Unveiling the Ultimate Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Lightstrip and Bulb: A Game-Changing Review

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Installation

Pairing the Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb

Performance and Features

Adding the Essentials Matter Lights to a Gaming Rig

Conclusion

Related Products

Nanoleaf is dedicated to enhancing the smart home experience for gamers who want to incorporate additional lighting or aesthetic ambiance near their gaming setups. A major breakthrough in the company's product range has been the introduction of Matter and Thread network protocols. These protocols work in harmony to create mesh networks comprising devices from multiple manufacturers, enabling lightning-fast communication. Utilizing Matter devices also offers numerous advantages, such as the ability for lights to remain functional on Thread networks without the need for cloud connectivity.

Nanoleaf's introduction to the Matter and Thread industry includes the Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Smart Bulb. Unlike their previous products that relied on Wi-Fi, these new Essentials lights are best suited for use on Thread networks. Although the Nanoleaf app still supports Bluetooth connectivity, most buyers interested in this lightstrip and bulb will likely prefer utilizing other popular smart home software.

Game Rant recently had the opportunity to test both Nanoleaf Essentials products. However, potential buyers should be aware that setting up a working Matter and Thread network in advance is necessary. A Matter controller is required to coordinate the Matter lights, and it should include compatible devices such as Google Nest, Amazon Echo, and Apple 4k TV, which many people already own. To fully experience the benefits of Matter lights on a power-efficient and low-latency Thread network, a Thread border router is necessary. Some of the previously mentioned Matter controllers can also function as Thread border routers. Additionally, Nanoleaf's Lines, Shapes, and Elements wall panels can serve as convenient alternatives for this role. Nanoleaf has created a comprehensive guide that outlines the supported hardware for the Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Smart Bulb.

Nanoleaf Shapes takes on the role of a Thread border router in Game Rant's arrangement, while a 2nd generation Google Nest Hub stands prepared to connect with the new Matter lights. Introducing any novel technology brings the potential for certain challenges. Let's assess the simplicity and performance of the Essentials strip and bulb setup in comparison to conventional smart lights.

The Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip is the perfect choice for enhancing gaming rooms with vibrant and captivating lighting. With its advanced RGBW technology, the lightstrip offers over 16 million colors, allowing for endless possibilities. Additionally, users can explore a wide range of available scenes, ensuring that friends and family are always entertained. The Essentials Lightstrip is also compatible with the expanding network of Matter devices that operate on Thread networks, providing seamless integration.

Brand: Nanoleaf

Integrations: Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home

Protocol: Bluetooth, Thread/Matter

Hub Required: Yes, for Thread/Matter

Music Reactive: Yes

Multicolor Capable: Yes

Service Life: 15,000 hours

Wattage: 23 watts

Type: Lightstrip

Pros: Very high lumen output

Latest technology for an affordable price

Includes corded controller

Diverse tunable white light

Cons Only one color can display at a time

Matter compatibility currently limited

$50 at Amazon

Introducing the Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Bulb Matter Compatible.

Experience exceptional brightness and vibrant lighting with Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Bulbs. These bulbs offer tunable white lighting as well as 16+ million colors, allowing you to create stunning patterns. Effortlessly control the bulbs through Bluetooth using the Nanoleaf app, which provides a vast collection of preset scenes and the option to design your own.

What sets Nanoleaf bulbs apart is their Matter compatibility. With this feature, you can seamlessly communicate with various Matter smart devices from different brands. This advanced technology operates on blazingly fast Thread networks, ensuring a swift and efficient connection.

Brand: Nanoleaf

Integrations: Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home

Protocol: Bluetooth, Matter/Thread

Hub Required: Yes for Thread/Matter

Music Reactive: Yes

Multicolor Capable: Yes

Service Life: 25,000 hours

Wattage: 8.5W ±10%

Type: Light Bulb

Pros:

- More affordable compared to Hue bulbs

- Thread/Matter compatibility offers numerous benefits.

Extremely bright and colorful

Cons Connecting to multiple apps can be frustrating

Not all features compatible on all ecosystems

$50 at Amazon $50 at Best Buy

Contents of Package

Arriving in a compact square box, the Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip is neatly packed with the lightstrip itself rolled up on a convenient spool. Alongside, you will find the controller box, power adapter, and a quick start guide. The manual and its QR code are crucial for the seamless pairing process.

