Best Ambiance: DreamView T1 TV Backlights
While I wish the effects were a little smoother, if you want to make movie nights and gaming sessions even more impactful, DreamView T1 backlights pull you deeper into the action. The display matching and 12 video modes amplify whatever entertainment you‘re enjoying.
The Bottom Line
Govee isn‘t going to replace high-end brands as the pinnacle of home lighting effects. However, their products provide very solid performance considering budget pricing across their catalog. I especially appreciate how they‘ve embraced modular and expandable designs.
If you‘re looking for fun accent lighting at affordable prices, Govee absolutely warrants consideration. Just be ready for some imperfections around lag, color depth and effect smoothness compared to more premium competitors.
So dive in with tempered expectations, and you‘re likely to enjoy brightening up your life with Govee‘s colorful lineup.
