Which Nanoleaf Smart Lights Should You Buy?
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Nothing changes a room like good lighting. What's even better? A wall of great lights. Nanoleaf has been making smart light panels since 2012, and the brand is synonymous with colorful, geometric lighting. The company’s lineup has expanded into various lighting kits over the years, with different wall panel shapes, and even a skylight.
So which lighting kit should you get? Mini triangles, hexagons, or wood-finished wall panels? A light strip that mirrors your computer or sculptural lines that can pair with a PC app? A high-end desk lamp? Perhaps just the light bulbs? This guide is here to help. After years of testing Nanoleaf’s lineup, here's what I recommend. If you're curious about more lights beyond Nanoleaf, check out our Best Smart Lighting Kits, Best Govee Lights, and Best Smart Bulbs guides.
Updated May 2024: We've added the Nanoleaf Umbra lights to this guide. We also updated links and pricing.
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- Photograph: Amazon
Best Smart Light Panels
Nanoleaf Shapes KitsNanoleaf’s light panel kits are where the company shines. It’s a modular system where you can mix and match triangles, mini triangles, and hexagons—each shape is sold separately—to create your perfect wall panel of lights. Within the Nanoleaf app, you can choose from a variety of colors and lighting effects, and there’s a rhythm option that will sync the panels to nearby music (the closer the better for the lights to react in time with the beat). You can create your own mixes and effects, or choose from the wide variety already available within the app. The panels are easy to slot together and install, though you’ll want to take your time. The panels are touch-sensitive, and you can swipe in four directions to change the colors, but this didn’t always work. Nanoleaf's lights are easiest to control via the app or a voice assistant. (It's compatible with all the major smart home systems, including Apple Home.)
It’s not cheap, especially if you have a large expanse of wall you’d like to cover, or if you’d like a variety of shapes. The mini triangles are the cheapest for $100, but the larger triangles and hexagons are roughly $200 each for a set of seven or nine.
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Best Gaming Light Strip
Nanoleaf 4D KitWhether you play games on a PC or a TV, the Nanoleaf 4D Kit (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great choice to immerse yourself—so long as that computer or TV is against a wall. The kit uses a camera to capture the colors on your screen and reflect them onto the light strip, projecting an immersive light show on your wall that pairs beautifully with games and movies alike.
It’s fairly easy to install, provided you can access the back of your screen. The light strip included in the kit comes in two sizes, and you can cut it down to better fit your monitor or TV size. You’re also able to use the various scenes included in the Nanoleaf app, and the control box can also hear music and game sounds for light shows when you're not directly playing something on the screen.
- Photograph: Nanoleaf
Best Sculptural Lights
Nanoleaf LinesNanoleaf Lines (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is another modular system, but this is made of lines instead of shapes. The 11-inch bars aren’t cheap—especially if you need several for the design you have in mind—but they work beautifully well once they’re set up. The Lines can use a variety of colorful scenes from within the app or you can use Nanoleaf’s desktop app to mirror the colors from a game on the Lines. There’s also support for Razer Chroma for folks using Razer products.
What really makes the Lines stand out is how much better they look than basic panels when they aren’t in use. The bars cast shadows onto the wall and can pass for sculptural wall art, rather than a blank set of white tiles. It’s a nice mix of function and beauty, both when you are and aren’t using the Lines.
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
Best Desk Lamp
Nanoleaf Umbra Cup Smart LampThis little desk lamp is a perfect mix of sleek style, great utility, and all the fun colors of a smart light. Designed by Umbra, a home design group based out of Canada, and powered by Nanoleaf, the lamp is bright, fun, and easy to use. You control it just like any other Nanoleaf light, choosing your lamp’s color on the color wheel or from various Scenes and Presets, and you turn it on and off with the manual rotating switch on the front. The lamp is low, but it was bright enough to light up my desk at night while I used my computer or did a little hobby painting. There’s also the built-in pen cup that I wish was deeper; you can fit pens in it, but they’ll sit at more of an deeper angle than in a deeper cup. It was the perfect size for things like lipstick, though.
- Photograph: Best Buy
Best for Infrequent Use
Nanoleaf ElementsIf you’re worried you won’t use light panels enough to warrant leaving the plastic tiles bare on your walls, Nanoleaf's Elements series might be up your alley. The Elements are still plastic but have a wood finish effect that makes them much more appealing to look at when they aren't in use. The style comes at a cost—these panels only put out white light. But the color temperature range goes from cool whites to warm orangey glows, and there's support for touch controls and music syncing. You can still get some nice ambient lighting.
