Govee Gaming Pixel Light

There are countless manufacturers vying for your attention when it comes to smart, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth-based lighting in your home. Philips, Nanoleaf, Ledvance, even IKEA. That's why it's extremely difficult to ask consumers to consider a brand they may not have heard of before, but I'm going to give it a try anyway.

You see, Govee has actually been slowly but surely working its way into the market for quite some time and, through a series of successful collaborations, has established a solid market position in both the United States and here at home, and its reputation is reportedly built on versatility and, perhaps in particular, reliability.

We will discuss their classic outdoor lamps a little later, but we took particular notice when Govee began to appeal more directly to what could be described as "our" world with a so-called "Pixel Gaming Light".

At first glance, it looks like a tablet, as it is not divided into individual LED "panes" but is just one glossy display. Of course, in principle, you could get an Android tablet to behave in the same way, but Pixel Light is significantly cheaper due to its specialised functionality, and via Govee's decidedly excellent Home app, you get access to a sea of special animations tailored specifically to this display.

I'm not particularly fond of the Asus ROG-like effects around the display itself - these edges, which look like something out of a cheap sci-fi film, make the product cheaper than necessary, but the LED panel itself, the power supply, and the mounting options provided by a wall mount and a small stand are more than adequate.

The amount of retro-style animations is striking, and as mentioned, the app itself is excellent and extremely responsive. There is Google Home, Alexa, Google Assistant, Matter, and IFTTT, and the little 8-bit sounds that accompany certain animations sell the illusion perfectly. It is also possible to programme small messages, which look quite nice in this retro universe.

The only complaint is that the actual physical design is still quite tacky and not nearly neutral enough for the more casual gaming enthusiast to fall for Gaming Pixel Light. Govee has a really good idea here, but a future refinement would undoubtedly be to tone down the GamerTM aesthetic a little.