Govee Floor Lamp 2: one-minute review

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is a bit of an enigma in Govee’s lineup. It’s both smaller and cheaper than the Govee Floor Lamp Pro, warranting a cheaper price tag. However, despite the obvious dearth in some features, the Floor Lamp 2 delivers support for Matter, the latest in smart home connectivity. As such, despite being cheaper and less capable than its big brother, it’s arguably a much better choice for smart home connoisseurs, and one of the best smart lights for HomeKit users who value its integration with Apple Home.

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is incredibly similar to the Floor Lamp Pro in terms of assembly, design, and the user experience of the app both models share. 

Out of the box, you’ll have to contend with assembling the lamp from its constituent parts. That means screwing together three metal strips to the base of the lamp using the brackets and screws provided. It’s not a complex job, but it’s definitely fiddly and requires a bit of patience.

Despite being cheaper than the Floor Lamp Pro, I was surprised to find that the overall material feels a bit more premium, save for the base which is a bit shiny and plasticky for my liking. The connector that links the flexible lighting tube to the cabling in the base is also much easier to join up, and feels more rugged and durable. Having seen Govee’s silver and black offerings, I much prefer the darker finish of this lamp compared to my Govee Floor Lamp Pro’s silver color. 

The more expensive Govee Floor Lamp Pro boasts a Bluetooth speaker. That feature is lacking in the Floor Lamp 2 and is the main significant difference between the two models. 

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is controlled by Govee’s app, available on both iPhone and Android. Like the Floor Lamp Pro, it supports both Alexa and Google Home, but crucially also comes with Matter support. That means you can use it with pretty much any smart home ecosystem, most notably Apple Home. As I’ve mentioned in my Floor Lamp Pro review, the Govee design app is not exactly a masterpiece, but it is highly functional. As soon as you turn the lamp on and open the app, you can add the new device and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network (2.4GHz only) with ease. Govee’s Floor Lamp 2 controls let you control the light emitting from the base and the stem separately, with a slider for brightness. There are also settings and controls for color, scene, finger sketching your own patterns, and even for rhythmic light shows set to music, powered by a built-in microphone. There’s also a timer functionality so you can set your lamp to cycle on and off, perfect for use beside a nightstand. 

In theory, Matter support means you can easily add your Govee Floor Lamp 2 to Apple Home. However, I found the process wasn’t seamless and took several attempts. Govee says that you should attempt to connect your lamp using Matter within 15 minutes of powering the lamp on for the first time. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to reset the lamp and try again. It took me four or five attempts and a good 10 minutes to get the Govee Floor Lamp 2 added to my Apple Home network. I encountered a couple of different errors regarding the network, but eventually it worked.

Once connected, you can use it like any other HomeKit smart light, including through Siri where you can issue commands for powering on or off, brightness, and color. Matter support is a huge boost to the Floor Lamp 2 and a big advantage over the more expensive Floor Lamp Pro. It also gives you access to all the other joys of HomeKit, such as automation. Your Govee Floor Lamp 2 can be connected to motion sensors or anything else you can think of in the Internet of Things. 

While the Floor Lamp 2 isn’t quite as bright as the Floor Lamp Pro, it still puts out a respectable array of light. Combined with its reduced height, it’s noticeably dimmer than the Pro but still very ambient and pleasant. It would be well-suited to smaller rooms such as an office or a guest bedroom but lacks the extra power of its larger, more expensive stablemate. That being said, it puts out more than enough light to illuminate most spaces.

Thanks to the app, the combination of lighting on offer is pretty much limitless, you can choose block colors, scenes, or a simple warm light for reading. The Govee Floor Lamp 2 comprises a cylindrical base and a tall strip of light, designed for wall-washing. It’s not a directional light per se and is more suited to providing ambiance and atmosphere, decorative rather than practical. 

For quick use and convenience, the Govee Floor Lamp 2 comes with its own remote that can be used to quickly control power, block colors, brightness, and the temperature of your light without messing with your phone or trying to summon Siri without waking anyone, a most welcome addition.  

To sum up, the Govee Floor Lamp 2 is considerably cheaper than its “Pro” counterpart but offers much of the same lighting functionality. It doesn’t have a built-in speaker like the larger version, but does offer a vital connectivity advantage thanks to Matter support. While the build quality might not be the best on the market, and the fiddly assembly is a drawback, it’s a sturdy lamp with plenty of punch. 

Govee Floor Lamp 2: specs

Govee Floor Lamp 2: price & availability

• List price: $149 / £149 (about AU$220)
• Often available at a discount

The Govee Floor Lamp 2 is available from Govee’s website in the US and the UK. It’s priced at $149/£149, however, it’s routinely discounted on the official website to $119 or £109. It’s also available on Amazon in both the US and the UK with the same list price and similar discounts. That’s considerably cheaper than a Philips Hue Signe Gradient lamp, and even cheaper than Govee’s own alternative, the Govee Floor Lamp Pro. The lamp is available in black (as tested here) and silver.

Should you buy the Govee Floor Lamp 2?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if... 

Govee Floor Lamp 2: also consider

Not sold on the Govee Floor Lamp 2? Here are two more options to consider.

How I tested the Govee Floor Lamp 2

• I used the Govee Floor Lamp 2 for several days
• I used it in various places in my home
• I comprehensively tested all of its features including the app

I've used the Govee Floor Lamp 2 for two weeks in multiple locations around my home. I tested all of the different lighting options and used its features including the remote control.

I used the Govee app to connect the lamp up to my home Wi-Fi network and also used the lamp through the Apple Home app to test Matter support. 

I have five years of smart home journalism experience and have extensively tested a broad range of smart home products including smart lights, plugs, speakers, and more. I have also tested other smart lamps in this specific product category field, notably the Philips Hue Signe Gradient and the Govee Floor Lamp Pro, which has helped to inform my review.

First tested September 2024

Two-minute review

I’ve been waiting a long time for a smart light brand to release a truly smart wake-up light, and it’s no surprise that Philips Hue is first with its beautiful new Twilight smart light. 

