Govee has been aggressively getting into the ambient light game recently. Today, we’re looking at the Govee Flow Plus Light Bar.
I’m actually new to the ambient light game. That may come as a surprise considering I’m a PC gamer and I love RGB. But for some reason, I’ve never actually considered dipping my toes into the ambient light scene.
Enter the Govee Flow Plus Light Bar. I’ve been testing these out for a while now, but before I get on with my thoughts, let’s take a look at the specs.
Specifications
- Brand: Govee
- Price: $64.99 (Purchase Link: Amazon)
- Model: H6056
- Color: RGBICWW
- Size: 10.47*3.31*3.31in
- Control Method: Voice Control + App + Control Box
- Working Voltage: AC 100-240V
- Working Temperature: -10°to 45°C (14°to 113°F)
The packaging is actually pretty straightforward and compact. I’m not sure why I was surprised by this. I just assumed light bars would be a bit bulkier. Happily, I was proven wrong. The bars themselves are made out of a durable plastic which feels like it could take a drop or two on my stone-tiled floor. The plastic isn’t the most premium you’ll find, nor does it feel cheap. It feels appropriate for a product priced at $65.
The packaging also includes a controller unit and power brick. Admittedly, the power brick itself is quite small and compact, and I didn’t find it intrusive when attempting to plug into my already populated surge protector.
The Govee Flow Plus Light Bar can be operated using the controller unit which allows you to change the color of the light, the pattern of the light, and a simple on/off toggle. You can also control the light bars with an app.
Here’s where my frustrations begin. The app is not intuitive to use. While you’re able to use the app without having to create a Govee account, some functions like saving custom colors are not available until you create that account. The account creation process was wildly frustrating. I created an account on the main site, but when I attempted to log in through the app, I continually received error messages saying I didn’t have an account.
Editor's Note: Following publication, Govee reached out to us to let us know that the account systems between the app and website were not developed at the same time and, for the moment, are not linked. The Govee team is continuing development and plans an update for this in the near future.
This continued for some time until I randomly decided to log in again. This time, it somehow worked. I don’t know how or why, but it worked. Logging in should not be this painful. More importantly, I shouldn’t need to create an account simply to access basic functions like saving colors.
Once I got past this, the app provides for surprising customization. The light bars are not uniform. That is, there are multiple zones in each light bar. And you can customize each zone to your liking. This extends to the color of each zone in addition to its brightness. Additionally, you can create custom colors through a color wheel and save it. However, you need to create an account for this functionality.
Despite being rated for “only” 400 lumens, I found the light bars satisfyingly bright. I set up these light bars in my living room behind my TV and used them whilst playing Ghost of Tsushima. With the rest of my living room lights off, the light bars created a tremendous ambiance.
I have my TV positioned in a corner nook. Additionally, I have vaulted ceilings. This means I have quite a bit of extra space behind my TV. The light bars did a fantastic job filling that space with this custom blue hue I created. While gaming, I can’t deny my immersion was elevated dramatically.
While the Govee Flow Plus Light Bar has integration with Amazon Alexa and Hey Google, I unfortunately do not have capable devices on hand to test this functionality. However, the functionality I was able to test left me impressed.
For round about $65, the Govee Flow Plus Light Bar is a hell of a value. The actual set up process was extremely straightforward. The brightness levels were satisfying. The light dispersed evenly. And the immersion added by the ambient light was greatly appreciated.
It’s just a shame the app required to unlock the light bars’ full potential has some functionality gated behind account creation. Basic functionality like saving a custom color should not require an account. And while the app does allow quite a bit of customization, the UI left me wanting.
Final Thoughts
Overall, if you can put up with the frustrations of the app, the Govee Flow Plus Light Bar is a great value and does what it says on the tin. For $65, I don’t think you can go wrong, especially when competitors like Philips Hue are more than twice the price.
The product described in this review was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.