COB LED strip has a smooth lightning source instead of a big bright dot that you can see in SMD strips. The light won’t feel sharp to your eyes since it is spread properly instead of targeting a center dot.
The hotspot on normal SMD flex stip is visible to the human eye if the light is relatively close to the surface or if the strip is visible. In contrast, COB strip gives a soft, steady light that shines from end to end and looks attractive even with no lightning dot.
The COB strips are the best for:
Places where you cannot hide the strip from view.
If the illuminated surface is within 2 feet of the light bar.
An excellent option for shining surfaces like glass/granite.
On any place where you want a neon effect.
Thanks to their small size and uniform light distribution, COB strips offer more flexibility. You can easily fit them in a tight area; they won’t pop out as often as an SMD strip since they are light.
COB strip design uses three chips—one in parallel, one in each group, and one in series to form a step. Even if one or two chips stop working, the strip will continue producing light and won’t produce dark areas.
COB LED lights have a beam angle of 180-degrees, compared with 120-degree angle of SMD LED strip lights, the area of lighting is much larger.