Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro review: Whiter whites and brighter brights

When it comes to installing lighting, pretty much anything outside of screwing in a single light bulb into a lamp can be a pain. If you are the kind of person who enjoys putting up string lights on their home during holidays and celebrations, you know these frustrations too well. Govee impressed us with its permanent outdoor lights in 2022, and the updated Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro are even better.

Bright and beautiful

As I mentioned before, Govee released its first Permanent Outdoor Lights in 2022 and really impressed us in our review. This new model is about 85% the same, from the app features to the installation process. So, I'm not going to dive a lot into what these lights are capable of as they are mostly the same as the previous model. However, there are a few quality-of-life improvements to the new Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro that I will cover.

Let's start with the install. Just like with the original model, Govee ships the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro with some really sticky 3M VSB tape on the back of each light with some extras in the box, just in case. It also comes with some screw-in clips that act as helpers to ensure that if some of the lights fail to adhere to the roofline and fall, they won't rip the entire setup down.

The difference in installation is that with the Pro model, you are able to cut the light strip to whatever length you want. Instead of getting a single 100 or 200-foot LED strip, you get multiple strands that have waterproof screw clips to attach each one to the next. This makes cutting a strand to get that perfect length difficult; well, it did until now.

Govee now includes a guide and special splicing tools in the box that allow you to cut anywhere along a strand and then put a connector back onto the strip so you can finish your installation to look perfect on your home. I didn't have to use this for my setup, but the process seems to be well thought out.

The next place we get to enjoy an upgrade is in the LEDs. Govee has a lot of excellent smart lights in its portfolio, and many use RGBIC technology, just as the original Permanent Outdoor Lights do. The IC in the acronym allows the light strip to show multiple colors at once. The new Pro lights use RGBICWW technology, which adds dedicated white LEDs.

While it may not seem like much of a big deal to get white-specific LEDs, it makes a big difference. Generally, even the best LED light strips that don't use this technology have to fake the white tones, which can look really close to the intended hue, albeit slightly off, as there will always be a slight tint of blue or other colors. By utilizing RGBICWW for the Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro, Govee can offer pure shades of white light from warm to cool that look great not only when it's the only color being used but also in colorful scenes.

Along with providing true white hues, these new Pro lights are also impressively bright. I never thought my original Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights were dim, but compared with the new model, there is a big difference. My belief is confirmed in the specs between the two models, where the original set maxed out at 25 lumens per light, and the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro doubled it to 50 lumens per light.

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When it comes to customization in what you can do with the lights, Govee is king. Its app is chock full of premade scenes that are organized into different categories like emotions, festive, life, nature, and more. You can also create your own to match whatever mood you may be in, from the colors to the type of motion. You'll also have options for static lights, music-reactive scenes, and more. Overall, the Govee app is pretty great, minus one gripe I'll get into later.

 The new Pro lights also picked up support for Matter, which is the new smart device standard that is supposed to unite all IoT devices together regardless of brand or platform. So, this means your new Govee lights are a bit more future-proof.

Nitpicking on the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro

Like I said, Govee's app is pretty great. But while you can set up your lights any way you can imagine to create impressive scenes, others can, too. So, it would be nice if there were an easy way to find creations by other Govee users. While this is technically possible, it isn't well laid out. Within the app, there are some in a Discover and Explore tab, but the designs are kind of hidden and not organized by light type. For example, you wouldn't want to use a light scene that is designed for the Corner Floor Lamp with your Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro.

My other issue with the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro is the price. Look, I'm sure that a lot goes into making lights like this from a hardware standpoint and, to an extent, the software as well. But much of this has already been done by Govee, and a starting price of $400 is steep! 

While I'm a big fan of Govee and the innovations it brings to the smart device space, these lights are expensive. The original model sold, and still sells, for $300 for the same 100-foot length, which is also quite expensive. Thus, it might be hard to justify a $100 price jump for the features it adds and the option to get a black or white for the cabling.

Should you buy the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro?

In short, yes. That is if you can afford them. For many, the biggest reason to pick the Pro model over the original set would be the dedicated white LEDs and perhaps the ability to cut a strand to the exact length needed. But with a $100 price bump for those features and Matter support, it may not be worth it.

Don't get me wrong, Matter and the white LEDs are great. The dedicated chip will allow for the obvious improvements for white-hued lighting but also improve vivid color scenes. So, if you want the best customizable lighting for the outdoors and don't want to leave the eyesore light strands dangling year-round, Govee's Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro are the way to go. If you can settle for not quite the best, go for the standard model.