While most smart lights offer some form of wake-up or circadian functionality, and many smart home hubs also allow you to turn your regular smart lights into bona fide wake-up lights, the Philips Hue Twilight is first to thoughtfully incorporate wake-up functionality into the design and software from end-to-end, cementing it as one of the best smart lights I’ve ever tested.

Standing at 12.9-inches / 33cm tall, the Twilight lamp is an exercise in design mastery from Philips Hue. Available in either a black or white casing, the unit’s rounded stem is footed by a cork base, and tapers towards the head of the lamp, which is shaped like an upturned cup. It’s a slick and chic device that looks wonderful in either color – and while it might not be for everyone, it’s a major step up in aesthetics from Hue compared to some of its previous designs, such as the Philips Hue Go Table lamp and Hue Bloom.

On the top of the head are two programmable buttons that by default trigger automations and cycle through six different scenes, offering both “press” and “press and hold” controls. Through the Philips Hue app, you can change how the buttons and the lights behave, presenting a fantastic level of customizability. 

Behind the frosted-encased rear panel sit the LED lights. It isn’t the most attractive look, but since the rear of the light will in all likelihood be wall-facing, it isn’t a dealbreaker. The LEDs point slightly upwards, which enables them to spray a wonderful cone of light up walls – plus they also feature separate strips that can create gradient lights using Hue’s new Gradient ColorCast technology. The head also contains another set of independently controllable direct LED lights, and can be rotated 90 degrees to the left and right – a nice touch for those who enjoy reading in bed.

The part of the design I wasn’t so impressed by is the 2.4 x 1.9 x 3.1-inches / 6 x 4.8 x 8cm (h x w x d) power supply. If your plug socket is directly behind your bedside table, you’ll likely need your table to be sitting further away from the wall to account for the Twilight’s very proud plug.

However, when it comes to the light itself, I’d go as far as to say this is the best I’ve seen from Hue – and given the bar is pretty high, I’m very much impressed. Hue claims it can be dimmed to 0.5% brightness, and while I couldn’t easily measure that, what I can say is that dimming proved incredibly smooth, with a near-imperceptible transition between the light's lowest brightness and fading out completely.

According to Hue, there’s more than just some buttons and software that make Twilight well-suited for use as a wake-up light. The night-time scenes that come included as defaults for both manual and in-app control omit blue light, which suppresses melatonin, while its wake-up scenes are attuned to emulate sunrise.

In addition to its natural light settings, the Philips Hue Twilight smart light is also able to reproduce the full range of colors you’d expect from a Hue device, meaning you can also set the mood with some beautifully vibrant scenes. In addition, the rear light is fully programmable, so you can also create custom gradients to match other gradient lights such as the Hue Signe.

The Twilight integrates easily into the Hue app, with both Bluetooth and Hue Bridge connectivity on offer – but here lies one of the biggest issues I have with the product: its limited functionality when paired via Bluetooth. For some reason, the two light sources can’t be controlled in conjunction with one another in this configuration, and many of the automations aren’t available.

Price and availability

• List price: $279 / £249 

The Philips Hue Twilight smart light will set you back $279 / £249, and is available in both black and white colorways. Compared even to Philips Hue’s own alternatives, such as the Hue Go portable table lamp (list price: $159.99 / £139.99), that’s one frighteningly expensive lamp.

It’s a running issue with Philips Hue. While its smart lighting is arguably some of the best – if not the best – on the market, such a lofty price tag is tough to swallow. In Twilight’s defense, both its design and performance are top-tier – with the exception of my gripes with its plastic casing, limited Bluetooth functionality and large power supply. I have the same opinion about the Hue Go portable table lamp. Given that there are a wealth of more affordable smart lights on the market, some competitive pricing from Philips Hue feels in order.

Specs table

Score card

How I tested

• I used the Philips Hue Twilight lamp as my main wake-up light and bedroom lamp for two weeks 
• I tried all of its various presets and features 
• I used it both with and without a Hue Bridge 

I used the Philips Hue Twilight for two weeks as my main bedroom light, testing all of its wake-up and wind-down presets, morning and night, to see how effectively they helped to regulate my sleep schedule.

I paired it both via Bluetooth and also through my Philips Hue Bridge to compare its feature set and functionality in various connectivity modes. I controlled it through my smart home speakers to see how responsive it was, and tested the various color options to see how vibrant of a payoff the lights delivered.

I’ve been testing smart home technology for over two years, filling my home with abundant smart lighting and devices from the likes of not only Philips Hue, but some of the biggest competition across smart lighting. 

Twinkly Strings: two-minute review

The Twinkly Strings are smart LED string lights that you can use to decorate your Christmas tree or drape anywhere else in your home that's in need of a little festive cheer. Once you've mapped their position using the Twinkly app, you can set them to a solid color, take your pick from dozens of animations, or even use them to create a picture (either a preset from the app, or one of your own).

They come in four lengths: 26.2ft (100 LEDs), 65.6ft (250 LEDs), 105ft (400 LEDs), and 157.5ft (600 LEDs). I tested the 400 LED set, but 250 LEDs would have been ample for my 4ft tall Christmas tree. The LEDs arrive divided in two bundles as shown in the images below, so I hung one set around the tree and the other across the room.

I tested the Twinkly Strings RGB lights, but there's also an RGB+W version, which could be a good choice if you're planning to have the lights up all year round and would therefore enjoy more subtle white lighting at different color temperatures outside the festive period. The RGB lights are available with black or green cables, and if you opt for the RGB+W version, then you can also opt for clear cables that will be less obtrusive when installed more permanently.

The lights are positioned on springy, zig-zag-shaped wires, which are easy to hang and position. They don't become tangled as easily as conventional string lights; the shape of the wire makes them easy to bundle up once you're done, then secure each bundle with the Velcro tie included in the box. Although I had the black version, the wires weren't very visible when tucked among the tree branches. 

Once you've draped the Strings to your liking, open the Twinkly app on your phone (you'll need to create an account if you haven't used it before), switch on the lights and hold the button on the controller until the light turns turquoise. The app will then be able to find the lights, and you can connect them to your home Wi-Fi network. This worked perfectly during my tests, as it did with the Twinkly Line LED strip that I also tested recently.

