Craig Wilson

Reviews

Nanoleaf Lines review: Forget shapes, light strips are where it's at

The latest colorful lighting solution from Nanoleaf shows it's not afraid to mess with a winning formula.

Craig Wilson / Input

Canadian lighting company Nanoleaf is best known for its range of color-changing LED panels in various shapes and sizes. But with the new Lines range it’s breaking its own mold.

Craig Wilson / Input

Much like the Elements panels improved on the design of their forebears, Lines are even slicker, from the way the box is packed to the installation process.

Craig Wilson / Input
Craig Wilson / Input

Nanoleaf suggests laying out your design on a flat surface before you mount it on the wall (or ceiling).

Craig Wilson / Input

Each of the mounts has a Command Strip-like piece of double-sided tape pre-installed on its rear.

Craig Wilson / Input

Six shooter

Each mount can accommodate up to six Line segments. Each attaches at a 60-degree angle, so you can do straight lines, but most layouts are going to lean triangular or trapezoidal.

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Once you’ve got your design, just peel and stick.

Nanoleaf supplies covers for each joint, one of which has the power cable and a cover with physical controls.

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Double trouble

Each Line has two separate sets of LED, so each can display two distinct colors simultaneously. Alternatively, one half can be dark while the other is illuminated, which makes for some creative effects.

And like most other Nanoleaf products, Lines can react to music.

Craig Wilson / Input

Nanoleaf is also promising the ability to sync your lights with your games or streaming video, but these remain either spotty or works in progress.

Lines also work as Thread mesh network devices out of the box and will support the forthcoming Matter smart home standard.

Craig Wilson / Input

Nanoleaf Lines support Apple Homekit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, and the app lets you create your own animations or color combinations, which can be shared with the Nanoleaf community.

That makes it easy to create seasonal color palettes or automate things so the lights turn on and off whether you’re around to trigger them or not.

Craig Wilson / Input

$199

The price of a starter kit, which includes nine Line segments and the requisite accoutrements.

Craig Wilson / Input

In keeping with Nanoleaf’s recent moves to make its hardware as attractive when turned off as when powered up, Lines look great regardless of their state.

Sadly, though, you still can’t hide the power cable... but short of wireless power, that’s hard to avoid.

Nonetheless, they’re customizable, easy to install, and attention-grabbing.

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