Product test
BenQ Helo 2: the best screen bar so far
by Lorenz Keller
Govee's new ceiling lamp plays animated GIFs
28/4/2026
Translation: machine translated
Govee is turning the ceiling light into a digital canvas and installing 616 individually controllable LEDs in the new Smart Ceiling Light Ultra. It displays photos, animations and AI-generated works of art above your head.
The product designers at Chinese smarthome manufacturer Govee have yet another new idea for what colourful LEDs can be used for. Lantern chains with aquarium-style bulbs and eye-catching andhref="/s14/product/govee-lichtervorhang-2-m-lichterkette-39240841">animatable light curtains show the way: Lamps can also be used as a screen.
In concrete terms, the latest innovation called Smart Ceiling Light Ultra (H1270) is a circular ceiling light with 616 densely arranged and individually controllable LEDs. You can display images and animations under the milky, 53-centimetre surface to suit your taste. It's completely unnecessary - but also kind of cool. And Govee is known for just such ideas.
With the Govee app, you take a photo - if you can find the function in the chaotic software - or use an existing image from your gallery. The app scales the image down to the grid of 616 LEDs and transmits the result to the light. You can also use the app's AI assistant to generate an image and animate it as a GIF. Alternatively, you can paint your own «artwork» directly onto the canvas in the app.
If you lack ideas and creativity, there are also 100 pre-made scenes and several music modes available, according to Govee.
Source: Govee
A backlight simultaneously casts light effects on the wall, giving the lamp a kind of colourful aura of light. This is nothing new in principle; existing models in the Smart Ceiling range also do this. However, the backlight of the Smart Ceiling Light Ultra can be coupled with the motif of the lamp surface and thus visually extend it beyond the lamp. You may be familiar with this Ambilight effect from televisions and monitors.
RGBWWIC, high colour fidelity and 5000 lumens
The surface and background LEDs utilise RGBWWIC technology. Separate pure white and warm white diodes allow the white light spectrum to be better reproduced. The lamp supports white values between 2700 and 6500 Kelvin (K). If you turn the white LEDs up to full brightness, the Ceiling Light Ultra achieves 5000 lumens at 6500K according to Govee. In other words: the light really pops.
In terms of colour fidelity, Govee specifies a colour rendering index (CRI) of 95 on a scale up to 100 for the warm white light (2700K). 100 corresponds to natural illumination from sunlight. With a value of 95, the lamp is in the upper range in terms of colour rendering quality.
Source: Govee
The DaySync function is also new. A comparable function has long been available with the competition from Philips Hue. With this setting, the lamp automatically adjusts the lighting to the current time of day.
Smarthome compatibility and availability
The Smart Ceiling Light Ultra is Matter-compatible. This allows the lamp to be integrated into various smart home systems, including Apple Homekit, Alexa, Google Assistant and Samsung Smartthings.
The lamp is available now. Govee states an RRP of 249 euros. My colleague from merchandise management will clarify whether you can also order the new lamp from us.
By the way: the idea of using lamps as screens is not new. In 2017, for example, Swiss designer Leonardo Novella took a completely different approach with his Povlamp. A rotating light pole displayed high-resolution, holo-like images as a lampshade. Unfortunately, his Kickstarter campaign did not receive the necessary support, meaning the lamp never came onto the market.
Header image: Govee
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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