The packaging for the Essentials Smart Bulb is as simple as one might imagine, with just the bulb itself and an even smaller quick start guide.

Installation

Matter and Thread compatibility adds complexity to the standard setup process for Nanoleaf lights. Nevertheless, the physical installation process for the Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb remains mostly unchanged from other Nanoleaf products. To ease concerns about how the pairing will work with Matter devices, potential buyers can experiment with the lightstrip on the floor.

The lightstrip can be easily set up by connecting the strip itself and its control box, which is attached to one end of the power adapter. Remarkably, the lightstrip powered on without the need for any apps. With the controller, simple adjustments can be made. It was instantly evident how incredibly bright the LED lights on the lightstrip were, to the extent that directly looking at them was painful. As for the light bulb, there is no practical way to test it beforehand, so it is advisable to find a suitable light fixture.

The Essentials Smart Lightstrip offers versatility for those who already have various lighting components in a room. Finding a suitable installation point for an additional lightstrip can be a challenge. However, this lightstrip can be used as under glow lighting for gaming desks of different sizes, as shown above. It can be securely affixed to the desk and easily adjusted if alignment is not initially correct. If gamers don't have enough space for the full 2 or 5-meter strip, it can be trimmed at designated spots. Once the lightstrip is properly installed, it becomes difficult to change its position.

Users typically prefer to place the control box in a convenient yet discreet location, such as a corner of the desk. The controller also includes double-sided tape, allowing it to be securely attached instead of hanging in midair.

To fully showcase the vibrant and dynamic colors of the Essentials Smart Light Bulb, owners should carefully consider their choice of light fixture. While any regular standing or desk lamp is compatible with the standard A19/E26 bulb, opting for a globe light with a large transparent shell will truly enhance the lighting effects. Installing the Essentials bulb is as effortless as replacing any conventional light bulb by screwing it into a socket. Once plugged in and switched on, users can effortlessly pair the Essentials lightstrip and bulb through the Nanoleaf app.

Pairing the Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb

Incorporating Nanoleaf Essentials Matter and Thread-compatible lights into your existing smart home system offers various options. The recommended and easiest approach is to initially pair the lights within the Nanoleaf mobile app. This method provides access to a wide range of intricate scenes and features available exclusively in the Nanoleaf software, which might not be fully supported in Google Home or Apple Home.

Users of the Nanoleaf mobile app are provided with various methods to connect a new device. One option involves scanning a QR code using a phone's camera, which swiftly detects the lights when aimed at the quick start guides. Additionally, Nanoleaf allows owners of new lights to connect them to an existing Thread network during the pairing process that relies on Bluetooth. If a functioning Thread router is discovered, a prompt will appear, enabling users to add the lights to other smart home apps that are compatible. This particular step can be completed at a later time for those who can't wait to witness their new lights in action.

Matter-compatible lights can easily be connected to other smart home apps, without requiring the Nanoleaf software. In this scenario, a Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) serves as a Matter controller in the room, with a focus on using the Google Home Android app. Users can now directly add Matter devices through the Google Home software, following a pairing sequence that is very similar to the one in the Nanoleaf app. To ensure a smooth process in other apps, it is recommended to securely store the QR code for all lights.

There have been numerous reports on internet forums regarding the challenge of properly synchronizing and operating Nanoleaf Matter products with other Google Home devices. Game Rant encountered some issues during their testing of the Essentials Matter Lightstrip and Bulb, particularly when using the Nanoleaf Canvas and Shapes that were already added in the Google Home app.

The root of the problem seems to lie in the process of adding these older devices initially. Google Home instructs users to link their Nanoleaf accounts, and then compatible devices can be assigned to different rooms. However, the pairing process for Nanoleaf Matter lights is different and does not require a Nanoleaf account. As a result, users faced a dilemma of either having control over the older Canvas and Shapes lights or the new Matter lightstrip and bulb, as Google Home would lose connection to one of the groups. The wall panel lights, which can serve as Thread border routers but are not Matter-compatible, had to remain paired using a Nanoleaf account. After multiple attempts of removing and adding the devices from both the Nanoleaf app and Google Home, full control over all the lights was finally achieved, although not without difficulty.

