You'd need to have been sat in the bath with your fingers in your ears to have missed the fact that CES 2024 is now underway, and there is no shortage of announcements for us to get excited about. As has become the way with CES, the number of new smart home announcements is dizzying, but sometimes one pops up with a name that you can't ignore.
That was very much the case when the Nanoleaf press release fell on the iMore news desk with a handful of announcements being made. There's the availability for pre-order of a modular light that was announced last year, but the real star of the show is the news that there are new Nanoleaf lights that are actually designed to be used outside.
This, of course, is a first for Nanoleaf and it makes for some great news for anyone who likes their Nanoleaf light strips indoors but wishes that there was an option built with the outdoors in mind. Now Nanoleaf has a couple of options for you, and they both support Matter. As a result, they're both compatible with HomeKit which is likely to be a big deal for anyone reading this.
Lighting up the home
There are a few things in this Nanoleaf announcement but we can start nowhere other than the outdoor products. There are two in the form of Smart Multicolor Outdoor String Lights and Smart Multicolor Permanent Outdoor Lights. They're both Matter-capable, as mentioned, and they're both designed to bring" the magic of dynamic gradients and warm ambiance to your home’s exterior spaces, lighting up patio areas, backyards, and gardens all year round."
Unfortunately, pricing and availability are currently unknown so we'll have to wait for more information before we can start to get too excited. The same goes for the new Smart Multicolor Lightstrip (Indoor) product, too.
One thing that we do know is that Nanoleaf's Skylight modular light is now available for preorder for $249.99, and that'll get you three panels to start. More are available for $69.99 each. You can thank the modular aspect for that.
"Hard-wire one square, and then add up to 100 additional squares across your ceiling, with the freedom to create your own designs using the modular set up," the press release reads. "For the first time ever, users can extend their ceiling fixture into hard to reach spaces that were previously impossible to illuminate. Each square emits 1400 lumens of light with a lifespan of 25,000 hours. Built with Nanoleaf’s full suite of smart features, Skylight includes the Rhythm Music Visualizer, Schedules, Magic Scenes, RGBW color options, and much more."
A musical lightshow
Finally we have Nanoleaf's new Ochestrator software which is designed to take the beat of the music that it can hear and then control your Nanoleaf lights accordingly. "Unlike existing music visualizers today which merely pick up on any audio or sound within a space, Orchestrator connects directly with your computer’s sound source and isolates the response to your device for the most accurate real-time audio visual experience," Nanoleaf points out. The result should be something pretty special but we'll have to put the software through its paces to be sure.
Unfortunately, this being CES, we can't do that yet. The Nanoleaf Orchestrator software won't arrive until spring 2024.
