Nanoleaf is healthier identified for its stunning lights panels, however the model has gone again to fundamentals to present us a smart mild bulb for the primary time. The Nanoleaf Essentials A19 smart bulb, nevertheless, isn’t your typical smart bulb. Not solely does it step away from the standard clean dome diffuser, it additionally helps an unbelievable 16 million colours, with a white shade temperature vary of two,700-6,500 Kelvin. It surpasses a few of its rivals by with the ability to hit 1,100 lumens, making it one of many brightest obtainable at this time.
Its seems to be and brightness aren’t the one options that make the Nanoleaf Essentials A19 smart mild bulb stand aside from the gang. This smart bulb is the primary of its type to come back with each Thread and Bluetooth connectivity. That means the Essentials mild bulb can be utilized alongside another Thread-enabled smart machine with no hub and, in case you aren't utilizing a type of, the bulbs will work through Bluetooth, giving them a wider and extra future-proof enchantment.
Price and availability
- Cheaper than Philips Hue
- Announced November 2020
- Available to purchase from Apple and instantly from Nanoleaf
Nanoleaf introduced its Essentials vary in 2020, going up for pre-order on the corporate’s on-line storefront in November and obtainable to buy instantly from Apple. As of March 2021, the Essentials vary – which at present contains the sunshine bulb and a lightstrip – is available for purchase instantly from Nanoleaf and a number of other different main retailers all over the world, Apple included.
The Essential mild bulb prices simply $19.99 / £17.99 / AU$39.99 every – about the identical as the fundamental Philips Hue White bulb.The Nanoleaf bulb’s direct competitors is the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance that prices much more at $50 / £50 / AU$100 per mild globe.
Design
- Unique rhombicosidodecahedron {shape}
- Looks nice even when swap off
- Available in E27 and B22 fittings
The Nanoleaf Essentials smart mild bulb seems to be extra like a golf ball than a light-weight fixture – very a lot in step with Nanoleaf’s design ethic. Its geometric dome is a rhombicosidodecahedron, a {shape} made up of a mix of triangular and pentagonal faces with a number of edges.
This fascinating {shape} additionally makes it look fairly good when not in use, and excellent for these industrial-looking lamps that hold the bulbs uncovered.
Other than that, the Essentials smart bulb seems to be like another commonplace bulb, measuring 6cm x 11cm (2.4in x 4.4in). Like its Philips Hue counterparts, it’s obtainable in each Bayonet and Edison screw caps that match most traditional fixtures.
Setup and app
- Easy setup
- Works with HomeEquipment and Google Assistant
- Not the most effective app design
The Essentials mild bulb is remarkably easy to arrange. Just get it out of its field, screw it right into a lamp, scan the QR code on the machine or from the cardboard within the field and also you’re accomplished. The bulb mechanically decides what the most effective connection technique is with out you having to consider it an excessive amount of.
If it acknowledges an Apple HomePod mini, it shortly latches on and also you’re arrange instantly, with no further steps to undergo. However, you don’t want a HomePod mini to make use of the Essentials bulb. HomeEquipment will add the bulb to your assortment of smart gadgets in case you’re an iPhone person, whereas the Google Home app takes care of it for Android customers, and each work through Bluetooth.
If you’ve already arrange a Nanoleaf Essentials accent after which get a HomePod mini, it mechanically shifts its communication to the Apple smart speaker (or another Thread-enabled machine) with out you needing to reconnect. At current, the HomePod mini and the newest Apple TV 4K are the one Thread machine commercially available for purchase – different smart audio system have Thread radios put in, just like the Google Nest Hub Max or Amazon’s Eero, however they haven’t been ‘switched on’.
When linked through Thread, the Nanoleaf bulb works actual fast, responding to instructions immediately. On a Bluetooth connection, nevertheless, there may be some lag which, throughout our testing, wasn’t too vital – it took not more than a few seconds to select up a command, offered you’re in the identical room or inside vary.
Both Siri and Google Assistant can be utilized to regulate the Nanoleaf Essentials through voice instructions however, on the time of writing, there was no Alexa help which may be a deal breaker for some.
The Nanoleaf app, whereas nice for the sunshine panels, isn't as user-friendly for the Essentials vary. At launch, you could not even download the a number of user-defined Scenes obtainable within the Nanoleaf library. That, nevertheless, isn't potential and it is a number of enjoyable to look at the lights previewed on the bulb earlier than downloading a specific Scene.