Performance and Features

Once the Nanoleaf Elements Lightstrip and Smart Bulb are visible in your chosen smart home apps, you will finally be able to see the captivating effect they bring to any space. With a maximum brightness of 2200 lumens, the lightstrip creates a mesmerizing glow that completely covers the underneath of your desk with a multitude of hues. The range of scenes you can create depends on the app you use and how you pair the lights. The Nanoleaf mobile and desktop apps offer a wide array of potential scenes, from static solid colors to vibrant pulsating lights that resemble a rainbow. However, other apps like Google Home have more limited color patterns, with basic colors being the easiest to use.

The Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb utilize RGBCW technology, which provides exceptional brightness but comes with a few limitations. Unlike competitors like Govee with their RGBIC lights, the Nanoleaf lights can only display one color at a time on the same device. Nevertheless, when connected to a Thread network, the Matter lights respond so rapidly to commands that the ability to showcase multiple colors simultaneously becomes less significant.

The lightstrip and bulb excel in their ability to produce highly adjustable white light, making them truly impressive. When connecting the lightstrip and bulb with other smart devices, white lighting emerges as a favored option due to the limited scene choices available in non-Nanoleaf apps. Although many RGB lights can offer this fundamental type of lighting, the Essentials line presents a captivating range of white, off-white, and yellowish tones, enabling the creation of visually striking scenes without the need for additional colors.

The enhanced response time of Matter lights on a Thread network offers one of its promised advantages, surpassing conventional Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth commands. The latest Nanoleaf Essentials certainly live up to this promise, exhibiting near-instant reactions to voice commands or touch gestures in the Google Home app. This notable improvement in controlling smart lights sets a new standard. While the effectiveness of a mesh network's range with these devices is yet to be fully determined with just one Thread border router and a few Matter-compatible lights, it is evident that the true benefits of the new protocols can only be experienced with numerous Matter products across multiple rooms. However, this endeavor of transforming the smart lighting of an entire household is both costly and time-consuming.

Other than their compatibility with Thread networks, the Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb do not bring any unique features not found in other Nanoleaf lights. This lightstrip and bulb include scheduling, circadian lighting for automatic adjustment according to the time of day, and screen mirroring. However, to fully avail all of these capabilities, buyers are advised to use Nanoleaf's proprietary software. While scheduling can be accomplished with various smart home apps, the optimal experience for screen mirroring is typically achieved through a PC running background software.

Adding the Essentials Matter Lights to a Gaming Rig

Enhance your gaming desk setup with the Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb, offering a seamless integration with popular gaming keyboards, mice, and headsets through Razer Synapse. The Nanoleaf Desktop software effortlessly combines lighting effects, allowing the new Essentials lightstrip underneath the desk and bulb to perfectly sync with the Nanoleaf Canvas and Shapes wall panels, as showcased in the image above. Together with RGB fans connected to a Razer control box and a Govee Neon Rope Light for Desks, these lights create a mesmerizing and immersive gaming experience.

Unfortunately, despite adding them to the Thread network, our attempts to control the Essentials devices in Nanoleaf Desktop were not successful. The program indicated that Matter lights should be compatible with the software, but the idea of removing and adding lights again across multiple apps seemed like a challenge for another time. In addition to introducing Nanoleaf 4D, we are excited to announce our recent integration with Overwolf. This integration triggers specific lighting effects based on events in a wide range of supported PC titles. The updated Desktop app already includes the Overwolf features, so gamers are hopeful that both Matter and non-Matter lights can work seamlessly together.

Conclusion

Nanoleaf Essentials Smart LED Lightstrip Matter Compatible

The Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip is the ultimate solution for enhancing gaming rooms with vibrant and colorful lighting. With its advanced RGBW technology, the lightstrip offers an impressive range of over 16 million colors, ensuring that friends and family will never get bored. Moreover, users have the option to connect the Essentials Lightstrip to their expanding network of Matter devices, operating on Thread networks.

