Govee Glide Hexa Light Panel review: Great lighting, cluttered app

The field comes with 10 tiles, an influence provide, and linking cables to tie all of them collectively. My major level of reference was a strip of Nanoleaf Canvas tiles I had not too long ago put in within the bed room. That course of was stricken by tight corners, uneven placement, and weak adhesive strips included within the field. The Govee Glide Hexa Gentle Panels had been a breath of contemporary air by comparability.

First off, they embrace a bodily stage and alignment bracket to ensure your placement works. On the software program facet, there’s a full-blown structure wizard that can assist you determine the order you wish to arrange these tiles. A YouTube video linked immediately within the app covers all of the bases and prevented me from placing the connecting cables within the flawed manner. The connectors for my Nanoleaf tiles had been inflexible, which restricted their skill to be positioned round corners. In the meantime, Govee’s connectors weren’t solely versatile but in addition had sufficient slack to get artistic if wanted.

The deal with with the Glide Hexa Gentle Panels is with their mounting system. I ended up needing to make use of an adhesive that was manner too sturdy with my Nanoleaf Canvas tiles, and I anticipate ripping off fairly large chunks of paint each time they’ll want to come back down. The few tiles that ended up utilizing the included adhesive have little pull tabs protruding that are a continuous eyesore. The Govee tiles use a separate mounting bracket. This enables for a bigger adhesive for use and for the adhesive tab to be hidden. When the time comes, I can simply take the tile off the bracket, then pull the adhesive off.

All in all, the set up course of for the Govee Glide Hexa Gentle Panels was nice.

The Glide Hexa Gentle Panels present a full vary of colour at a formidable stage of brightness. The RGBIC LED structure permits for high quality particular person management of colours alongside each edge, so that you’re not simply getting a single strong colour in every panel. The brightness flooring continues to be just a little excessive for my liking, and transitions are inclined to get just a little extra jagged when on the bottom brightness setting. A bodily on/off change is constructed into the cable, which is certainly useful. You don’t at all times wish to go digging across the app.

Govee’s app is strong and presents the options you’d come to count on after which some. “Then some” defines the app in plenty of methods, to the purpose of bloatedness. Govee pushes customers to join their “Savvy Person” program, which gamifies engagement via a complete social channel constructed into the app. You earn factors for commenting on dialogue threads and posting on their knock-off model of Instagram baked into the app. These factors will be spent on rewards. The app’s residence display is polluted with a rotation of banners selling neighborhood occasions. Mixed with a full in-app storefront, the expertise turns into overwhelming for easy duties. Digital Developments’ personal Patrick Hearn had similar reservations with Govee’s app.

It’s not all unhealthy, after all. Setting timers is simple. Animation kinds are assorted and customizable. Widgets can be found on each iOS and Android, although it’s tough getting them to do far more than a toggle on and off. A spread of automation choices is out there that permit totally different Govee lights talk with each other.

A colour wheel helps decide hues which can be complementary in a handful of various methods. As useful as that’s, the choice course of goes overboard within the Results Lab. Right here colour units are organized primarily based on preloaded static photographs. For instance, there’s an Components tab that features a picture of Shrimp Meat, and a set of three colours that matches the picture, which may then be activated on the Glide Hexa Gentle Panels. How usually do you want your kitchen impressed the temper of Shrimp Meat? This kind of factor goes on for 2 dozen tabs, with over 10 photographs in every. The colour wheel is completely satisfactory to deal with the duty of selecting mild colours, and the app allows you to load your personal pictures in to scan for dominant schemes. All the pieces past that’s overkill.

An in-line microphone permits for real-time syncing with music that appears nice. The app allows you to use your telephone’s microphone too, but it surely’s not fairly as efficient. I’ve had privateness reservations with internet-connected microphones bundled with my lights in the past, and people reservations stand right here too. Most folk are solely sometimes going to make use of the real-time audio sync. In between these episodes, they’ll should determine if it’s price having one thing listening to them round the home, assuming they don’t have a sensible speaker already.

The largest practical hole in my ebook is the shortage of HomeKit assist. Apple’s iOS customers should have unified residence lighting management throughout a number of manufacturers similar to Google House and Alexa customers get pleasure from with the Glide Hexa Gentle Panels. I additionally would have appreciated to see an app for desktop PC sync like Hue and Nanoleaf provide. Having my complete lounge’s Hue bulbs mild up with no matter sport or film is on has been life-changing. Sadly, Govee solely permits that perform by having a separately-sold digicam mounted on top of your display which continually scans what’s on display. It’s a cumbersome answer that I wouldn’t trouble to attempt.

The Govee Glide Hexa Gentle Panels are lovely, simple to put in, and provide a wealth of customizable animations. Whereas the app covers all of the bases, it nonetheless tries manner too arduous to get customers invested with its baked-in social community. Apple HomeKit assist is a significant omission.

Are there any alternate options?

Nanoleaf will get the credit score for popularizing these sorts of wall-mounted mild tiles. Their app is far better-designed, and their tie-in with the Matter residence networking protocol makes them reasonably future-proof. That stated, I had a a lot simpler time putting in the Govee panels than my Nanoleaf Canvas tiles. You save a couple of bucks with Govee, too. The Nanoleaf Hexagon Smarter Equipment offers you severn tiles reasonably than 10, however it’s also $200.

How lengthy will it final?

The Govee Glide Hexa Gentle Panels include a one-year restricted guarantee. The adhesive is prone to be the very first thing to deteriorate, however replacements are simple, particularly contemplating the good mounting system these tiles use. The comparatively low voltage and minimal bodily interplay bode nicely for these lights bodily lasting the lengthy haul. I’d be most involved about continued app assist. Will Govee wish to preserve five-year-old merchandise supported of their app whereas persevering with to pursue the most recent cell working methods? I’ve been relegated to feature-deprived apps for older Sonos and Hue merchandise earlier than, and I’d count on the identical remedy right here. The hardwired mild management will a minimum of allow you to flip the tiles on and off ought to software program assist disappear sometime.

Do you have to purchase it?

It’s price ready just a bit whereas longer earlier than taking the plunge on the Glide Hexa Gentle Panels. There’s a brand new model on the best way that makes the tiles look like cubes. It appears prefer it might be a very enjoyable impact. In case you’re closely invested within the Apple ecosystem, the Glide Hexa Gentle Panels (and actually something by Govee) could also be a non-starter with out HomeKit assist. For everybody else, these lights are an amazing addition to the house, particularly if you happen to’re liable to blasting out tunes and are on the lookout for some visible accompaniment.

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