One of the most overlooked parts of the home entertainment experience is lighting. For all the thought that goes into buying the perfect smart TV and an accompanying sound system, it’s also worth spending some time considering how ambient lighting is going to support those devices.

I’ve been a big fan of smart lighting for some time, and the best products today supplement a diverse lifestyle. Smart lighting can dictate the mood or complement it. When it comes to entertainment, the right lighting can provide a necessary bias to the TV screen. It can also enhance colors, highlight sound, and make a mediocre movie a lot more fun.

I tested out the new Lantern Floor Lamp by Govee to see how it would fit into my entertainment room. I was pleasantly surprised.

4.5/5

Brand

Govee

Hub Required

No

Music Reactive

Yes

Color Range

RGBICWW

This stylish smart lamp allows you to adjust brightness, color, and temperature while allowing you to sync to music and access over 100 scene presets.

Pros & Cons

• Customizable color, temperature, and brightness
• Pleasing aesthetic
• Highly personalized

• Pricey investment
• Scene selection can be overwhelming
• Enhanced by compatible smart lights

Price, availability, and specs

The Govee Lantern Floor Lamp is a simple yet versatile smart lighting device that allows for myriad color, brightness, and temperature combinations and adjustments. The design is meant to evoke the image of a lamp shade with its soft, bulbous exterior. It features a temperature range from 1,000K to 10,000K and offers a peak brightness of 1,400 lumens.

Installation is easy and takes only a few minutes. Once set up, it doesn’t take long to connect to the Govee app.

The Govee Lantern retails for $130 and is available on Amazon and directly from Govee.

What I liked about the Govee Lantern

Pleasant aesthetic and versatile use

What stands out most about the Govee lantern is the aesthetic. Just because a device emits light doesn’t always mean that it’s going to look great. While I do enjoy Govee’s standard floor lamp, that device doesn’t look as great when it’s turned off. Though slight, it’s essentially a long pole kept in the corner of the room. The light it casts is impressive, but it requires you to set it up in the right spot in your home to create something visually pleasing.

The lantern, however, is stunning on its own. It can feature in a room or complement the space. It adds height and texture to a room, and it looks compelling both when it’s off and on. Whereas the Govee floor lamp is slim and dark, ideal for putting in a corner and not noticing when it’s off, the lantern is bolder and more compelling.

As for functionality, there are a bunch of features that stand out. It comes with an ever-growing roster of preset lighting schemes categorized by mood, events, nature, and activities, among others. These presets combine different color patterns with pulsing effects to fit whatever you might be doing or feeling, from reading to working, throwing a party or watching a movie. I found it served well when I curled up with a book by the couch and when I needed some bias lighting while watching a movie.

The most noticeable feature when it comes to watching TV is the audio syncing capabilities. A microphone tracks sound and will result in the lantern pulsing and changing color along with the audio. There are a few different ways you can program this feature depending on how dramatic you want the accompanying light.

That versatility and personalization is the biggest draw. You can set static colors or patterns that flash and move; some are calming and seasonal, other presets are funny and loud. That you can control brightness, temperature, and color, as well as the speed of any patterns as well as make your own, basically creates a lamp that can support just about anything you’re doing at home.

What I didn’t like about the Govee Lantern

Some exploration and patience is required

There isn’t really a lot to dislike about this lantern in terms of functionality. It’s bright, colorful, and can be highly personalized. My warning, however, is that using it successfully will require you to play around with different patterns and really explore the app.

Because there are so many different combinations of colors and patterns and effects, it can take some time to really figure out what you like and for what purpose. It can be overwhelming. The app comes with a bunch of presets; over a 100, in fact, fall into a bunch of categories. Some of those categories are specific and some are more vague. There are a lot of scenes already available; but then you can also set a specific color and brightness. You can also sketch a design on the app and even create your own scene.

All of this means it can take a while to find the right scenes you like for specific activities. Still, there is more customization available. You can set timing, connect the lamp to other Govee smart lighting systems, and of course, consult an AI chatbot for personalized recommendations. It’s a lot, and you can easily pass over a lot of the features because it feels like too much. I would recommend taking some time to try everything out, but also keep in mind that not every single feature available will be right for you.

The other thing worth noting about usage is that it’s almost exclusively done by the app. You can automate the lighting to make life more convenient, but keep in mind you’ll have to use the app a lot.

Lastly, I think the lantern is great on its own, but it’s definitely enhanced if you have other smart lighting devices that you can connect to it. Particularly with strip lights or a TV backlight, you can create an immersive entertainment experience that appeals to your senses.

Should you buy the Govee Lantern?

A vibrant home entertainment companion

The lantern lamp is a fairly steep upfront investment, but I do think it provides plenty of value as it can drastically change any room to suit your varied needs. Whether you’re in a calm, energetic, or playful mood, the lantern can adjust to what you want. It serves to support music and TV both with its color and brightness options as well as its ability to sync to audio.

I do think it’s worth investing in other lights over time for a more complete home experience. The ability to connect multiple devices to create a complete sensory experience is attrative. If you’re going to start somewhere I think, with its pleasing aesthetics and high level of functionality, this lamp is a worthwhile investment.

4.5/5

Brand

Govee

Hub Required

No

Music Reactive

Yes

Color Range

RGBICWW

This stylish smart lamp allows you to adjust brightness, color, and temperature while allowing you to sync to music and access over 100 scene presets.