Cync’s Dynamic Effects Smart Lights work perfectly well and the music effects are decent, but there’s nothing groundbreaking here, nor anything that sets them apart from cheaper rivals such as Govee and Nanoleaf. Everything is pretty well constructed and easy to install – aside from the Hexagon Panels, which are somewhat of a disaster – and the Cync app is ‘nice’… but there’s really nothing to get too excited about. Future Savant integrations may make them a more compelling products for users of that particular ecosystem though.
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No hub or bridge required -
Easy installation -
Great brightness and colors
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Panel installation is a nightmare -
Quite expensive -
Music syncing requires loud volume
Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Lights: Introduction
- Lighting type: Bulbs, lightstrips, panels
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
- Ecosystems: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Back in 2021, C by GE created Cync: the new name for the smart home brand that was born out of General Electric and eventually became part of the Savant Systems family.
General Electric had plenty of history in the smart lighting game; back in 2013 when I first set up my smart home, the company’s Wink-branded Link LED bulbs were one of the only affordable options, and I filled up my house with them.
Fast forward to 2019 and, under the C by GE moniker, we took the range for a test ride… and were pretty underwhelmed.
Fat forward another 5 years and, now in 2024, we’ve had the latest Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Lights setup in our Florida test lab for the past few weeks.
Read on to find out if the latest Cync smart lights fare any better than their predecessors, and whether they are a viable alternative to the likes of Philips Hue, Nanoleaf or Govee.
Products available
- 5 different options available
- Multiple configurations
The Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Lights range comprises of five different products; Smart Bulbs, Outdoor Light Strip, Indoor Light Strip, Neon Shaped Light and Hexagon Panels.
For the purposes of this review I’ve had everything but the Outdoor Light Strip up and running.
As well as the customization options that you’d expect from smart lights in 2024, with the Cync devices able to display a wide spectrum of colors allowing you to create different moods and atmospheres in your home, the big selling point of the range is that they can synchronize with music; flashing and changing colors in time with the beat, making them ideal for parties or entertainment setups.
This idea isn’t new, of course; Nanoleaf has been doing this for years with the likes of its Lines and Shapes products, and Govee has impressed in recent years with the likes of the Glide Hexagon Light Panels Ultra.
For the Cync Light Strips, Neon Shaped Light and Hexagon Panels, the music to be synced with is heard via a controller, which is also used to control the scenes and brightness of the lights.
The Smart Bulbs don’t have this controller or additional microphone, so instead use your phone’s microphone for real-time syncing.
Installation
Installation for all the range is super simple; just power the lights on and follow the steps in the Cync app to get the lights synced up with your home network – they connect over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, so no additional hub or bridge is required.
Obviously, from the range, the Smart Bulb is the easiest to install so that’s where I started.
It was just a case of screwing it into an empty fitting, turning the power on and waiting for the app to find it, which it did pretty much instantaneously.
Once I had that first light setup, my Cync home was ready to populate in the app and so I moved onto the Indoor Light Strip.
Available in 8 and 16 foot options, you can cut and connect multiple Light Strips (you get a connector cable in the box) up to a maximum 64 feet.
Installation as super easy, the back of the Light Strip has double sided 3M sticky tape already in place so it’s just a case of peeling back the film and pressing the Light Strip into place.
With tones from 2000K to 7000K and 16 million colors of offer, the Light Strip is a great way, thanks to individually addressable segments, of creating effects under kitchen counters, around furniture or behind TVs.
The Neon Shaped light takes things further and, unlike the Light Strip, isn’t designed to be hidden under furniture, rather displayed in all of its glory.
It’s a thicker, more durable lightstrip, and the idea is that you can bend it into any shape you can imagine, to create a cool lighting effect.
It comes with some clips already loaded with 3M sticky pads and, although I found creating the suggested shapes a bit tricky – the moon and a star – due to getting the corners right, I found creating my wavy (I’m not very artistic, can you tell) pattern a breeze.
As you can see from the photo above, the clips are pretty noticeable – so I’d recommend creating an effect behind a sofa or on a wall where you don’t get too close. From a distance you can only see the light, not the clips.
Now we move onto the Hexagon Panels, although I wish we didn’t have to.
In terms of performance and lighting they are just as vibrant and premium as the rest of the range, and I’m sure you’d be able to create some great effects.
I wouldn’t know as my review set crash landed before I’d really had a chance to put them through their paces.
I’ve installed numerous light panels, from multiple brands, during my time testing smart lights and I’ve never had a problem.
The initial signs with the Cync Hexagon Panels were good and I thought I was on for a regular panel installation process.
The app uses a numbered system like Govee to keep things simple, except one is dedicated for ‘input’ with Cync.
The app lets you digitally layout your design first (and also offers preset patterns), so it can provide step-by-step instructions and there’s also paper cutouts in the box if you want to test the shape on the wall in advance.
My problems began as soon as I put the first connector in to test a panel lit up as it should. The connectors are clunky as heck and to get in and are easily the worst I’ve seen used on panels.
There’s also the issue that the sticky pads aren’t that sticky. They give you nails in the box too, which says to me that they knew the pads wouldn’t hold these panels.
I didn’t have a chance to do the nails before the panels fell down after 2 minutes. A few of the connectors snapped when this happened. Not great.
Features
The Cync app is pretty good actually, far less confusing than Govee’s and easier to use with the ever-more-clunky Hue app.
Like Hue, it does want you to create rooms and zones before you can get going but I found that the whole ‘add a light’ process took less than a couple of minutes.
Basic brightness and color controls are done via wheels and sliders and then there a bunch of Light Shows for you to scroll through.
With these lights able to use multiple colors at once, you’ll find some great effects and you can also create custom designs yourself.
It’s not quite on a par with Govee in terms of pre-set scenes or customization, but there’s also an argument that Govee’s app needs scaling back, so Cync have hit a pretty good balance.
Performance
The music syncing works quite well, but I did notice that they required the music to be pretty loud in order for really react ‘dynamically’… at low volumes, and for TV sound, they basically flickered a bit.
When I cranked up the sound though, there were noticeable, rapid, reactions to the beat.
I’d say, therefore, that they are great for parties but not so good for immersive gaming or movie viewing.
Both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant integrations are available, making it easy to control the lights using your voice but, as with all smart light brands, you’ll need to use the native app for more advanced customizations.
In a move that has been on the cards ever since Savant acquired GE Lighting back in 2020, Cync smart lights will soon be able to be controlled natively within a Savant smart home system.
Over in Vegas at CES 2024, Savant announced that its users in North America have the ability to incorporate Cync products into their professionally installed ecosystems this year
Final thoughts
I can’t really find a compelling argument to recommend the Dynamic Effects Smart Lights. There’s nothing wrong with them – apart from the Hexagon Panels, which are terrible – but there are just much better options out there, from the likes of Govee, Hue, Nanoleaf and Aqara.
If you’ve got a Savant smart home, the upcoming integration of Cync devices in your app may make them more appealing but for everyone else, don’t bother.
How we test
When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.
Smart lights usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a connected light for a week and deliver a verdict.
Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular light compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.
Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.
Read our guide on how we test smart lights to learn more.