When that's done and you've installed any necessary firmware updates as prompted, you'll be asked to use your camera to map their layout so that the software can assign the correct color to each bulb to create gradients, patterns and pictures. There are two ways to do this: Easy Mapping, which requires a simple straight-on view of your lights, works fine if they'll mostly be viewed from one angle; and Advanced Mapping, which uses images from multiple angles, and would be useful if you've positioned your Christmas tree in the center of the room or wrapped the lights around something outdoors.

Simple mapping worked just fine for my tree, which was against a wall. Interestingly, the software was able to deduce where the lights on the back were positioned well enough to project a smooth gradient onto the wall, as you can see in this review's main image.

The various preset animations work well, and you can create a playlist that will store them on the Strings' in-line controller, so you don't have to open the app each time you want to change them. Pressing the button on the controller will cycle through your saved options, and holding it will switch them off.

Some of the preset animations can be synced to music, as indicated by a musical note beside its name. This uses input from your phone, or from the Twinkly Music sound sensor dongle, which is available to buy separately. It would be nice if there was a microphone integrated into the controller, particularly since the Music dongle requires a USB power supply and the lights will already be using one of your electrical outlets.

I also experimented with using the Twinkly Strings to display a picture, but my tree was too small for this to work well. You could get the general idea, but there weren't enough lights visible at once to create a "canvas" with a sufficiently high resolution. It would be much more effective on a larger tree using the full complement of lights.

The Twinkly Strings work with all the major smart home platforms, and I had no issues at all connecting them to Google Home. The app found them immediately and added them to my living room. I was then able to use them like any other smart lights, and create automations that would turn on all the lights in the room at once with a voice command (such as "Merry Christmas"), or at a particular time.

If you only have room for a smaller tree (under 4ft) then you may find that the smallest size (26.2ft) is too long, so you might prefer to opt for the shorter Twinkly Dots.

Covering extra large areas isn't a problem, though. While you can't add extensions to the Twinkly Strings, you can group multiple Twinkly products via the app and use them all together as a massive "canvas". 

Twinkly Strings: price and availability

The Twinkly Strings are available globally direct from Twinkly, or from third-party retailers such as Amazon. The price depends on the length of the string, and whether you opt for the RGB or RGB+W lights.

These prices are around a third less than the equivalent Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Festavia string lights.

Govee (Twinkly's main rival for the best smart lights on a budget) doesn't have a product that's an exact equivalent – its Christmas String Lights are more like the Twinkly Dots, with LED beads inside a flexible tube that can be wrapped around objects.

Twinkly Strings: specs

Should you buy the Twinkly Strings?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Twinkly Strings: also consider

Still not sold on the Twinkly Strings? Here are two other options you might want to consider.

How I tested the Twinkly Strings

To test the Twinkly Strings, I wound one half of the 105ft length around a 4ft artificial Christmas tree, and strung the other half across the length of my living room. I used the Twinkly app for Android to connect them to my home Wi-Fi network. and tested both the simple and advanced mapping options to address the LEDs.

I used them together with the Twinkly Line LED strip, connecting the two devices in the Twinkly app, where I could control them as a single device. I also connected them to my Google Home setup and created custom automations to control them.

Read more about how we test.

First reviewed September 2024

Twinkly Line: two-minute review

The Twinkly Line is a self-adhesive LED strip light, which you can operate using a physical controller built into the power lead, the Twinkly mobile app, or any of the major smart home systems (including Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit). I tested the Twinkly Line for several weeks in a home office setup, and connected it to Google Home to control it via voice commands. 

Inside the box, you'll find the Line itself (which can be black, shown here, or white to blend with your decor), the power lead, a set of stickers, and two small adhesive pads, in case you want to attach the controller to a wall. There's no separate Wi-Fi hub necessary.

Setup is straightforward. First, decide where you want your Twinkly Line, and stick it in place. Like all LED light strips, the Line shouldn't be bent at sharp angles; the instruction manual explains the best way to handle corners when setting it up.

The Line I tested here was 1.5m long, which fitted nicely around the front of my desk. It's relatively short for an LED light strip (most rivals are at least 2m), but there are extensions available if you need more length. Some strips from other brands can be cut at positions marked along their length, but Twinkly says that manipulating the Line this way is "strongly discouraged".

The strip was easy to apply, but sometimes the 3M adhesive stuck to the backing paper. Peeling off the paper slowly yielded the best results, so take your time and don't rush during this part of the installation process. I've had the Line installed for several weeks now, and the glue is still holding it firmly in place on the smooth laminate surface of my desk, with no sign of peeling.

Once the Line is in place, clip the power cord onto the end of the strip (the connectors slide into place), plug it into the socket, and you're ready to link it to the mobile app.

The Twinkly app is easy to use – simply create an account using your email address, grant the necessary permissions (including location tracking when using the app), and it will locate the Twinkly Line via Bluetooth so you can connect it to your home Wi-Fi network. I had no issues with this process, and the app located the device first time, before prompting me to map out the position of the lights with my phone's camera. This also worked seamlessly, even though the lights were curved around the edge of my desk.

With that done, you're ready to start playing with the lights themselves. You can choose a solid color for the Twinkly Line lights, take your pick from a selection of preset animations, or create your own design by using Twinkly's editing tool or uploading a GIF. Some of these options work best if you're using multiple strips or something like the Twinkly Curtain, which gives you a large "canvas" to work with. Nevertheless, there are also lots of scrolling effects that are suitable for a single strip. During testing, I found the Waves and Unicorn Sun presets particularly appealing.

Some of the animations can be synced to sound as well, which is a fun touch for house parties. The Line uses your phone to capture sound for this purpose, or you can buy a separate Twinkly Music Dongle if you're a frequent partier. The Line doesn't have its own microphone.

Linking the lights to Google Home is straightforward, too. Just search for "Twinkly" within the Google Home app, then log into your Twinkly account when prompted. The app will then find your Line and allow you to assign it to a room. During my tests, the Line showed as offline at first, but became available after I briefly unplugged the strip and then plugged it back in.