- Photograph: Amazon
Best Add-On
Nanoleaf Essentials Matter A19 Smart BulbNanoleaf’s smart bulb works great, but there are cheaper ones we recommend if you only want smart bulbs. However, if you have other Nanoleaf light panels and want a lightbulb that will sync with the color scenes and light shows, then the Essentials is a great add-on. The bulb has a fun hexagonal design—a nice echo of Nanoleaf's geometric products, and it doesn't negatively affect the light it emits. It works smoothly in tune with Nanoleaf’s other products, but the colors aren't nearly as immersive. The newest version is Matter-compatible too.
★ Another Fun Extra: The Umbra Cono Lamp ($95) is a little portable light that reminds me of the sunset lights my friends use at house parties. The Cono is more expensive, but you’ll get to coordinate it with your existing Nanoleaf lights.
Photograph: AmazonConsider Skipping
Nanoleaf Lights to SkipNanoleaf Canvas Kit for $180: The Canvas lights are similar to Nanoleaf's Shapes, and they are the predecessor to the Shapes kit we recommend above. The Canvas lights have an older connector and aren't as good for edge-to-edge lighting. While they are cheaper and often on sale, these aren't as cheap as the Shapes mini triangles, which can be combined with Nanoleaf's other kits.
Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Light Strip for $50: This light strip can only do one color at a time, rather than the multicolor that Nanoleaf's 4D Kit can do. It's Matter-certified, but with Matter still in its early days, it's not worth choosing them over other options. There are other light strips we like better for a similar price.
Photograph: NanoleafWhat to Ask Yourself Before You Buy
Choosing Nanoleaf LightsThere are a few questions you should ask yourself as you start shopping for Nanoleaf lights.
How much space do you have? Many of Nanoleaf’s lights are large. You’ll need space for them, and nearby power too. Survey your space and measure out how much room you have to make sure you buy lighting that will fit your needs.
What kind of lighting and look do you want? Nanoleaf’s light panels are what the company is known for, but it’s not all it offers. Ask yourself if you’d prefer wall panels, a light strip, or even wall lines, and where you want the light to appear. Across a wall? Behind your TV or computer? These can help you narrow down what you should purchase. Also, ask yourself if it’s important to you how the lights look when they’re off.
How will you control your lights? Nanoleaf’s lights don’t come with physical buttons, but some of its lighting panels have touch controls to swipe and change the colors (though the feature doesn’t always work great). Nanoleaf also works with all the major smart home systems, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.
How much do you want to spend? Nanoleaf offers some fantastically cool kits, but the price tag isn’t cheap, especially if you need several light panels to fill the space you have in mind.
Photograph: NanoleafGet the Most Out of Your Nanoleaf Lights
Nanoleaf Tips and TricksHere are some tips and tricks we've learned from testing Nanoleaf products over the years,
Prepare before you install. Decide and map out what you want to do in advance. Nanoleaf's lights attach to the wall with adhesive, so it's possible to remove them without taking the paint off, but it's easier to have your design already planned and set. Be sure to use a level to make sure they're straight, since the geometric shapes will make it obvious if they aren't.
Plan for power. Don't just plan your design, but make sure your panels will end close enough to an outlet. You can also try to design your lights to hide the power cord behind something, like a nearby bookshelf or plant.
Scheduling ability might vary. If you're using the Essentials bulbs, you can only set up schedules with Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant.
You'll need the Alexa Skill. If you're an Alexa user, some smart devices can easily connect with your Alexa speakers, but you'll need to add the Nanoleaf Skill to start using your Nanoleaf lights. (Even after adding it, I found it didn't work 100 percent of the time.)
Be careful where you click in the app. In the app, your Nanoleaf products will be listed by room, and they pop up as little squares with an icon and the name of the product. You need to click on the written name to go into the device and peruse the colors, scenes, and other options (like 4D if you're using the 4D Kit) for the specific product. If you click anywhere else on the product's box, you'll just turn the device on and off over and over.
Find more color options. The app includes a variety of scenes you can use, but you can click on the Discover tab—a cloud and downward arrow symbol—to find more lighting designs and download them onto your app.
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