Govee Glide RGBIC wall light review: Beating the competition for less $$$

Govee Glide Wall Light Source: Windows Central

RGB everything! If you lot've ever seen a video game streamer on Twitch or YouTube, yous'll observe they have mountains of RGB-lit products. Rainbow lights in their PC, their keyboard, and even their mouse charger (if you're using one of the new sexy Razer mice). Nosotros at present live an era where y'all tin take RGB that extra lilliputian step forward.

Tin something this cheap take on some of the bigger-name brands out there? The short answer is yes.

RGB for your walls! Aye indeed, diverse manufacturers are at present offering different types of lighting products for all sorts of surfaces, often with agglutinative double-sided record so y'all can stick them onto the dorsum of your TV, your desk, or inside your cupboards. You lot can purchase inexpensive RGB strip lights, which are essentially the next pace up from old school fairy lights you purchase for your Christmas tree, all the style upward to shape panels similar those fabricated by Nanoleaf.

I was a Nanoleaf man up until recently, when app updates not only nuked their usability, but as well their connectivity with my router. No affair what I tried, the connectedness seemed intermittent at best, falling dorsum into setup mode and flickering in the night — which is the last thing you want when you're trying to sleep. I've had the opportunity to effort this alternative selection from Govee, dubbed the Glide.

The Govee Glide is a modular lighting setup comprised of LEDs inside dispersion tubes, it'southward also incredibly affordable at $100 (even less with the current offer running on them equally I write this.) Can something this cheap take on some of the bigger-name brands out there? The short answer is yes.

Govee Glide Se

Govee Glide

Lesser line: The Govee Glide is an elegant solution to everyday lighting problems, with tons of attractive effects, powerful maximum brightness, smart home integration, and reliability you can count on. Top marks for this product.

The Practiced

Produces an amazing cascade of lights rich with options
Great and reliable smart home integration with Alexa and Google
Decent app experience that beats the competition
Very reasonable pricing

The Bad

If you remove them, re-attaching them can be tough
Cannot exist used on rough surfaces

Govee Glide: Price and availability

Govee Box Source: Windows Central

This seven-pack Govee Glide is available practically anywhere Amazon exists, and costs effectually $100, although at the time of writing, in that location's a $20 off sale. Yous tin also buy them at diverse competing retailers. Stocks seem stable despite flake shortages, and they would make a pretty fantastic gift for the vacation season or indeed whatever occasion. It just so happens to be near Christmas as I write this. And yep, they do have a Christmas lights mode!

Govee Glide: What's good

Govee Glide Wall Light Source: Windows Cardinal

The Govee Glide basic pack comes with six tube lights, and one corner light, and functions similarly to Lego. You snap the shapes into identify in any which mode you want them, using a quick guide inserted in the box, or a video on Govee's website.

The Govee Glide ready up is relatively straightforward and elementary. There'due south a control box, which emits Bluetooth to gear up a connexion to the Govee app, and from there it connects upwards to your Wi-Fi. Each tube comes with two adhesive stickers on the opposite, which are powerful but non so sticky that they'll take the pigment off your walls thankfully. They're also easily removed past tugging at the edges gently.

In one case connected to your setup, you can employ the Govee skill on Alexa to sync up your Govee account, and thus, command and control your lights using a connected smart speaker. Information technology works relatively flawlessly, although it doesn't seem capable of setting upward specific scenes yet — simply static colors and power state, which is a shame. Hopefully, Govee and Alexa farther develop these features, considering unlike other smart lights I've used, they are completely reliable when it comes to connectivity. I oasis't had any bug with intermittent disconnects or failed vocalism commands.

The Govee app itself is well built and easy to use, unlike some others I could proper name. Finding scenes is straightforward and easy, and setting them from the app is instantaneous. The lights are much brighter than I would've expected, although don't look to be able to employ these as a lightbox for photography or anything like that, they're all about setting a mood, and in that, they soar. A large range of lighting effects expect, from vacation-inspired light shows to sensual candlelight, in that location'due south plenty to explore.

The Govee Glide proves to me that they can offer a similar experience to the contest for much less, and that's a articulate win.

