Review: Nanoleaf Lines deliver a unique new modular HomeKit lighting experience

Today, Nanoleaf is expanding its collection of the smart home wall accent lighting with its most unique addition to the lineup yet. Sporting much of the same modularity we’ve come to expect from the brand, its new lights deliver a slash of multicolor lighting to your wall with HomeKit support in tow. Head below for a hands-on look at the new Nanoleaf Lines and all of the details.

Nanoleaf Lines debut as latest modular HomeKit lights

Nanoleaf has long captured a unique fraction of the smart home lineup with its customizable wall lighting panels, and its latest release builds upon that with an all-new form factor. There’s much of the same actual feature set this time around for Nanoleaf Lines, with HomeKit support leading the way alongside Alexa, Assistant, and smartphone app control.

There’s also much of the same multicolor lighting support in that you can carry over Nanoleaf’s existing themes for unique patterns and effects. But those functions aside, just about everything else has been adjusted this time around.

The all-new Nanoleaf Lines arrive with a modular design that allows you to build out your own unique setup of wall-mounted lighting. Included in the starter kit you’ll get nine of the new light bars. which are linked together to deliver on the unique form factor.

Instead of the usual tabs that have linked the lighting panels in the past, Nanoleaf is now employing a hexagonal connector to bridge the different LED segments. These all have 3M adhesive for sticking to a desired surface. One of those has all of the kit’s actual onboard controls, which allows you to toggle power, switch between various scenes, adjust brightness, and turn on the reactive music mode.

But now more on that refreshed form factor. All of the existing panels up until now have shared a similar, flat design that emits light out into the room. Nanoleaf is mixing things up this time around with a new build that positions the LEDs about an inch off the surface, splashing the ambient lighting onto the wall instead. The effect leads to quite a unique look compared to really any other offering on the market.

Using the new connectors also allows for way more flexibility in creating your own design, too. Each of them have six different sections for slotting in one or more of the light bars at a time. Things are still quite angled in true Nanoleaf fashion, allowing Lines to create some slick geometric designs on your wall.

Bring Nanoleaf Lines to your smart home now

Now available for pre-order, the new Nanoleaf Lines arrive at the $199.99 price point for the starter kit. Those looking to expand the designs can also score an add-on pack of three Lines for $79.99.

9to5Toys’ take: 

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Nanoleaf’s existing lineup of smart home devices. So when the company reached out about getting to go hands-on with its latest releases, I was pretty thrilled. And now after getting to use them over the past week, I’m sold on the latest futuristic smart home accessory.

Nanoleaf has been iterating on the mainstays in its lineup for quite some time now with the wall panels, but the new Lines deliver the most radical adjustment yet to the collection. The new form factor delivers a much more impressive show of multicolor lighting, that is definitely a bit less flashy than covering an entire wall in the bulkier Shapes we’ve seen in the past.

The modularity of the whole setup is still one of the best parts about Nanoleaf Lines, though it’s that new design that really catches my eye. I love the way that light bleeds out and onto the wall. The setup has such a unique effect when cycling through different colors in a theme that really stands out from the brand’s past releases. You can get a better idea of what I mean from the video below.

https://9to5toys.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/IMG_4367.mov

So far the connectivity and HomeKit support has been rock solid, with no issues of dropping off from the Wi-Fi or anything of the sorts. The support for Thread will also be a huge perk for those installing these near a HomePod mini or any other compatible device.

At the $200 price tag, I can easily see this being just as, if not more popular than the existing releases from Nanoleaf. Installation was much simpler than the endeavor of getting its Shapes lights up on the wall, and the more streamlined design leaves behind some of the gamer connotations they carried.

FTC: 9to5Toys is reader supported, we may earn income on affiliate links


Subscribe to the 9to5Toys YouTube Channel for all of the latest videos, reviews, and more!

Load more...
Show More Comments