Govee has a new premium smartLED strip that is promising new levels of brightness and sound-reactive light shows. The GoveeLED Strip Light M1 can produce 16 million colors and has a built-in mic that can be used to sync to music and movies. It also has 11 music modes and additional light settings that you can dial in through the Govee Home app, with some controls accessible via voice command when connected to the internet.

The Govee M1 is available for $99.99 on Amazon and Govee's online store. Govee claims that the M1 can output more than twice as much light as the Hue strip offerings, and that it achieved this by using 60 LEDs per meter. The density of LEDs on most basic strips is about double.

Tucking light strips behind furniture creates some cool backlighting, though you can sometimes see hot spots of individual LEDs when they’re positioned right up to a wall.
Tucking light strips behind furniture creates some cool backlighting, though you can sometimes see hot spots of individual LEDs when they’re positioned right up to a wall.
Image: Govee

Govee's M1 is cheaper and longer and uses some of its own connections with other Govee products. Govee's camera-powered LEDs that color match what's on a TV or monitor allow you to extend the light show onto a wall or discreetly tuck it away. If you own a Govee Dreamview T1 or G1 you can get your entire room to light up with what you watch or play.

It should be easy to install the M1 if you decide where you want it to go and stick it in place. It plugs into a standard wall outlet and doesn't have any water resistance. Unlike other light strips, you can't cut the M1 down to a shorter length. If five meters isn't enough for you, you can purchase a second M1 strip and connect them together for a combined 10 meters.