Brand: Nanoleaf

Integrations: Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home

Protocol: Bluetooth, Thread/Matter

Hub Required: Yes for Thread/Matter

Music Reactive: Yes

Multicolor Capable: Yes

Service Life: 15,000 hours

Wattage: 23 watts

Type: Lightstrip

Pros: Very high lumen output

Latest technology for an affordable price

Includes corded controller

Diverse tunable white light

Cons Only one color can display at a time

Matter compatibility currently limited

$50 at Amazon

The Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Bulb is now compatible with Matter, making it easier for you to control and communicate with other smart devices. Experience incredible brightness and vibrant lighting with tunable white options and over 16 million colors to choose from. With the Nanoleaf app, you can effortlessly control these bulbs using Bluetooth, creating endless preset scenes or customizing your own. Join the Thread network for fast and seamless connectivity with a wide range of smart devices from various brands.

Nanoleaf is a brand that offers integrations with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Home. It supports Bluetooth and Matter/Thread protocols, requiring a hub for Thread/Matter. The light bulb is music reactive and capable of displaying multiple colors. Its service life is 25,000 hours and has a wattage of 8.5W ±10%. Compared to Hue bulbs, Nanoleaf is more affordable. The compatibility with Thread/Matter brings numerous benefits.

Very bright and colorful

Cons Connecting to multiple apps can be frustrating

Not all features compatible on all ecosystems

$50 at Amazon $50 at Best Buy

The Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip and Bulb offer a wide range of colors and brightness levels, making them a great choice for any buyer. What sets these devices apart is their compatibility with the Matter and Thread network, allowing different smart devices to work seamlessly together without the need for multiple apps.

Although integrating Matter lights with existing devices on popular smart home networks is not without its challenges, such as firmware updates and multiple connections, the Nanoleaf Essentials lights are still essential in building faster and more inclusive smart home networks. As a leading innovator in the lighting industry, Nanoleaf paves the way for future advancements.

Related Products

The Nanoleaf Elements offers impressive specifications, rivaling both budget brands and pricier alternatives like Philips Hue. Unlike many other expensive lightstrips and bulbs, the Nanoleaf Elements is compatible with the Matter and Thread network. However, for those interested in exploring the new smart home era, there are a few other Matter-enabled products worth considering.

One such product is the Govee LED Light Strip M1, which has also embraced the Matter protocol. Priced similarly to the Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip and featuring a comparable length, the Govee LED Light Strip M1 boasts RGBIC capabilities, allowing it to emit multiple colors simultaneously. However, unlike the Nanoleaf strip, this lightstrip cannot be trimmed to fit certain areas perfectly. Additionally, its performance with white lighting falls short compared to the exceptional warm and cold white hues achievable with the Nanoleaf strip.

WiZ, a strong early adopter of Matter devices, offers a wide range of compatible products. While some of their lights, such as the 6-Foot Starter Lightstrip Kit, provide good value, they may not have the advanced features and gaming integrations found in brands like Nanoleaf, Philips Hue, and Govee.

When it comes to light bulbs, there are numerous upgraded options available that advertise Matter and Thread network compatibility. While few of these options have been extensively tested, OREiN sells a 2-pack of RGBTW A19/E26 light bulbs with Matter support, along with appealing features like tunable white hues and music sync.

The potential area of concern for Matter lights lies in the support from Philips Hue. To ensure a smoother transition for consumers, Philips Hue has chosen to postpone its implementation of the technology. However, the positive aspect is that existing Philips Hue bridges in numerous households can be upgraded to be compatible with Matter.

FAQ

Q: What are the most popular types of lighting to add near gaming desks?

Many gaming keyboards, mice, and headsets come equipped with RGB technology, allowing for dynamic color-changing effects. To further elevate the illuminating experience provided by these peripherals, gamers frequently incorporate RGB cooling fans and LED strips into their PC cases. Additionally, the integration of other intelligent LED lighting solutions, such as wall panel lights, is becoming increasingly popular in the vicinity of PC desks.

Q: Should I upgrade to a Thread network with Matter devices now?

The issue with emerging Thread networks is that most current devices cannot be upgraded to support this protocol. It might be a wise decision to wait and observe how this technology evolves in the marketplace, unless you are planning to decorate a home or room completely with newly purchased smart lights. However, Nanoleaf Essentials offer many of the acclaimed features found in their other lights and are also future-proof.