When that's done, you can use voice commands to control the Twinkly Line like any other smart light, including adjusting the brightness, changing the color, and setting a schedule.

The lights themselves are bright, with good color reproduction. My only real criticism is the quality of the adhesive and its tendency to stick to the backing paper; but you could apply your own mounting tape, if necessary. The strip is magnetic, too, so if you're planning to attach it to a ferromagnetic surface such as your fridge or a metal door frame, there's no need to use the adhesive at all.

Twinkly Line: price and availability

The Twinkly Line starter set, which includes the LED strip and power cable, retails at $49.99 / £59.99 (about AU$75), but can often be found at a discount from third-party retailers such as Amazon. The 1.5m extension kit, which doesn't contain the power cord, is $19.99 / £19.99 (about AU$30). You can use one extension line per starter kit.

The Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus is longer (2m), but the base kit is considerably more expensive at $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$149.95. It also requires a Philips Hue Hub to unlock its full functionality, which is an extra expense for those who don't already own one. A 1m extension strip costs $39.99 / £24.99 / AU$49.95, and a single Lightstrip Plus can be extended up to a maximum of 10m. 

The Govee LED Strip Light M1 is a more affordable option if you need a long strip, costing $99.99 / £119.99 (about AU$150) for a 5m starter pack. 

Twinkly Line: specs

Should you buy the Twinkly Line?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Also consider

Still not sold on the Twinkly Line? Here are two other options you might want to consider.

How I tested the Twinkly Line

To test the Twinkly Line smart light strip, I installed it on the edge of my desk where I used it for two weeks to see how it would work when turned around the edge of a piece of furniture, and attached to a smooth surface that may prove challenging for the glue.

I connected the Line to the Twinkly app, where I experimented with the various customization options, and to Google Home, where I was able to see how it integrated into a larger smart home ecosystem.

Read more about how we test.

First reviewed August 2024

One-minute review

If you’re in the market for a smart lamp with a bit of personality, look no further than the Nanoleaf x Umbra Cono Portable Smart Lamp. With interest in smart bulbs growing, many of the brands behind some of the best smart lights are moving towards different form factors, but such lamps have, thus far, been broadly uninspiring. 

The Cono Portable Smart Lamp, on the other hand, not only offers some decent specs and lots of different software applications for immersive gaming, film and audio to help you make the most out of your smart lighting, but its unique design also makes it stand out from the competition.

Still, it’s not for everyone; when I first saw the Cono at CES 2024, I wasn’t quite sure what the fuss was about. However, seeing it ‘in the flesh’ and using it around my home has completely won me over. Available in both grey and orange (listed as Sierra), the Cono features cross-shaped feet that support the cone-shaped light casing, topped off with a beautiful, curved surface through which the light shines. Above the stem of the feet are its USB-C charging port and a simple, discreet, and touch-sensitive button, which you can use to control the light if you don’t fancy using its smart controls. These touch controls are a little disappointing, sadly, with a cheap finish that belies the lofty list price of $95 / £110. 

Like other smart lights in Nanoleaf’s sprawling range, the Cono offers 16+ million colors, tunable whites, and 0-100% brightness control, and can be operated either with its physical controls, by using the Nanoleaf app or by using voice assistants in one of the best smart speakers or best smart displays. Out of the box, the device is compatible with Apple Home, Google Home, and Razer Chroma, but also plays nice with Matter, meaning it’ll work in tandem with most of the best smart home devices. It’s super easy to pair the Cono in Nanoleaf’s app, and just as easy to add it to any compatible smart home ecosystem. In the app, you can change the color with a color wheel or with one of eight customizable presets, create your own scenes, or select one from Nanoleaf’s sprawling library.

It’s not the kind of lamp that will entirely illuminate an unlit room; nor would I expect it to be at its size and price point, but it throws a decent spray of vibrant color into the room when turned on. However, the fact that you can angle it in so many directions (or even hang it off of things!) makes it excellent for setting the mood, highlighting a design accent in your room, or just for using it as an objet d’art lamp that you can control with your voice or phone. I’d like for it to be a little brighter, though, as the output lumen sits at just 130 lumens. 

My only real qualm is its battery life. Depending on the brightness and color, the lamp lasts roughly four hours when unplugged, and only comes with a cable, meaning you might have to buy a USB plug if you were planning on having the lamp on regularly. Compared to something like the Philips Hue Go portable table lamp which offers up to 48 hours of battery life, or even the Philips Hue Go 2 which offers up to 24 hours, its marketed four-hour battery is measly. Thankfully, however, I found during my testing that it regularly exceeded this by a couple of hours. Still, I’d love to see it at least hit the 10-hour mark like the Wiz Luminaire portable lamp can for the price. 

Overall, the Nanoleaf Umbra Cono Portable Smart Lamp is easily my favorite smart light in my setup right now. During my three weeks of testing, I found myself reaching for it instinctively rather than as a necessity for this review, and it’s one of my most commented-upon fixtures when I have guests. However, would I pay $95 / £110 for it? No, I would not. As much as I appreciate its design, performance, and ease of use, this is the kind of light I’d be keeping an eye out for during seasonal sales. 

Nanoleaf Umbra Cono: Price and availability

• List price: $95 / £110

As mentioned above, the Nanoleaf Umbra Cono Portable Smart Lamp will set you back $95 / £110, and is available directly from Nanoleaf as well as third-party retailers. 

That’s a lofty price point for what is broadly speaking an aesthetically pleasing albeit middling portable smart light. If you adore the design and want it for exactly its intended use (being good-looking and as an additive light), it might just be worth it. However, considering there are plenty of (admittedly blander) smart lamps out there for far less that offer more brightness and additional features, I’d wait for seasonal sales before jumping on the cone-shaped bandwagon.

Out of the box, it comes with the lamp itself and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and there is no power supply included. Its lifetime is 25,000 hours.

Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if... 

Nanoleaf Umbra Cono review: Also consider

How I tested the Nanoleaf Umbra Cono

•  I tested the Nanoleaf Umbra Cono for a month 
•  I used it as part of my smart lighting setup  
•  I paired it via Bluetooth and Alexa via. Matter

I used the Nanoleaf Umbra Cono portable smart lamp for three weeks, using it throughout my home for mood lighting, spotlighting, and general use. I tried positioning it in various locations, leveraging the full potential of its versatile design and used the full range of its brightness, color, and tunable white settings to test how well it performed in different situations.

