Govee's first Matter-compatible light strip is great—if you can get past its short length

I’ve tested some of the first Matter-compatible devices that launched this year, including the Tapo Smart Plug Mini and Kasa Matter Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring. The number of Matter smart home devices is growing, including the new Govee M1 Matter Compatible LED Strip Light
(available at Amazon)

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Here at Reviewed, we’ve been impressed with Govee LED strip lights before, so I wanted to see if this new product would earn itself a spot among the best smart LED light strips. To test this light strip, I installed it underneath the windowsill over my kitchen counter, and I used it for around two weeks.

Here’s everything I liked about the Matter-compatible device, as well as the factors I wasn’t quite sold on.

About the Govee M1 Matter Compatible LED Strip Light

• Model: H61E0
• Length: ​​6.56 feet
• Light Color: RGBICW
• Bead Density: 60 LEDs per meter
• Connection: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• Power Supply: Adapter 24VDC 1.5A

The Govee M1 Matter Compatible LED Strip Light is an updated version of the regular M1 LED Strip Light. The new version of Govee’s LED light strip is 6.56 feet long, and it can be used to display millions of colors and shades of white thanks to its RGBIC+ Technology, which allows for multiple hues to be shown on the same strip.

You can create fun light patterns with the strip’s 20 customizable segments, and it can even be synced up to music, flashing along to the beat of any external speaker.

What we like

The new Govee LED strip lights are bright and highly customizable

Right away, I noticed that the Govee M1 Matter Compatible LED Strip Light is really bright. I have a few other LED light strips set up in my home, and I generally keep them at 100% brightness.

However, with the Govee strip, 100% brightness was almost too bright—at night, it lit up my kitchen so I could see everything with no other light source.

After a little experimenting, I set the light strip to 50%, which offered a nice supplementary light without being too overbearing.

I was also impressed with the wide range of customization offered within the Govee app. You can do basic things like set the lights to a solid color or a preset effect, but you can also create your own lighting patterns and designs.

The interface does take a little trial and error to figure out, but you can customize each segment of the light, choosing the color and brightness level you want. There’s also an option to create your own lighting effects, either from scratch or based on the preset options that come in the app.

Whether you want a plain color or a wild custom pattern, this light strip can do it all.

The LED nodes are close together

This light strip has 60 LED beads per meter, which the brand claims is the most of any light strip on the market today. I compared the M1 strip to other LED strips around my home, and the nodes on the M1 are noticeably closer together—in fact, it looks like it has twice as many beads!

Thanks to its densely-packed LED beads, this strip has much more fluid lighting effects. With other light strips, color transitions can sometimes seem clunky or choppy, but the M1 delivers smooth, flowing changes that look seamless.

It’s Matter-compatible

The main difference between this light strip (model H61E0) and Govee’s regular M1 light strip (H61E1) is that the new version is Matter-compatible.

Matter is a recently introduced interoperability standard for smart home products, and products that meet its requirements can be used with any major smart home ecosystem.

While the standard M1 strip only works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, the new Matter-compatible version can be integrated into any certified smart home platform, including Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, and more.

During testing, this meant I was able to add the strip to both my Alexa account, as well as Apple HomeKit, and I could control it from either one.

This is definitely a huge plus for people who prefer one of the less-popular ecosystems, as you’ll be able to buy new Matter-compatible smart gadgets, including this light strip, without worrying if they’ll play well with your existing products.

What we don’t like

This Govee LED strip light is really short—and expensive

After unboxing, I was surprised to find that the light strip is only 6.5 feet long. I’m willing to bet that most people want more than 6 feet of light for their displays—I specifically picked a small area to install these, and even then, the strip was a few inches too short to span the whole windowsill. You can extend the light with additional segments, but the total supported length is still only 16.4 feet.

Considering this LED light strip is only around 6 feet long, I was surprised to see it has a retail price of $50. This price isn’t unheard of for smart LED lights, but personally, I think it’s quite high for such a short segment. If you wanted to create a 13-foot strand by attaching two end-to-end, you’d end up paying $100!

By comparison, the Kasa Smart Light Strip is a 16.4-foot strand that costs just $30. It isn’t Matter-compatible, but it does support Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and SmartThings.

Most of the scenes are very ‘flashy’

When I want to switch up the ambiance in my home, I like to use the preset lighting scenes that come with most LED strips. The Govee app has dozens of options, including scenes inspired by nature, emotions, specific events like date night, and more.

However, as I tried out the different preset scenes, I didn’t like that the majority are very harsh, for lack of a better word. I like effects that have smooth, flowing transitions that flow from one color to the next, and I could only find one or two options like this in the Govee app.

Instead, the majority of the scenes feature fast flashing colors that are really intense—some even trigger a pop-up that says they could cause seizures!

I understand that some people might like these types of bold, in-your-face effects, but I was disappointed that there weren’t more gentle scenes to choose from. Even some of the effects with calm names, such as “rustling leaves,” were surprisingly flashy.

Should you buy the Govee M1 Matter Compatible LED Strip Light?

Maybe, if Matter-compatibility is a top priority.

In terms of functionality alone, the Govee M1 Matter Compatible LED Strip Light is great. The LED nodes are packed really close together, which makes the strip brighter and creates smooth, seamless lighting effects.

Plus, the strip meets the new Matter standards, which makes it well-suited for any smart home ecosystem, including Apple HomeKit or Samsung SmartThings. If these factors are a top priority for you, then this new light strip is worth the splurge.

However, if you use a popular smart home system, such as Alexa or Google Assistant, this light strip might not be the best option, as a lot of its value is based around its Matter compatibility. It’s short and pricey, and there are other equally good LED light strips out there for a more reasonable cost.

Even the brand’s non-Matter version of this strip—the M1 LED Strip Light—has the same densely-packed LED beads, but it comes in a 16-foot strip and costs $80, offering a lot more bang for your buck.

Govee M1 Smart LED Strip Light

The Govee M1 Smart LED Strip Lights can upgrade your space with the use of colorful, ambient lighting that can be easily installed and controlled right from your phone.

Buy now at Amazon

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.