Product test
The Govee Skyline Kit provides dreamy lighting – but it’s not a good fit for every room
by Debora Pape
Speakers with light effects: The surprise egg from Govee tested
28.10.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Michael Restin
A lamp and loudspeaker in one - is that a good idea? Govee packs two devices into one plastic capsule, which can be anything from a night light to a noisy disco ball. Unfortunately, the app is more confusing than any lighting effect.
«Woah!» - My ten-year-old son comes in the door, the Govee Lamp Pro 2 is standing on the table like a blinking surprise egg, flickering in time to Nina Chuba songs. «How cool, can we buy that?», he asks, even before he has taken off his shoes and thrown the counter into the corner gestellt
«Him», because he sees the Govee Lamp, whose full name «Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro Sound by JBL» I will only write once, first and foremost as an illuminated loudspeaker. Not a lamp that makes noise. But both would be correct. It's also true that we can buy the thing. I'll have to take a closer look at whether it's worth it. My son is hoping for lots of fun with 210 freely programmable LEDs behind frosted glass. I wouldn't want to have it in my home in purely visual terms. But that's a matter of taste.
Scope of delivery and specifications
The scope of delivery is quickly described: There is the lamp speaker and a white USB-C charging cable without a mains adapter. To charge the battery, I need one with 15 volts and 35 watts or more.
One connection of the cable is angled so that it can be plugged into the underside of the device. The 5200mAh battery should last around four to five hours at medium volume and brightness. The 2.5-inch speaker from JBL is located at the top.
With a maximum of 600 lumens, the range of mood lighting, whose reflective base can be illuminated separately, extends from warm white 2700 Kelvin to cool white 6500 Kelvin. All the colours of the universe are available in wild combinations. The RGBWWIC technology enables both pure white and beautiful colour gradients.
I can connect via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz), the Govee Table Lamp 2 works with Alexa and Google Home and can be integrated into the smart home via the Matter protocol. The Govee app is also available to play with the numerous scenes or create your own lighting scenes and rules.
Operation on the device
There is just one physical button on the top that brings the Govee Lamp to life when pressed for two to three seconds. Next to it are four control panels for volume and brightness, start/stop and scene change, which includes various white tones as well as mood lighting with sound effects.
Nine different scenes can be saved. In the first pre-programmed scene, pretty-looking flames flicker in the lower area, while the loudspeaker emits a pattering sound that reminds me more of raindrops on a tarpaulin. The plus and minus fields ensure large volume jumps, which can only be fine-tuned in the app.
When I press and hold the control buttons, the volume doesn't change, but the light dims. The next scene calms me down a little in terms of sound quality. This is followed by pulsating lollipop colours with a clearly played music box melody.
The Govee Lamp 2 is well made, and the weight of just under 1.8 kilograms, which is mainly located in the non-slip base, also feels appropriate. The reflective base can be indirectly illuminated. I can switch this additional light on or off in the app.
I like the 34-centimetre-high Govee capsule best from a distance: the lampshade could also be made of glass and the control panel of aluminium. However, both are made of plastic.
First impression app
The lamp should be easier to control from a distance. The matching app is called Govee Home, I tried it for Android and iOS and I'm not a fan of it.
If it is paired with the lamp via the home Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, I regularly get lost in the variety of functions and search again for menu items that I had already found before. The app is too confusing for me. I also have to wait a second or two each time until the Bluetooth connection is re-established.
In the confusion there is a playground of possibilities. I can optimise its scenes and sounds down to the last detail, there is an AI assistant and a drawing mode that transfers the pixel scribbles from the screen to the LEDs of the lamp. I'd rather have the basics clearly laid out and simple next to each other and therefore don't feel as well served.
Speaker mode
The first question marks were already in my head when I picked up the test device from my colleagues in Category Management and was given a request: «Let me know how to play external music on it, I couldn't figure it out.» That reads like a joke for a speaker, but I had problems at first too and people are asking similar questions on Reddit.
