SK6812 is a variant of WS2812, it is very similar to WS2812B, they have the same interface and color sequence, so the SK6812 LED strip and WS2812B LED strip can be linked together and used as replacements in most applications.

• Note: When using SK6812 and WS2812B together, please first ensure that their line sequences are the same. This is incorrect if you connect the SK6812 RGBW LED strip to the WS2812B RGB LED strip. SK6812 RGBW has four channels (red, green, blue, and white), while WS2812B has only three channels (red, green, and blue).

The following are comparison pictures between some conventional SK6812 flexible light strips and WS2812B flexible light strips.

Both the SK6812 and WS2812B send data over a single wire, which is then read by a small microcontroller chip that generates pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals that control the brightness and color of each channel on the LED.

One big difference between them is that the SK6812 has more color selectivity than the WS2812B.

SK6812 RGB VS WS2812B RGB:

WS2812B is packaged in 5050LED. You can click here to view the appearance of the WS2812B LED.

SK6812 has four RGB LED types, and the IC has built-in 4020 LED/2020 LED/3535 LED/5050 LED to get different sizes of addressable RGB LED strips.

Among them, 4020 SK6812 RGB is a side-emitting light strip. 2020 LED is used to make ultra-narrow LED light strips. The 5050 SK6812 RGB LED is a direct clone of the 5050 WS2812B RGB LED.

The SK6812 3535 LED is also called SK6812 mini because it comes in a smaller package than the normal 5.0×5.0mm² package, with a footprint of 3.5×3.5mm², allowing for denser matrix displays. The SK6812 mini is worth noting that it uses a different packaging technology and seems to be very sensitive to heat.

SK6812 RGBW VS WS2812B RGB：

SK6812 can not only be made into RGB, but also RGBW. This adds a white channel to the regular RGB version, with higher brightness and better color mixing options.

WS2812B RGB and SK6812 RGB display white by lighting up the R, G, and B channels at the same time, which is a bluish-white light. However, the separate white channel SK6812 RGBW can produce true white light.

The white channel of SK6812 RGBW has three different white color temperatures,
Each color temperature mixes RGB colors to create different light effects.
RGBWW=RGB+3000K warm white
RGBNW=RGB+4000K natural white
RGBCW=RGB+6000K cold white light

SK6812 white VS WS2812B RGB：

The SK6812IC allows the presence of white LEDs and WWA LEDs. 3000K warm white light or 6000K daylight white light 5050 LED light strip can realize individual addressing of each LED on the light strip through the built-in SK6812 IC, and change the switch state and brightness. Each LED on the SK6812 WWA LED strip can display a different color temperature.

SK6812 Addressable White LED Strips and WWA LED Strips are available in 30, 60, and 144 LED densities.

SK6812 VS WS2812B performance comparison:

Although the SK6812 and WS2812B LEDs are driven by 5V, the brightness and color of the SK6812 LED are not affected by voltage drops like the WS2812B. This does not mean that the SK6812 has no voltage drop, but it is optimized for this problem.

Additionally, the SK6812 LED is of better quality and more stable. WS2812B is more susceptible to damage than SK6812 at high temperatures.

WS2812B is an upgraded version of WS2812, so SK6812 can be said to be an upgraded version of WS2812B.

All existing ws2812 libraries are compatible (often called "NeoPixel") and are the most commonly used addressable LED strips in the Arduino community.

Addressable LEDs are divided into different types according to IC to meet the diverse application needs of users. Learn about addressable LEDs and choose the type that suits your needs.

Attention, Please!

This article is excerpted from the Internet and represents only the author's views. Some views are incorrect and should not be fully trusted.

The size of WS2812B also has 5050/4020 side lighting/2020/3535,
WS2812B also has RGBW and WWA colors.
SK6812 only has a DC5V version, while the working voltage of WS2815 is DC12V.