I paired the Cono in my Nanoleaf app as well as my Alexa-based smart home (possibly thanks to the light’s Matter compatibility) and found the device worked as expected and was easy to control.

I’ve been testing smart home tech for a living for two years now, but I’ve been passionately writing about all things smart and the Internet of Things for over five years. I’ve spent hours learning the ins and outs of Alexa, throwing shade on smart lights, and reading up on new technologies that matter, all of which helps to inform my review approach and buying advice. 

One-minute review

The Nanoleaf Skylight is an alternative indoor lighting solution that can provide everything from strong white lighting to subtle mood lighting in whatever brightness or color you desire, and easily sits among some of the best smart lights. The simple square panel design belies the true nature of the device, which reveals itself once it’s brought to life in brilliant technicolor via the app or PC/Mac software. 

It’s not all sweetness and light though. The installation is a bit more involved than the usual Nanoleaf ‘stick the LEDs onto something and plug them into a power outlet’ scenario. 

The main panel is the same as any other ceiling light, in that it’s hardwired into the lighting circuit. If you have experience installing traditional light fittings, you shouldn’t find it too challenging, but, as always, get a professional to install it if you’re at all unsure; this is dangerous work.

Once the lights are up and running, you can control them with the free Nanoleaf software for PC, Mac or phone app, and it soon becomes apparent just how flexible the system is. I put it through its paces for a couple of weeks and its performance impressed me. I can see a broad range of uses within my home, but the cost seems prohibitive and I did have a fair few teething issues. So, is it worth the asking price? Read on.

Nanoleaf Skylight review: price and availability

• List price: starts at $249 / £229 / AU$469 for a three-light starter kit. Other options include;
  • Expansion pack (1 panel): $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$139.99
  • Starter kit (6 pack): $459.96 / £418.61 / AU$609.90
  • Starter kit (9 pack): $669.93 / £623.64 / AU$889.90
  • Starter kit (12 pack): $879.90 / £828.66 / AU$1,309.90
• Available in the US, UK and Australia 

The Nanoleaf Skylight was released in February 2024 and the starter kit is available for $249 / £229 / AU$469 directly from Nanoleaf’s US, UK and Australian websites and Amazon. 

The starter pack consists of one main unit, which is wired directly into the mains electricity, and two expansion panels. Larger kits are available from Nanoleaf consisting of six, nine, and twelve lights, and there’s also a single-panel expansion pack. 

Nanoleaf Skylight review: Specs

Nanoleaf Skylight review: Design

• Minimalist and unobtrusive (when they’re off)
• Modular design allows for a multitude of configurations
• Unique ceiling-mounted lighting system

Anyone who enjoyed playing on the Atari 2600 in the 70s will get a kick out of the look of these lights. I like the pixel-esque aesthetic and would love to create some huge ceiling icons with a 9x9 square - if only it were possible to control the color for each square individually. I mean, who wouldn’t want a 2.7-square-meter Space Invader or Pac-Man on their ceiling? Unfortunately, that would set me back approximately £5.5k and 1300 Watts, so this vision will forever be a dream.

The combined equal depths of the housing and diffuser are nicely proportioned to the 300 x 300 face but I’m not completely sold on its shiny surface. Maybe a matt finish wouldn’t diffuse the light so well or look any better, though.

The cable management inside the units is well-designed but a little fragile. Each side has two cable routing holes that allow for some more interesting offset configurations if you don’t just want a symmetrical layout. The rubber bungs for these holes can be left in situ as the cables can be passed through slits in them. 

Little features like this make it feel like Nanoleaf spent a great deal of time and effort getting the hardware design right, but then rushed the component selection and software testing. I’ll cover this in more detail in the performance section. 

As is the running theme with this review, the Nanoleaf Skylight’s design is akin to the troubled second album by your favorite band. You buy the record because you love what they do but feel they have let you down.

Nanoleaf Skylight review: Installation

If you skipped over the one-minute review, I will reiterate: if you have experience installing traditional light fittings, you shouldn’t find it challenging, but, as always, get a professional to install it if you are unsure.

Your existing wiring will likely be too inflexible to follow the path to the connectors in the Skylight and it only requires two wires. The rest of the wiring must be out of the way above the ceiling. I replicated the connections within the existing light fitting and increased the size of the hole in the ceiling to do this. 

The next hurdle is the rather poor installation instructions, which erroneously show the plasterboard self-drilling fittings as being screwed through the housing, for example. In reality, the fittings should screw directly into the ceiling and the screws should go through the housing and into those fittings. I say “should screw directly into the ceiling” as during my installation, two of the supplied fittings broke off in the ceiling before I gave up with them. 

Fortunately, I had some more robust metal fittings to hand, which saved the day. To be fair, my ceiling is ‘mature’, and perhaps drilling a 4mm guide hole first would have reduced the mortality rate of the plastic fittings. There are, however, plenty of other inaccuracies in the installation instructions, which add to the confusion. If these instructions were a cake, the missing ingredient would be “care”.   

A bit more wiggle room in the screw holes would also be of benefit as screwing or drilling into a ceiling is prone to error unless you are Spider-Man. Usually, fittings have a combination of horizontal and vertical slots that allow for errors made during drilling or screwing. I’d also recommend ensuring that someone is available during installation to provide placement directions, as it’s not easy to get things straight on a ladder facing upwards. 

Once the primary unit is up, the others are very straightforward. I found it much easier to install the data wires (the short wires with square connector blocks at the ends) between the light units first, and then push through the power wires. Alternatively, the rubber grommets can easily be removed but they may be needed at a later date, should you want to move or reconfigure the lights. Routing the cables between the lights is made easier by the numerous clips built into the unit for this purpose, but, as I learned when I managed to break one, they are a little fragile.

After restoring power at your dwelling’s fuse box and flicking on your light switch at the wall, the Skylight will initially come on at low brightness. It will then increase in brightness to signify that it’s ready to pair with the Nanoleaf app.

