Govee Table Lamp 2 review
The Govee Table Lamp 2 is listed at $69.99 / £69.99, although, at the time of writing, there’s a sale on the Govee website lowering the price to $55.99 / £58.99. This may seem a little steep for a small light-up lamp but, if like me, you’re a fan of anything bright and colorful, appreciate extensive customization options, and enjoy the convenience of a smart lamp, then it’s definitely worth the cost.
When it’s off, the design of the Govee Table Lamp 2 looks pretty nice. It’s got a modern aesthetic, with silver-colored accents and a pearly finish on the circular control panel. The lamp's outer doesn’t have the cheap, unattractive finish that many lower-cost RGB lamps do; in fact, it looks like it could be made of glass, and the ridged titanium-colored inner makes for a nice feature.
The only slight negative I found was that the outer surface proved to be a bit of a dust and fiber magnet. I noticed a subtle texture on the side of the cylindrical lamp and realized that fibers had accumulated after only a few hours of use. This isn’t hugely noticeable, though, and our reviews office sees a lot of cardboard boxes and products daily, so the dust levels are certainly higher than average.
The controls on the device include power and two brightness adjustment buttons on the top panel, as well as color and scene cycling buttons that can be customized within the Govee Home app, meaning I was able to assign eight different colors/lighting effects to each button respectively.
Naturally, the design really came to life when the Govee Table Lamp 2 was on, and the effects were as beautiful as anything from the best smart lights. There’s a huge array of fantastic effects on offer via the Govee Home app, including several preset color collections, an RGB color wheel, plus another sectioned color wheel to choose colors. The latter had different emotions assigned to different color areas; choices included jolly, surprised, concerned, disappointed, and aggravated. I’m not sure I associate purple with “horrify” myself, but the assigned emotions amused me, anyway. There were over 60 scene presets to choose from, with collections of lighting effects arranged under themed tabs such as natural, festival, and sleeping, and I had great fun investigating them all.
My personal favorite scenes were some of the most colorful (naturally): Rainbow produced a beautiful gradient of pastel colors that slowly swirl about the outside of the lamp, and Fish Tank showed colorful shapes swirling around the center of the lamp. A great additional feature with some of these presets is that I could alter the speed, so I could set them to be as calm or as energetic as I fancied. On the few occasions I didn’t want colorful lighting effects, say when I wanted a warm light to read with, or to brighten the immediate area up, this lamp had me covered with a temperature range of 2700 – 6500K.
As if the huge array of scene and color presets weren’t enough, the AI feature was fantastic. It was like an easy-to-use online chat format, and I could ask it to create a scene via text or voice command, or take or attach a photo. I decided to take a photo of a stack of boxes in the office, and the AI bot recommended a “vibrant, dynamic lighting effect that dances and shimmers, mirroring the colorful packaging”. I accepted the recommendation, and the resulting light effect was a gorgeous pale lavender and pastel orange gradient that slowly waved from the bottom in an upwards diagonal direction – I was then able to save it to my DIY library.
The Govee Home app was delightfully easy to navigate and provides a great user experience. The different light features are laid out simply under labeled icons, and I really appreciated that the app allowed me to adjust the layout to suit my needs, allowing me to sort, hide, and show the quick access and modes right where I needed them.
Wonderfully bright and colorful even in a well-lit office, the Govee Table Lamp 2 was even more so in darker environments. Even on the bright white setting in darkness the light is diffused enough not to be harsh on the eyes, and the warmer lights targeted toward reading and night-time were soft and comforting.
One thing I noticed is that the Table Lamp 2 became warm after a little while, but not to a concerning extent. As I tested it in the winter, it actually proved to be a positive, as it was nice to feel a slight warmth when using the touch controls.
After an enjoyable period of testing and other than it collecting a little dust, there was nothing I didn’t like about the Govee Table Lamp 2. When unlit, it was unobtrusive and attractive, as much as one of these lamps can be. And when switched on it provided beautifully eye-catching and colorful light displays with what felt like endless scenes, combinations, and customizations.
As a lover of anything colorful with plenty of options to mix things up, I’m a huge fan of this smart little lamp, so if this is something you’re in the market for, you won’t feel let down by the Govee Table Lamp 2.
Govee Table Lamp 2 review: Price and specs
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Govee Table Lamp 2 review: Also consider
How I tested the Govee Table Lamp 2
- I thoroughly enjoyed using the Govee Table Lamp 2 for one week
- I tested the different features and customizable settings
- I observed the brightness and visibility of the scenes in light and dark environments
I used the Govee Table Lamp 2 as a calming and mood-lifting addition to my desk setup in the TechRadar reviews office for one week. I evaluated the usability and performance of the Govee companion app and went down the rabbit hole playing with all the different settings.
I enjoyed exploring the various presets within the app. I also made some of my own color sequences, and used the AI scene creator from photos and prompts.
I assessed the different light modes in brighter and darker conditions to see how visible they were in daylight and bright office lights, and to see just how vibrant the colors were in the dark.
- First reviewed December 2024
- Read more about how we test
