Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro review: A must-have desk accessory to reduce eye strain

Yeelight built its name on the back of affordable lighting products, and in recent years it has branched out into new categories. Its latest product is the Monitor Light Bar Pro, and while it is aimed at the gaming segment, it doubles up just as well for regular use.

Now, I didn't really pay much attention to monitor light bars, and that's mostly because I never understood their utility. It wasn't until I actually started using the Monitor Light Bar Pro that I realized just how wrong I was. Yeelight's light bar does a great job lighting up my desk, and it does so without calling too much attention to itself. I've used it for just under two months now, and in that time, it has made a tangible difference to my desk setup.

And the best part (at least for me) is that the Monitor Light Bar Pro has a secondary  set of LED lights at the back that provide diffused RGB lighting. That alone makes it an easy recommendation in my book, but there's more: you get a wireless dimmer knob, Alexa and Google Assistant integration, and it pairs with Razer's Chroma devices.

So here's what the Monitor Light Bar Pro has to offer, and why you should consider picking it up.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: Pricing and availability

The Monitor Light Bar Pro made its debut back in February for $130, and it is now available in North America and select global regions where Yeelight has an official presence. In the U.S., you can pick up the light bar at Amazon for $110 as of writing, and on Yeelight's official site for $117.

Yeelight is running an exclusive offer for Android Central readers that brings the cost of the light bar down to $87.99 when you enter code ANDROIDCENTR — 32% off its retail price and $22 off its current Amazon listing. The code works on Amazon as well as Yeelight's official store, and is valid until April 30. So if you're interested in the Monitor Light Bar Pro, you can pick it up using the code ANDROIDCENTR and save some cash.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: What you'll love

As someone who writes words for a living, I'm usually in front of the monitor for most of the day. On average, I spend around 12 hours a day at my desk, starting at 6am in the morning. 

Because I start early and don't like switching on the downlights, I relied on Dyson's $600 Lightcycle as the default desk light for the last two years. It's a ridiculously over-engineered product that takes up a lot of room, but it does a good job illuminating my desk, and adjusts lighting automatically based on time of day.

Yeelight's Monitor Light Bar Pro is an easier solution for my use case. The light bar has a sleek cylindrical design that allows it to hold its own against the best monitor light bars, and it affixes to the stand via magnets — making installation a breeze. It can be rotated by up to 25 degrees, so if you have a large work surface, you can easily adjust the angle of the light bar.

The stand has a counterweight and hangs at the back of the monitor, and the light bar is powered by USB-C. It needs 10W of power, so you're better off using the bundled wall plug to run the light bar.

Because of the low profile of the stand, the Monitor Light Bar Pro works with flat or curved monitors, and I used it with Xiaomi's 27-inch gaming monitor for the last two months. The light bar has a string of LEDs that do a great job illuminating a workspace, and you get the ability to alternate between cool and warm hues.

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The light bar also gets very bright; more often than not, I left it at the lowest brightness level, and that was more than adequate for my needs. The ability to manually set the color temperature makes a lot of difference in day-to-day use; I usually start off with warm hues and switch to cooler tones once there's sufficient ambient light in the room.

What makes the Monitor Light Bar Pro stand out even more is the second row of lights at the back. These provide ambient lighting, and have RGB LEDs with 16 million colors. They don't provide much in the way of illumination, but they're not meant to; they're solely for ambience.

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You can adjust the brightness of the light bar and change colors with the Xiaomi Home app, but there's an easier way: the Monitor Light Bar Pro comes with a bundled wireless dimmer knob that is fantastic to use. 

The remote has a rotary design that lets you easily increase brightness by turning it clockwise (and vice versa), and you can alternate between warm and cool tones by pressing down on the remote and turning the knob.

You can also easily turn the light bar on or off with the remote, and it works with both the primary set of LEDs at the front and the ambient RGB lights at the back. In day-to-day use, I just relied on the wireless remote to adjust colors on the light bar and turn it on or off.

For more granular control and the ability to set up modes for gaming or movies, you'll need to use the Xiaomi Home app. It has a color wheel that lets you pick out lighting options for the ambient light, and you can also switch to the same hue as the main light. Similarly, you can select cool or warm tones for the main light and adjust brightness levels.

The Monitor Light Bar Pro connects over Wi-Fi, but it's limited to the 2.4GHz band, so you will need to have that enabled on your router if you want the light bar to be detected within Xiaomi Home.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: What needs work

The only issue I have with the Monitor Light Bar Pro is the third-party integration, or lack thereof. The light bar officially works with Razer's Chroma platform, but getting it to work with other devices in finicky at best, and it doesn't connect to other RGB lighting services like NZXT Cam or Corsair's iCUE.

I have a lot of Corsair products, and the fact that I can't integrate the RGB lights with the rest of the devices on my desk is a bit of a letdown. But other than that, I don't have any issues with the light bar.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: The competition

Yeelight's light bar is a costly option in this category, and if you don't want to spend as much, you can pick up alternatives for a lot less.

Baseus, a Chinese manufacturer that makes cables and charging accessories on par with Anker and Aukey, also makes a light bar that costs just $28, and as you'd imagine, there are a few downsides. You get just three color modes — 2800K, 4000K, and 5500K — and there's no wireless remote. But if you're looking for a budget-focused option, it nails the basics.

If you don't care about the Monitor Light Bar Pro's RGB lighting, you can save some cash and get the Xiaomi Mi Computer Monitor Light Bar. This is the first-gen model of the light bar, and it has the same set of LEDs for the main light, and you even get the same wireless remote. At $70, it is a good value.

Yeelight Monitor Light Bar Pro: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if:

• You need to light up your desk without a bulky desk light
• You want a light bar that's highly customizable
• You're looking for an easy way to set up ambient RGB lighting

You shouldn't buy this if:

• You want tight integration with Razer Chroma or other RGB lighting services

Yeelight's Monitor Light Bar Pro does a great job lighting up your desk, and it does so without taking up any room on the desk itself. You get more than adequate brightness with the light bar, and the level of customization on offer makes it a no-brainer. The wireless remote is one of my favorite features, as it allows an easy way to control the brightness levels, adjust the colors, or turn the light bar on or off.

The RGB ambient lighting is an added bonus, and overall, the Monitor Light Bar Pro is a must-have addition to your desk if you're like me and spend all day in front of a monitor. I use the light bar whenever I'm at my desk now, and it makes a tangible difference; my eyes don't feel as fatigued at the end of the day.

So if you want a hassle-free way of illuminating your desk, you'll want to take a look at the Monitor Light Bar Pro.