When you see a set of Nanoleaf lights for the first time—whether in the store, on social media, in your favorite streamer’s background, or even at a friend’s house— the first thing you’ll notice is how cool they look. With their geometric form factor and vibrant colors, you’ll instantly want a set for yourself to put in your own space! The second thing you might then notice however is the price. These lights aren’t cheap!

If you find yourself wondering what makes them so special to set them at that more premium price point, and whether that price is justified and they’re actually worth it, read on and you’ll definitely find your answer.

The simple answer is yes.

That’s because as the original creators of the first ever color-changing modular wall lights, Nanoleaf’s history of innovation brings many factors that set them miles above competitors:

Of course they look great from afar, but how do Nanoleaf lights feel in your hands? To be honest: even better. Whether you’re considering Nanoleaf Shapes or Elements panels or the newer Lines light bars, you can tell just from touching or holding them how sturdy the build quality is. Even the new Linkers for the panels and mounting connectors for the Lines have been upgraded from previous models and are incredibly well made and durable enough to withstand all the playing around that you’ll do with them while trying out different layouts before deciding on the perfect one for your space. And so there’s nothing flimsy about these products, which can’t always be said for some of the copycats and knockoffs.

Being the original modular wall lights in the smart lighting game, the current range of Nanoleaf lights have had the opportunity to come leaps and bounds from their initial designs. This is because, having been created from the ground up, Nanoleaf’s lights went through hundreds of iterations and upgrades in the process to make sure each component was optimized, which is not the case for the brands that merely try to replicate what they’re seeing superficially.

But that optimization doesn’t just stop at the build quality; it was carefully considered in each aspect of the technology too.

Other modular lights require you to manually input your layout piece by piece into their app after you build it on your wall. In contrast, Nanoleaf has a proprietary LayoutDetect technology that allows your panels or light bars to automatically detect their positioning in relation to one another in your layout, and appear that way automatically in the Nanoleaf App. This may seem like a smaller convenience that only matters during the initial setup, but should you want to swap out pieces or build onto your layout to expand it further down the line, features like LayoutDetect really come in handy as your layout becomes updated in the app in real-time to reflect what you’ve built on your wall.

With this feature, the color palettes and Scenes that you choose for your lights can automatically flow across your whole layout in the style and direction that you design, rather than appearing in random sections or, again, requiring that tedious manual input just to be able to enjoy your color Scenes.

With Connect+ technology, all of Nanoleaf’s current generation of panels (Shapes and Elements) can fit together using the same Linkers to create next-level unique designs. Combine Shapes Hexagons with Triangles or Mini Triangles, and even throw in a Shapes Ultra Black Triangle, or Elements Wood Look Hexagon for extra style points. And so the design possibilities truly are endless with interconnectable panels.

Control hundreds of lights with one Controller for layouts that are larger than life. Rather than combining multiple separate smaller layouts to create one big design, Nanoleaf’s lights are capable of working together in one layout even at huge quantities (500 for Shapes, 250 for Lines). Additional power supplies become necessary as you scale up into the double and triple digits, but no matter how big of a design you dream up, the panels or Lines can still be connected together and controlled as one unit for grand flowing lighting animations.

Nanoleaf lights are more than just good looks. They’re packed with a ton of smart features, including many that you might not know about. These features enhance your smart lighting experience and take your lights beyond just serving as a decorative show piece.

Don’t put a limit on your creativity; express yourself through color. Use a single static color, or animate your layout by creating your own custom dynamic moving color Scenes! And you can even manually paint each panel or light bar a different color with the Paint feature, or layer painted panels over a dynamic background with Layered Scenes! You’ll never run out of ways to paint and play with color and light.

Nanoleaf’s modular lights allow you to create any design you can imagine! And if that feels overwhelming because of the endless options, don’t worry; there’s a Layout Assistant feature in the Nanoleaf App that can help you out. Design your layout virtually in the Nanoleaf App before you build it in real life (or even before you buy your lights to help you decide how many you need for your dream layout). There’s even an Augmented Reality feature on iOS that can then let you view your layout virtually on your wall to see how it would suit your space

Turn up the music and watch your lights dance to the beat! The Rhythm feature turns your Nanoleaf layout into a larger than life real-time music visualizer. Select from different Rhythm motions that all react in different ways to each music genre. So use more relaxed flowing motions for ambient music, or enjoy more explosive reaction with Scenes like “Fireworks” and “Hip Hop”

On all touch reactive RGB panel products (Shapes and Canvas) you can find different Touch Games like Memory, Simon, or Whack A Mole that you can play right on your panels! So challenge a friend, or test out your own skills.

Turn each panel on your layout into a touch reactive smart button that can control your Apple HomeKit products and Scenes. For example, turn one panel into your “Good Night” button, and tap it as you go to sleep to not only turn off your lights, but also close your smart blinds, turn on your smart humidifier, and adjust your smart thermostat to a cooler temperature to facilitate a more restful sleep.

Gamers and movie-lovers rejoice! Watch your Nanoleaf lights reflect the colors from your on-screen activity in real time. Screen Mirror delivers an ultra-immersive experience, and brings you right into the action of all your favorite media. And with 4 Mirror Modes to choose from, you can perfectly curate your mirroring to suit any style of entertainment, from fast paced with the “Match” mode, to more laid back viewing with modes like “Tranquility”.

Can’t decide what type of Scene you want to create? The Nanoleaf community has you covered. Check out the Discover Tab in the Nanoleaf App to browse thousands of user created Scenes, or get creative and share your own for others to enjoy!

Instantly enjoy Scenes based on your favorite shows, movies, games, holidays…or anything else! Simply type any word into the Magic Scene creator, and watch the perfect palette for your word appear magically right before your eyes.

Customizing and controlling your Nanoleaf lights doesn’t end with the Nanoleaf App (available for mobile, tablet, and desktop). You can also use Voice Commands with your favorite smart assistant (like Siri, Google, or Alexa*) to control your lights hands-free. Turn them on or off, change the color and brightness, and even play your favorite Scenes. And with the Touch Reactivity on your panel products, you can swipe and tap directly on your panels to control the same features.

Set Schedules to automate your lights to turn on and off at specific times of day. Use this feature to set light alarms in the morning to wake you up, at night to help you wind down, or throughout the day to set the perfect ambience anytime.

Nanoleaf’s Essentials Bulbs and Lightstrips don’t only work with Bluetooth; try them with Thread for an enhanced lighting experience! This feature requires a Thread Border Router to work. But fear not—all of Nanoleaf’s new generation of wall lights (Shapes, Elements, and Lines) work as Thread Border Routers to give your Essentials lights that extra Thread boost!

Whether you’re an Apple admirer, go goo-goo for Google, or a-love yourself some Alexa*, Nanoleaf fits right into your favorite smart home ecosystem with ease. So control your lights through the different Home apps, or —as previously mentioned—chat it up with your smart assistant of choice to enjoy your lights hands-free.

Just when you thought the list couldn’t be any longer, you can’t forget about all of Nanoleaf’s integrations with some of your favorite brands. So take your lighting to the next level with collaborations with Razer, Corsair, Secretlab, EngineDJ, LightLink, Flic, IFTTT, and more!

In conclusion, with Nanoleaf’s premium build quality, sophisticated technology, and a seemingly endless list of incredible and unique features, the question isn’t really if they’re worth the price.

The question is: Why haven’t you added them to your cart yet?

*Essentials Bulbs and Lightstrips are only compatible with Amazon Alexa if you have a set of Nanoleaf Shapes, Elements, or Lines set up as well.

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