The most impressive panels so far

Govee made a name for itself as a cheaper, but still highly impressive, alternative to brands like Nanoleaf and Philips Hue. It’s a formula that’s been working well, as many consumers, myself included, have begun to realise that you can get a great experience from Govee, and often even more impressive effects, without forking over so much cash.

With the introduction of the Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra, the proposition has changed somewhat. These wall panels cost significantly more than Nanoleaf’s flagship panels, so how is Govee justifying such a premium price tag?

Well, to cut to the chase, these are the most impressive-looking light panels that I have ever seen, and that alone might be enough. Let’s take a closer look at the Ultra panels, to see what else they bring to the table.

Govee

Govee Hexagon Light Panels Ultra

Recommended

$280 $350 Save $70

The Govee Hexagon Light Panels Ultra are the most impressive-looking light panels that I have ever come across. They’re sure to amaze, but they also come with a hefty price tag, which will limit their appeal.

Pros

• Bright, vibrant lighting effects
• Highly adaptable mounting
• Smooth and eye-catching animations
• Integration with Google Home, Alexa and Razer Chroma

Cons

• Very expensive
• No Apple Home Kit support

Specs, price and availability

The Govee Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra launched in the US on September 25 2023. They’re available to purchase now either through Amazon or from Govee directly at a price of $350 / €350. They have yet to appear on the Govee UK site or Amazon UK, though I would imagine they’ll cost around £350 when they do.

As I have already mentioned, it’s a sizable investment for a set of LED wall panels. A 9-pack of Nanoleaf Shapes Hexagons retails for only $200, for example. It’s worth noting, though, that Govee tends to run excellent discounts around Black Friday and Prime Day, so savvy shoppers can likely save on the MSRP. In fact, the panels are already reduced to $280 on Govee’s US site, at the time of writing.

Setup and configuration

If you’ve ever configured a set of light panels before, then you won’t be in for too many surprises with the Light Panels Ultra. The whole process is guided by the smartphone application, and the hardest part is coming to a decision on the shape that you want to make.

In the box, you get 10 hexagonal light panels, 10 flexible linking cables, a power adapter, a control box, a small spirit level and the associated manuals and documentation.

The panels just stick onto your wall with self-adhesive pads, and they connect to each other with short cables that clip into place. You’ll need to connect the panels in a specific order, using specific numbered ports on the rear, so be sure to follow the app instructions and don’t just hook them up as you see fit.

To be completely honest, I jumped the gun and wired them up incorrectly at first, but thankfully, the panels are easily removed from the wall if you need to access the rear. This is because the self-adhesive pads also connect with velcro to the light panel, so you can take the panel off of the wall while leaving the pads attached. Very handy if you make a mistake, or for future maintenance.

Nanoleaf is the most well-known competitor, and its light panels use rigid connectors rather than cables. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The Nanoleaf panels are definitely less fiddly to get aligned and fixed to your wall, but they’re also less adaptable. If you wanted to make your Ultra panels go around a corner, for example, you could do that with the included flexible cables, whereas the Nanoleaf Shapes would require an additional accessory.

App and smart features

The Ultra panels connect to the same Govee Home app as the rest of the brands smart lighting, so I knew exactly what to expect from testing out the Smart Curtain Lights and AI Gaming Sync Box Kit.

The app is easy to navigate, works reliably and has endless customisation options to configure and sync up your Govee products. The best part, as is often the case with RGB smart lighting, is the wealth of user-generated lighting modes, which are constantly added to by Govee fans all over the world. If you’re feeling creative, you can also create your own lighting modes from scratch, too.

It’s not the prettiest app, in my opinion, but it’s very functional. Plus, it has the ability to work with Google Home and Alexa, so the Ultra panels can work seamlessly with the rest of your smart home automations, if you use one of those platforms.

Personally, I manage all of my smart devices through Google Home, and adding the Hexagon Light Panels Ultra to the equation was as easy as can be. Now, they’re set to come on at sunset, with the rest of my smart lighting, and switch themselves off at bedtime.

They’ll display the last used effect when toggled on or off via Google Home, but to change to a different effect, you’ll need to use the Govee app. You can, however, adjust the brightness or switch to a basic single-colour mode using Google Home, or by speaking to Google Assistant.

Performance and effects

The main thing that differentiates the Hexagon Light Panels Ultra from other light panels is the number of controllable zones on each panel. When Govee introduced its Glide Hexa panels, it offered the ability to control the colour of each panel, as well as display gradients, then with the Hexa Pro, it split each hexagon into three to create a 3D cube-like effect. With the Ultra panels, the 3D cube effect is retained, but a bright, addressable outline now traces the cube shapes.

This means the sheer number of effects that can be displayed on these panels feels almost limitless. You can have the panels off and only the outline illuminated, illuminate a single side of the “cube” at a time, illuminate the hexagons and keep the outline dark – you get the idea, there are a lot of options.

Govee’s pre-configured effects do a great job of showcasing all the possibilities, and the user-created DIY library is growing fast, with some really creative scenes starting to emerge. To put it simply, I’ve never used a wall panel product that has offered such a wealth of aesthetically pleasing and unique options.

The panels are astonishingly bright and vibrant, too. Mine usually live at about 25 per cent brightness, and if I want to showcase them in the daylight, then I only need to bump that up to around 50 per cent to have them looking their best.

As usual, there’s a music-reactive mode, which relies on either a microphone that’s built into the control box, or your smartphone’s mic. You’ll need to use the control box microphone to access the more impressive effects, though, as the smartphone microphone limits you to single-colour pulses of the entire array, for some reason.

Some of the music-reactive effects are pretty cool, but this is one area that could use some more development. At present, there doesn’t seem to be a way to create DIY music effects, so you’re limited to the six presets that Govee has provided. In fairness, though, you do have a lot of control over these presets, you can choose which area you want to light up, as well as tweak the direction, sensitivity and colours. However, a full DIY option would be even better.

Verdict

The Govee Hexagon Light Panels Ultra are the most impressive light panels that I have ever laid eyes on. They offer an almost limitless combination of bright and vibrant effects that can easily liven up your living space. They’re also easy to install, and have plenty of flexibility in their mounting and positioning. The quick and simple integration with Google Home and Alexa is a bonus, too.

The only problem is the price. $350 is a lot of money for a lighting product, so you’ll have to be very serious about your wall decor to even consider investing in something like this. If you’re a Twitch streamer or YouTube creator who’s building out a futuristic backdrop, though, there are few, if any, products that will make as much of an impact as these light panels.