Nanoleaf vs Govee: Battle of Smart Lighting Titans

Both Nanoleaf and Govee provide some really novel interactions, including music synchronization, and community sharing of light recipes. They both use connectors that make early set-ups easily expandable. They both have a straightforward adhesive mounting system that doesn't leave residue when you remove it. There's a lot of similarities, but Nanoleaf's user experience wins, hands-down. The real clinchers here are:

1. Easy navigation and
2. Forward compatibility

Let's take a closer look to see how one blinky hexagon differs from another...

Ready now and in the future

You can see that Nanoleaf connects to more ecosystems. This makes it easier to use no matter what other devices you have in the home. Nanoleaf Shapes run over Wi-Fi but can also act as Thread Border Routers which allows Thread-enabled devices like Nanoleaf Essentials (and non-Nanoleaf Thread-enabled devices and their Thread network) to connect to the Wi-Fi.

How Nanoleaf Continues to Rock My Living Room

I have a few Govee tiles at home, but Nanoleaf is still the king of lighting in my living room.

A big part of it is the app experience. Govee tries cramming everything and the kitchen sink into its app. Sure, that gives it access to some very specific light recipe tools, but I don't typically want to spend a lot of time in the app. I want to be able to jump in, make a switch, then get on with my night.

I love watching shows with smart lights syncing up. This way when there's an explosion on screen, my whole viewing area goes up in yellows and oranges.

Nanoleaf knocked this one out of the park with their Windows app. It's smooth, connects reliably, and you can easily arrange your lights to capture certain parts of the screen.

Nanoleaf also gets points for compatibility. It's on board with Matter, which will help it communicate more quickly with other connected gadgets in the home. Plus, it has Apple HomeKit support, which means painless control from your iPhone and iPad. This is a big leg-up on Govee.

And now with Nanoleaf's latest release of Nanoleaf 4D — their camera based TV screen mirror kit— you can enjoy that next level immersion on your Nanoleaf Shapes Hexagons straight from the content on your TV screen, without using the Desktop App.

Govee is still relying on a connection to Razer Chroma to do desktop sync. This means a second app to install and manage, and even then, the performance isn't that reliable. For all of the functions Govee offers, Nanoleaf still hits all of the important ones in an easier-to-use package.

Bottom Line

Nanoleaf continues to be king of the hill when it comes to wall-mounted LEDs. Smooth animations, a polished app, strong performance with TV sync, and broad software compatibility make it a hard light to beat.

Check out the Hexagons Smarter Kits from Nanoleaf

High-tech Style

Nanoleaf Shapes Hexagon

4.5 / 5

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Nanoleaf Shapes are a fun addition to any living space. Not only do you get a wide range of color animations, but interactive touch, music, and entertainment sync put it ahead.

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