Josh Hendrickson
Last year, Nanoleaf made a big splash with its new Shapes line of premium lights, which it then expanded into a beautiful woodgrain look. Now the company is back with something decidedly different—Lines. With Lines, you can build your own shapes, from octagons to bow ties. They start at $199.
At first glance, lights in the shape of a line don’t seem like a spectacular idea, but we have a set on hand already, and once you turn them on, they show once again why Nanoleaf is known for its premium lighting. The Lines use a form of backlighting to throw shades of different colors at your wall instead of shining out at you. In the end, it provides a better kind of ambient lighting that isn’t quite so blinding as it could be.
And unlike similar entries from Lifx and even Govee, Nanoleaf’s Lines are modular. In the pack, you’ll get several joint pieces that connect the light bars together. These hexagon-shaped joint pieces house six connection points that let you place a light bar vertically, horizontally, or at angles. With a bit of planning, you can build shapes and customize the lights to fit your wall.
Similar to Nanoleaf’s Shapes series, Lines come with several useful smart home features. They connect to the Nanoleaf app (iOS and Android), Google Assistant, and Alexa. But they also serve as a Thread Border router, a bonus if you own Nanoleaf’s Essentials line. With a Thread border router, other Thread products will react to commands more quickly. Using Shapes as a Thread Border router made a remarkable difference for the Essentials line in our testing. Nanoleaf also promises an update to the Lines product to make them Matter compatible at a later date.
You’ll also get a built-in microphone for Nanoleaf’s Rhythm Music Visualizer Technology, which allows the lights to react to music in the room. And it can connect to Nanoleaf’s PC app and work as a “screen mirror,” though you won’t get a full screen out of this. Think of it as an ambient extension to your computer’s display.
Nanoleaf Lines are available starting today. A starter pack with nine lines costs $199.99, and an expansion three-pack is $79.99.
Nanoleaf Lines
The latest from Nanoleaf, these new smart lights take the shape of Lines. Their modular design allows you to create nearly any setup you want.
