Nearly three months after a sneak peek at CES 2022, Nanoleaf returns to the Matter standard with a new set of smart lights for its Essentials series.
The range is divided into four different bulbs and a light strip - opens in a new tab - all of which share many of the same characteristics. All can output over 16 million colors and have "tunable whites" that can be controlled with the official Nanoleaf mobile app via Bluetooth. To get the most out of the lights, you'll need a Matter-compatible smart home hub and a Thread edge router to ensure fast connectivity. Devices like the Google Nest Hub Max can do both, so if you have that, you're good to go. We should also mention that lights won't fully work on Apple Home because its adaptive lighting feature doesn't support the Matter standard at the time of writing.
In the meantime, you'll need to use Circadian Lighting (opens in a new tab), Nanoleaf's take on technology, if you want lights to automatically adjust their color temperature throughout the day. Other notable core features include custom schedules to automate turning lights on or off at specific times and Screen Mirror to reflect colors coming from a connected display.
slight differences
The differences between the lights mainly come down to their design and what people are looking for. First, you have the A19 (opens in a new tab) (€19.99 for one or €49.99 for three) taking the shape of a rhombicosidodecahedron (opens in a new tab) (say three times faster) instead of your light bulb standard round. Then you have the standout models with the BR30 and GU10, both of which are €49.99 for a three-pack. There will also be the four-inch recessed downlight; €34.99 for one or €119.99 for four.
Only the A19 is currently open for pre-orders with shipping starting in mid-April. Pre-orders for everything else will be available in the coming months.
The light strip comes in two designs. You've got the 80-inch Smarter Kit (€49.99) complete with a controller at the end, and a 40-inch expansion pack (€12.99) to expand your existing setup. Pre-orders are now open with the shipping date set for mid-April, just like the A19. If you shop for the latest Nanoleaf deals, make sure your smart home devices meet the system requirements. Using lights on Google Home requires you to have Android OS 8.1 or later, while Apple Home requires both iOS and TVOS 16.4 or later.
It is not known if any of the new lights will be offered outside of the United States.
future update
The company plans to roll out a software update to its "line of modular light panels and light bars" that will expand support for Matter. Hopefully this update adds more Nanoleaf features to the Essentials line, as some notable ones were missing, like the Rhythm music visualizer (opens in a new tab). We reached out to the company to see if there were any plans to update the Essentials software in the near future. This story will be updated if we get any news.
If you're thinking about sprucing up your home and don't want to wait for A19, check out TechRadar's recently updated list of the best smart lights for 2023.