The most customizable smart home accessory I've tested is 40% off right now

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

What's the deal?

The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 is the most flexible light strip I've ever tested, and it's available at 40% off -- the 16.4-foot version is $60 and the 10-foot variant is $42 -- just in time to decorate for the holidays.

ZDNET's key takeaways

• The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 is available in white or black and in two lengths: 10 feet for $70 and 16.4 feet for $100, though it's currently discounted for a limited time.
• More pliable and easy to bend than other neon light strips on the market, the Govee Neon Rope Light 2 is easy to install and comes with bend clips to facilitate getting closed angles.
• The light strip is still not super easy to install and doesn't have a template guide. It's also too bright to use as a night light, even at 1% brightness, but that's a highly personal preference.

I love a good neon light strip. I've had a Cync Neon Shape Light in my kids' room since the product was released, and they use it daily, whether for full-color dance parties or as a night light with 1% brightness. Then there's Govee's first Neon Rope Light that lines a desk to add a little extra color to the office. So I was excited to try out the Govee Neon Rope Light 2 to see how it had improved because it's the kind of smart device that can make an entire room shine. 

The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 was announced at CES 2024 and is now available in black or white. The 10-foot option costs $70 and the 16.4-foot long version costs $100 at full price. It supports Matter and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

As soon as I unboxed the light strip, I was pleasantly surprised to find it's much softer and pliable than both of the strips I've had to install in the past. Installation is still challenging because the heavy light strip can get tangled, but working with a more shapeable light strip is not exhausting.

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The biggest thing I noticed is that you have to determine how you will set up the Govee Neon Rope Light 2 on the wall before you start putting it up, down to where each clip will go. The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 can be set up in custom shapes or using one of the company's suggested shapes.

Once you install your light strip, you can scan it with your phone using the Govee app. The app will recognize the shape and let you set up segments to control the strip independently and create custom lighting designs.

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I have the Cync light strips set up as a rainbow with customizable segments for each color. I decided on a rainbow shape for the Cync lights because they weren't very shapeable, and I didn't want my design to look like a hot mess. When I saw the Govee Neon Rope Light 2 was lighter and softer, however, I decided to risk trying a different shape.

Enter the unicorn.

The unicorn was a big hit, and I couldn't have done it without the bend clips.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

I don't know how familiar you are with girls in the 0 to 10 age range, but unicorns are a big deal. There are a lot of unicorn neon lights for sale online, so it wasn't hard to find a model for the Govee light strip. 

Once I was happy with the shape of my light strip, I used parchment paper to sketch the design and used that guide to set up the lights on the wall. I wish Govee included some template guides in the box. After all, I thought Cync's gridded template guide was helpful when I installed its Neon Light Strip (you can see the paper in this video).

The bend clips ensure the Govee Neon Rope Light 2 stays exactly where you want it.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

When it was time to install the light strip on the wall, I thought the bend clips were the most helpful feature for achieving sharp angles. Bending a "neon" light strip without these clips isn't easy.

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Setting the lights up on the Govee app is a breeze. The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 has over 64 preset lighting effects that blend colors beautifully. You can also set up segments of up to six LED beads each to light up in different colors, and you can create and save your color shows.

The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 is so bright, even at 1% brightness, that we couldn't use it as a night light. I think that's a good problem to have.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Govee also added some extra AI features to the Govee Neon Rope Light 2, including an AI Lighting Bot that lets you use text and voice prompts to generate new light effects. This option goes beyond the effects already available in the app. Users can say, "Turn on lights for autumn afternoons," the bot creates a new lighting effect based on its training model. I've tested it and found it's a fun way to ask for custom effects without manually changing the colors. It's also a big hit with my kids, who request the colors they want without having to use the app on my phone.  

ZDNET's buying advice

The Govee Neon Rope Light 2 looks almost exactly like a neon sign from a few feet away. It's the softest, most shapeable neon light strip I've tested, with the extra convenience of bend clips that allow you to create corners and angles for beautiful light shapes. I only wish the box included a template guide to help with installation.

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The interaction with the Govee app, Alexa, and Google Home in my smart home has been smooth, with fast response times and no connectivity issues during the few days of my test. 

The $70 to $100 price is more expensive than the Cync Neon Shape Lights -- a direct competitor with a 16-foot variation at $80 -- but the Govee Neon Rope Light 2 is worth the markup for the more satisfying results. In short, this neon light strip is a classic case of "you get what you pay for."