Nanoleaf Skylight review: Performance

The first thing that struck me about the Skylight was how much light it gives off. If you sometimes need a bright, even white light while assembling something or taking things to bits, this light is your friend. It’s reminiscent of old-school fluorescent lighting without the irradiation and mercury poisoning. 

The Skylight can, of course, emit any color you wish, but be warned that the color is not uniform across the surface of the diffuser. Inevitably, though, you will need to address the elephant in the room – the Nanoleaf app.  

In previous reviews of Nanoleaf products, I’ve described the Nanoleaf app as “wayward”. Perhaps I am just unlucky, but every time I add a new Nanoleaf product to my network there is a period of chaos. Some of the mayhem may be due to the many and varied devices that I have, and the synchronization between the home automation systems and their cloud accounts. Whatever the root cause, there will be a couple of days of rebooting, deleting, and adding devices until everything works again. The app will invariably have a different view of reality, which may or may not change depending on whether you look at it. Schrödinger’s app.

The sense of frustration was further compounded by the hardware itself misbehaving. I had a period where the light was flickering when set to white light at full power. Following this, the unit then point-blank refused to switch on even after I removed the face plate to press the reset button. Flash forward to the time of writing, I can’t replicate the flickering and it has behaved itself consistently for a few days. 

It’s like having a cat on your ceiling; you ask it to do something and it will ignore you, show you its backside, and walk away. Schrödinger’s app and cat… On the plus side, the supplied scenes are good, you can create your own or use scenes created by others, and these can all be synchronized and used in Apple Homekit. You could avoid using the Nanoleaf app altogether, but you would miss out on firmware and app updates. It’s a necessary evil. 

I have spent many hours with the Nanoleaf app thanks to one of my favorite bits of kit, the Nanoleaf 4D. I was looking forward to using Sync+ to extend the screen colors to the Skylight but, no, it does not work. So, I have two products that support Sync+ but do not support each other… right. 

Not to worry, as Nanoleaf should be applauded for developing a desktop app for both PC and Apple Mac (both Intel and Apple Silicon), which offers screen mirroring. The screen mirroring via the desktop app is a great idea and works well with the 3-pack starter kit laid out in a straight line, but I do wonder how the app would know if you have offset your units in a stepped layout. It also didn’t work with all of the games I tried. I wanted to watch a film via Apple TV+ while mirroring the screen to the Skylight, but the Mac was unhappy about sharing. Thank you, Apple. 

It’s a similar state of affairs with the rhythm feature – a great idea but it falls at the last fence. You can select which source the sound is coming from, but that doesn’t seem to work as well now as it did when I first received the device. Having said that, it is good enough and as I write the Skylight is gently pulsing color along to the music. Wonderful.

Unlike dumb lights, the best smart lights offer a host of control options but that’s not always a boon with wired lights like the Nanoleaf Skylight. When the Skylight has been powered off at the wall, it will take about a minute to appear online within your home automation system or the app when you flick the switch on again. 

Normally that’s not an issue with smart lights, but the problem with the Skylight then becomes the almost imperceptible little ticking noise that the skylight makes when it has power but is not on. It’s akin to Chinese water torture and drives you nuts after a while. I’d strongly recommend using one of the best smart switches for easier control and happier ears.

On top of all this is the lack of Matter support and no built-in thread border router as promised at CES 2023. I like Nanoleaf, I like its ideas and that it makes these feature-rich products happen, but a simple thing like testing could make them so much better. 

Nanoleaf Skylight: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

The Nanoleaf Skylight is, as far as I’m aware, a unique product, so it is difficult to find a direct equivalent. Here are some alternatives if you want to dip your toe into smart lighting, but don’t want to give it the full beans.  

Nanoleaf Skylight: How I tested

• I used the Skylight for work and play for over a month.
• I tested the PC/Mac application on both platforms where possible. 
• I controlled the device from both the Nanoleaf iPhone app and Apple Homekit.

I installed the Skylight in the room where I spend the majority of my time during the dark winter months. I tried to understand what each feature within the application does and how reliable/repeatable they are. Any inconsistencies were investigated but I have yet to find any form of event logging to help me understand exactly what it thinks it is doing.

I powered down my whole house to simulate a power cut to see how it would recover and also rebooted the Wi-Fi router and other devices in my smart home setup at various points.

I kept a log of any updates to the versions of the applications and the device’s firmware. I avoided using Beta versions of the application.

For the majority of the time it performed as expected but it is not bulletproof.

Two-minute review

Nanoleaf’s 4D TV-syncing strip lights are a first for the brand, which is known best for making some of the best smart lights available. With Nanoleaf 4D, the brand has easily accomplished one of the best Ambilight alternatives and created some serious competition for established brands in the space such as Philips Hue and Govee. 

The set is available in two sizes, one for screens up to 65 inches and the other for models up to 85 inches, and come in at a fairly affordable price of $99 / £89 / AU$189 and $119 / £119 / AU$229 respectively. 

Out of the box, the Nanoleaf 4D kit consists of an LED light strip that is attached to the back of the screen and plugged into a control box, which in turn connects to a camera that detects the colors displayed on the screen. The kit illuminates the LEDs to match the picture on your screen, throwing the colors onto the wall behind the screen for a pleasing synchronized glow around the screen. 

The camera can either be mounted atop the TV with the included armature, or placed on your TV table using its built-in stand, and those concerned about prying digital eyes around their home will be pleased to learn that the camera also comes with a magnetic privacy cover.

One of the slight niggles I found when setting up the lights concerned how the cables that connect the lights and camera to the controls are positioned. The rather vague instructions in the handbook encourage you to begin your light strip placement in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, meaning the wire for the lights trails from that corner, while the camera cable falls centrally. 

This leaves you with a choice of either bending and sticking the light strip wire or having the control sit somewhere near the right-hand side of your screen, lest you run out of wire length to play with. All in all, although not a major issue, I value a neat home entertainment setup and this doesn’t necessarily facilitate that.