If you are feeling adventurous and inventive, you possibly can create your individual Scenes, though enhancing after you’ve saved a Scene can take a couple of annoying tries. A shade palette within the app makes it straightforward to decide on your most popular shade or to set white mild at totally different hues. You may even set a particular RGB worth if you understand exactly what you need – a characteristic that isn’t frequent for smart lights.
The app can even allow you to modify brightness, change Scenes and set a circadian rhythm for the lights. The final characteristic mechanically adjusts the sunshine’s shade temperature by means of the day to calm or energize the thoughts by switching to heat tones for the morning and night, and cooler white for the afternoon.
However, annoyingly, you possibly can set schedules for any of the Essentials merchandise within the Nanoleaf app. You'll have to make use of Apple HomeEquipment or Google Home to do this, as lengthy you will have a smart dwelling hub arrange on a tool. There is a devoted part for scheduling within the app, so we’re hoping this performance will probably be added as a part of a future replace.
Another annoyance concerning the app is its full sync with HomeEquipment. This pushes each single default Scene within the Nanoleaf app to the Home app each time you open it, even in case you’ve beforehand eliminated it from HomeEquipment.
Features and performance
- Supports 16 million colours
- Screen mirroring
- Quite vivid for a smart bulb
The Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb is rated for a most of 1,100 lumens, making it one of many brightest smart lights available on the market, with a median brightness of over 800 lumens. We’ve examined a couple of smart bulbs prior to now and in comparison with them, together with some older Philips Hue lights, it’s lots brighter. The solely different bulb that trumps Essentials bulb in brightness is the latest white-only Philips Hue mild that’s rated for 1,600 lumens.
However, brightness dips considerably once you change the sunshine from white to paint, however this isn't distinctive to Nanoleaf – each shade smart bulb we’ve examined behaves the identical means.
While you need to use Nanoleaf’s personal Circadian Lighting characteristic within the app, the Essentials bulb at present doesn't help the HomeEquipment Adaptive Lighting choice – this modifications shade temperature of white mild mechanically all through the day to match daylight in your location. However, Nanoleaf’s Circadian Lighting characteristic will get deactivated each time you utilize HomeEquipment to regulate the accent and you'll need to change it on once more within the Nanoleaf app.
The Essentials bulb additionally has the most effective dimming capability of any smart bulb we’ve examined. While most others dim down solely to a sure level, the Nanoleaf goes all the way in which right down to zero.
At launch, Nanoleaf mentioned the bulb would have the power to reflect colours of Mac and Windows shows, however the characteristic was rolled out solely months after the machine has been available on the market. It's right here, nevertheless, and you'll need to download the Nanoleaf desktop app to make it work, and hold it working so long as you need the bulb to reflect your monitor. So the one option to make the bulb mirror your TV is to solid a streaming service onto your telly. There are totally different mirroring 'moods' to select from as properly, which is slightly good.
Verdict
It’s straightforward to suggest a smart lighting system that received’t burn a gap in your pocket, or eat by means of your vitality invoice, particularly once they look pretty much as good because the Nanoleaf Essentials smart bulb and work as properly. Admittedly Nanoleaf has some work to do on its app to make it a bit of extra intuitive, however you possibly can ignore the app for essentially the most half and use Apple's HomeEquipment or Google Home as a substitute.
Moreover, with Thread help in-built, this can be a future-proof smart bulb that may simply be used with another Thread-enabled machine with out the necessity for a hub, thus streamlining your smart dwelling setup. Bluetooth connectivity won't be as fast as Thread, however that’s not the fault of the bulb however of the wi-fi protocol itself.
It’s additionally feature-packed, with circadian rhythm obtainable on the app, and loads of customized Scenes you could arrange your self in case you don’t like all of the default ones. There's even display mirroring on board.
While it wants Thread connectivity to unlock its full potential, it is nonetheless price it on a Bluetooth connection as properly.
Should I purchase the Nanoleaf Essentials A19 smart bulb?
If you’re after an inexpensive HomeEquipment-enabled smart lighting system, then sure. And much more resounding sure in case you already personal an Apple HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K (the 2021 version particularly), or plan to get both one. Its white mild is brighter than most different smart bulbs available on the market and its colours are stunning and vivid, just like the Nanoleaf Shapes mild panels. It already has some nice options, with extra to come back, making them properly price it.
However, there’s no Alexa help obtainable on the time of writing, though Nanoleaf has promised to roll that out quickly. So in case you use an Alexa speaker to regulate your smart dwelling, you could have to look elsewhere.
[First reviewed March 2021]
Source {link}