Yous tin can fifty-fifty prepare your own lighting arrays with its DIY segment, although I call back Govee could push a little further with community-made lighting options. They accept a "Savvy User" community that tin share DIY light settings, but it'southward not piece of cake to browse and manage. Either style, the settings that are at that place serve me well enough, and I'm sure near users volition experience the same way.

Overall, the Govee Glide represents some impressive value. Less than $100, information technology provides much the aforementioned experience as far more expensive options from big make names, while providing far better quality than the cheapest safety strip lights might offer. There are tons of options to play around with, beyond millions of colors. It's piece of cake to set up, and convenient to use, and thus far, has proven far more than reliable than some of its competitors.

Govee Glide: What's not and so good

Govee Glide Wall Light Source: Windows Central

There are a few downsides worth being aware of, though, if you do programme to grab some of these technicolor tubes. One downside is the adhesive connectivity. My walls aren't smooth, and then I couldn't stick them up on the wallpaper. I practise, luckily, accept an former wooden runway running beyond my wall, which served as a perfect medium for attaching them. If you don't have anything similar that though, information technology's a bit of a shame that Govee doesn't explore a more than permanent fixture system you could fully drill into the wall. Additionally, removing the light tubes from the wall actually removes the adhesive strip from the tube, and re-attaching them is difficult without more agglutinative. At that point, yous may end upwards having to buy boosted double-sided adhesive strips if y'all desire to movement them around — Govee does propose that yous test them out before you actually stick them upward, though.

Update December 9, 2022: I removed a downside describing how the control box didn't seem able to control more than than vi tubes, but that was a misunderstanding on my part. Govee has two versions of this setup, one that powers vi tubes, and i that powers 8 or more than. If you practice decide you want to grab more than 6 tubes, at that place's some other slightly more expensive version that contains more low-cal fixtures.

Another issue that I've noticed is that the command box emits a high-pitched buzzing dissonance when they're turned on. If you were planning to use these lights in a very quiet infinite, if you're sitting shut to them, it may issues you lot. It doesn't bother me as well much because I tend to listen to music or play games when I'm in my office. Yous have to be sitting quite close to the control box to actually hear the sound, either mode. The sound from the Govee ability supply is very tranquility, other devices volition easily drown it out. Simply don't purchase this for a space yous intend to be repose.

Overall, though, these are pocket-size limitations and haven't negatively impacted my experience with the product.

Govee Glide: Contest

The Govee Glide's closest contest comes from the likes of Nanoleaf and Philips Hue, both of which make similar products that are far, far more expensive. I oasis't used Philips Hue to annotate, but in the case of Nanoleaf, Govee has certainly converted me. Nanoleaf's app has been a bit of a pain to use and manage, while Govee's is intuitive and uncomplicated. The Govee lights I've had also play far nicer with Alexa and my Wi-Fi than Nanoleaf's has, simply information technology's certainly possible that that's an issue with my setup, rather than Nanoleaf'south.

The biggest undisputed marking ultimately comes downward to price. Govee's stuff is generally cheaper, while also basically doing the same job. That's a win in my book.

Govee Glide: Should y'all buy it?

Govee Glide Wall Light Source: Windows Central

If you lot were looking for a reliable and affordable product to get into the smart lighting space, I think you needn't look whatever further. The Govee Glide wall light is truly smashing, giving yous a broad array of lighting options in a relatively cheap and cheerful package. They're like shooting fish in a barrel to ready up and configure, and have thus far proven equally reliable as any regular abode apparatus.

While there is more Govee could do to extend its APIs to apps like Alexa, and more they could practice on sharing DIY lighting themes inside the customs, at that place's a strong and clear footing to work from here. The Govee Glide proves to me that they can offer a similar experience to the competition for much less, and that's a clear win.

Govee Glide Se

Govee Glide

Lesser line: The Govee Glide fix is elegant, beautiful, and reliable, and the toll is just absolutely killer when y'all consider some of the contest out at that place. Govee has created a truly not bad wall low-cal product that deserves far more attending than some of the other big brands out there are getting.

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