Installation is otherwise very straightforward, although you will need to remove your television from the wall to fit the lightstrip, and potentially need a second pair of hands if you’re a real perfectionist. I cheated as my test screen is on a stand! The kit comes supplied with corner mounting blocks which allow the strip to curve around the corners (rather than creating a loop out of the strip which would create problems in accurately matching the colours to the screen.)

There are 10 color zones per meter and 30 LEDs per meter, and the strip can be cut to length at specific 10-centimetre intervals. This does mean you might end up with a gap or excess of the strip when they meet at the end, but a little trial and error with placement before sticking anything on will minimize this. 

Once that’s done, simply peel off the tape backing and stick that strip down, and you’re all set. The strip does tend to peel away from the back of the screen where the two ends meet, but that’s easily resolved by applying some more double-sided sticky tape.

The Nanoleaf app is nicely laid out and works well most of the time, but can occasionally crash. Whilst I appreciate that all software has bugs, some sort of an error message would be nice. Having said that, the things that you can do with this software and the kit impressed me; the Nanoleaf 4D does all of the usual colored lighting tricks that LED strips do. But let’s face it, screen synchronization is what we’re here for. 

The app guides you through mapping out your TV lights, and once you’re set up, you can create your own scenes, or you can use the Magic Scenes feature to create a palette based on a mood or keywords (although I found that the latter favored washed-out hues).

You can choose between four settings (or dimensions, between 1D and 4D), which range from an ambient white glow to the aforementioned screen-matching lights akin to the gold standard Ambilight-style experience. It’s a little tricky to find clear guidance on what each of the dimensions does, so here is my take on it.

1D: White light that’s well suited to documentaries and general viewing

2D: Block color that’s great for ambiance, representing an average of the color displayed on-screen 

3D: Splashes of color reflective of on-screen action, but not extending the screen 

4D: Colors extend from the edges of the screen for full immersion

You can change the color settings by cycling through the controls or via the app. 

Nanoleaf 4D features the same sound-reactive functionality boasted by its smart light siblings, and as a bonus, responds to sound far better than the Nanoleaf Smart Holiday String Lights I reviewed last month.

Once I had finished playing with all of the settings I played a few games and films and noticed that one side of the screen was not displaying the screen colors correctly. Further investigation revealed the problem; I needed to close a white door that was being reflected on the screen. You have a choice: either be mindful of the lighting and reflective objects in the room or spend between 4 or 5 times as much on a Philips Hue system for its HDMI linking.  

The only feature I found myself missing is a perennial issue for non-HDMI smart screen lights – automatic screen detection. Call me lazy, but I’d prefer my lights to come on when they detect on-screen activity, rather than requiring me to use the app or physical control.

Overall, I’d say the Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip kit is a great low-cost alternative to the Philips Hue system that just edges out the other low-cost alternatives in several areas; it’s easy to install, well-designed and the results can be spectacular. This thing is so versatile and colorful that it made me want to get some Nanoleaf wall tiles to test their claim of the 4D’s ability to “extend the screen sync effects across 50+ Nanoleaf RGB lights”. Look, somebody’s got to do it…

Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip kit: price and availability

List price:

• TVs & monitors up to 65-inch: $99 / £89.99 / AU$189.99
• TVs & monitors up to 85-inch: $119 / £119.99 / AU$229.99
• Camera only kit: $79.99 / £69.99 / AU$149.99

The Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip Kit are available directly from the Nanoleaf website, starting at $79.99 / $69.99 / AU$149.99 for the camera-only kit. You can also buy the camera-only kit from Amazon in the UK but curiously, not the full kit - however in the US, you can buy all three packages on Amazon. 

The camera-only kit is a great cost-effective option which can be used with the Nanoleaf RGB LED light strip or any RGB light strip that has USB-C connection.

Value-wise, the Nanoleaf 4D is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best value smart TV lights - the Philips Hue alternative for 75-inch and over TVs is nearly $100 / £100 / AU$300 more expensive at $249.99 / £209.99 / AU$509.95, and you'll need a Philips Hu bridge if you don't already have one. Govee's lights sit squarely in between but don't offer such consistency or smooth light performance as Nanoleaf. 

Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip kit review: Specs

Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip kit: Should I buy?

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Don't buy it if...

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Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip kit review: How I tested

• I installed the Nanoleaf application and added the Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip Kit to Apple HomeKit 
• I tested all of the modes and scenes against different types of content (i.e. films, TV programs, Games) and resolutions 
• I tested each claimed feature e.g. “Reacts to music” where possible 
• I tested the kit under various lighting conditions. 

I had already tested a pre-release version of this kit last year which was unfortunately defective and a very frustrating experience. The days that I spent trying to get it to work reliably were not wasted though as it gave me a good understanding of how the thing works and how it has been improved.

I was pleased to be able to make use of scenes in Apple Homekit which I  could not get to work when I tested the Nanoleaf Smart Holiday String Lights last month. I switched off Bluetooth on my phone and ran all of the tests again to find out if there was any function that used Bluetooth and everything behaved normally. 

The room I use to test things is the worst-case scenario for the Nanoleaf 4D screen mirror and lightstrip Kit as it is almost completely white. Everything gets reflected on the screen, especially in daylight which affects the colors that the camera detects. I was pleasantly surprised during testing to find that some of the reflection problems could be dialed out using a custom vibrancy set which allows you to change the values for Dynamic range, saturation, and white balance.

Govee Curtain Lights: five-minute review

Smart light technology and designs just keep getting better and better, and Govee seems to be winning in that arena. The Govee Curtain Lights are another fantastic addition to our best smart lights list. And while the brand is currently promoting them as another offering in its smart Christmas light catalog, they deserve to be left up on your wall or windows – and not just 'til January, as that Taylor Swift song goes.

Truth be told, I'm kind of obsessed with the Govee Curtain Lights, and I'm not just saying that as a strong supporter of smart lights. They add a much prettier and much more romantic ambiance to any setting, whether that be my otherwise messy living room or your garden, that no other smart light – not even the recent smart string lights that recently hit the market – can replicate. 

That's not just because these are curtain lights, made of up 20 rows of individual string lights that all hang side by side like delicate willow tree stems. Although, if I'm being perfectly honest, that really does add to their appeal. 