As I write this, my son has connected a smartphone to the device and started Spotify. «It works well for me», he says. «It works perfectly, you don't even need the app.» It's true, the speaker can be put into pairing mode with a long touch on the play/pause button and connected without any problems. That's also in the instructions. I would like to play music and synchronise the light effects with the sound. That's what the Govee Lamp is supposed to do. I have to use the app for that.
Pairing the speaker from the app can be confusing because it always establishes a Bluetooth connection - just not the one to the speaker. This is called «Table Lamp Speaker» and is not to be confused with GoveeH6020XYZ, the model name also appears in the Bluetooth list.
I don't connect it automatically, I have to pair it again each time and disconnect it manually if I want to listen to birdsong or other on-board effects instead of music. It's annoying, but still worth it: once the connection is established, the thunderstorm of light synchronised with the music looks good and the sound can also be heard.
Clear sound with great lighting effects
What sounds from the 2.5-inch JBL speaker towards the ceiling is solid sound with clear highs that fills the room. For my taste, it lacks a bit of bass, even if it can at least make the tabletop vibrate gently. Useful for background music, a small party or podcasts. But nothing that will even begin to make audiophiles sit up and take notice.
And yet the sound-light combo exudes a certain magic when the patterns twitch across the frosted glass in time with the music. Govee speaks of a «real-time response in 32 milliseconds». I just see that everything fits together. In the video, I played licence-free music and clicked through the effects a bit. It's best if you take a look and listen for yourself.
If the mono sound is not enough, it is possible to connect a second Govee Table Lamp and listen in stereo. I wouldn't want to set up a sound system with the small speaker lamps. I see their strength more in being placed in different locations. As a bedside lamp, in the living room or on the balcony. What I find more interesting is the option to synchronise the lighting effects of up to ten Govee lamps.
The sound quality is good enough for everyday use. Maybe it's also something for the children's room, because my son has now declared the Govee Lamp his Christmas wish. Let's see. I certainly don't want to let him go of the app any time soon. It contains countless gadgets and is linked to a Community and the shop, but it often hides the basics very well.
AI and other annoyances
In addition to many predefined scenes that can be edited and linked to White Noise, I can also start from scratch with the app and create my own lighting mood. Colours, shapes and effects can be wildly combined, which always ends up looking worse than the existing scenes. The videos of other users, whose shared effects I can also use, show that it can be done better.
You could even work with multiple layers and gradients in graffiti mode, but that takes a lot of patience and usually doesn't even look that great, as my small pixel drawings blur into a barely recognisable mush behind the frosted glass.
Another gimmick is the AI function, which allows me to order lighting scenes that are either relatively predictable or pretty bad. What's more, I have to wait for their monotone response.
In contrast, I find the option of using the Govee Lamp as a light alarm clock or sleep light with white noise interesting. At the desired time, the light and sound dim up or down to gently accompany me into the day or night. It should also be possible to transform the entire surface into a «simple switch» that activates the light at defined times.
So I shouldn't have to search for the right button at night. Unfortunately, it's still a mystery to me why this doesn't work reliably. Sometimes something happens, then again it doesn't - and once again the app is not a help, but rather a nuisance. Unfortunately, not all the functions can shine like the impressive light. But that may yet change. To paraphrase the AI assistant: «The device is still practising. Patience is a virtue. The future is full of opportunities for new capabilities.»
In a nutshell
Great light, passable sound, lousy app
The "Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro Sound by JBL" is one of the better 2-in-1 products because it combines two things that go well together. The lighting effects are beautiful to look at and perfectly synchronised with the music. The sound from the JBL speaker is enough to replace a boombox. On average, the battery should last four to five hours; I managed over seven hours in mixed mode at a moderate volume and brightness.
If you want everything in one, this is an eye-catcher for the next party, which then becomes an inconspicuous night light with white noise and can be placed anywhere. Unfortunately, the all-round well-made plastic capsule is not waterproof. The good impression is spoilt above all by the app, which is confusing and always puzzles me. I would do without it if possible and integrate the device, which is compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant and Matter, into the smart home in other ways.
Pro
- Battery life
- decent sound
- Good workmanship
- Great lighting effects
Contra
- weak bass
- annoying app
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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