It's more than that, though. Like all the other smart light products in its arsenal, Govee made the Govee Curtain Lights to be incredibly customizable and capable of displaying millions of different colors and light scenes. What sets them apart from others is that using the brand's RGBIC technology, they're also able to display images using the 520 light beads embedded into each of those 20 strings.

Basically, you don't just get light patterns with them; you can actually create visual representations of things you see in the real world – falling leaves, pumpkin patches, Santa riding his sleigh, the face of your favorite pet, and you can do all that using your phone on the Govee app. That capability is a massive game-changer, especially to those folks who go all-out for Christmas.

They're not just for Christmas, however. Put them up in your reading nook, and they'll cozy up that space even more with twinkling warm lights. Set them in your dining space, and they can elevate the ambience not just for dinner parties but also during winter when morning tend to be dark and dreary.

Naturally, since they're customizable via the intricate Govee app, you can also choose from the many light presets that Govee has on offer, from simple groovy and rainbow swirl patterns to Christmas scenes that give you familiar images of the holiday season (a Christmas tree, a Christmas wreath, Santa's face, and more) to night scenes like a forest with fluttering fireflies and a spaceman doing a space walk.

You would think that a smart light set as complex as this would be a little harder to install, but Govee also has a knack for simplifying things for the end user. Setting up the Govee Curtain Lights is so simple that I was thinking the whole time that I must have missed a step or done something wrong. But no; it's really as easy as putting up  regular strip lights, if maybe slightly more delicate since you don't want to make the same mistake I made, and put my step stool over a light bead, stand on the stool and damage the bead.

The thing about curtain lights is that they're slightly harder to mount because they are heavier than regular string lights. Govee thought of that too by offering you three mounting options and providing you with all the tools you need for all three, giving you mounting flexibility. I choose to use the VHB gums provided, sticking the lights to my sliding door frame because I felt that was the easiest route for me. But you can also hang them on your existing string or rod using the included G4 hooks or on the seamless nails, all of which are included in the box.

If you also choose to use the VHB gums, you'll be glad to know that they've got impressive hold. I've had mine up for two weeks now, and not a single one has peeled off my sliding door frame.

Each of the 20 string lights that make up the Govee Curtain Light is made well; light yet robust, made up of three thin wires inside that connect all the light beads and are encased in clear casing that kind of helps diffuse the lights illuminating from the beads while also not taking the focus away from them. It's an appropriate choice, as using an opaque cable jacket would have ruined the effect.

The cord for the plug, which itself is encased in a clear cable jacket, is amazingly long, maybe too long, but you can always coil up the rest of it if your outlet is nearby. Perhaps, there's a point to it, too – these lights can be used outdoors with their IP65 waterproof rating, so if you're setting them up in your garden, there's enough cable to reach your outdoor outlet. Just know though that the adapter plug is only at IP44, so you'll need to plug it in to an outlet with waterproof housing.

I do wish that the light beads were a little bigger though; and I also wish that the strings lights weren't so far apart from one another. That would have made the images you create a little clearer.

Still, as they are, these lights are bright and vibrant, and they do paint a clear picture of the effect you're trying to achieve. You can see from the photos I took that people will know what they are – or at least, a chunk of them. I didn't actually try to DIY my own images because I simply did not have enough time to do so, but many from the Govee community have shared their own creations, and a lot of them are just fantastic.

Fortunately for people like me who don't have the time to create, the Govee app has a long list of presets. My particular favorites are Forest Fireflies, which has moving yellow lights that represent the fireflies (it reminds me of all those warm summer nights I spent with my grandparents in the Philippines, where we'd see all these fireflies around), Rainbow Swirl, Love, Christmas Wreath, Moon, and the super neon Love Heart, which is so vibrant that it reminds me of Tokyo.

I also adore all the animal presets, especially the Fox, Jellyfish, and A Fishing Cat.

As far as controls, the Govee Curtain Lights not only come with their own control panel, but also have app control and voice commands via Alexa and Google Assistant. As with all of Govee's smart light products, they're very responsive, taking a fraction of a second to respond when you're changing the lights on the app or with a voice command. It's all so seamless.

These smart light stunners are a fantastic addition to any home, especially if you're all about making it cozy and pretty. I know I'll be using mine every day and every night for the rest my life… well, at least until Govee produces an even better model.

Govee Curtain Lights: Price and availability

• How much is it? $129.99 / £159.99 (about AU$190)
• When is it available? Available now
• Where is it available? Available in the US and the UK 

For what they offer, the Govee Curtain Lights are actually more affordable than expected. I was expecting them to be a little over $200 / £200, but they're actually just $129.99 / £159.99 (about AU$190) – you can always count on Govee when it comes to making fantastic products that are more accessible in price than the competition. And, at the time of writing, they're also discounted in the UK for just £119.99. That's a lot more affordable than the Philips Hue Festavia String Lights, with its 250-light version costing a hefty $219.99 / £199.99 / $359.95.

Unfortunately for Australian customers, however, the Curtain Lights are not yet available in the region. However, they already have a listing on Amazon Australia, so it likely won't be long until they're available there.

• Value: 5 / 5

Govee Curtain Lights: Specs

Should I buy the Govee Curtain Lights?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if... 

Govee Curtain Lights: Also consider

How I tested the Govee Curtain Lights

• I tested the Govee Curtain Lights for a couple of weeks
• I hung them over my sliding door
• I tested their performance, features and customizations using Alexa and the Govee app

Testing the Govee Curtain Lights for two weeks, I had them hanging over the sliding door in my living room where my neighbors can admire their Christmas-themed images. Naturally, I tested many of Govee's other light scenes and presets as well as some of the ones that users in the Govee community created. 

During this time, I noted their performance, not only in terms of how vibrant the colors and how bright the lights are but also in terms of how fast or slow they respond to app and voice commands.

I've been a smart home devotee for a few years, with Philips Hue light bulbs being my very first smart home device. I've also been testing smart home devices, from smart lights and smart speakers to smart appliances like robot vacuums and heaters, since owning my first light bulbs.

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

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First reviewed December 2023