Nanoleaf

Today’s featured computer setup pretty much has it all in terms of enviable gear, though it could use better lighting. Its M1 Max Mac Studio may not be the latest Apple M-series desktop, but it’s still formidable. And it drives a Pro Display XDR, perhaps the ultimate external monitor. And the setup even excels at the little things, including great audio gear and a pair of illuminated pegboard stands I’ve never seen before.

Nanoleaf unveiled its latest innovation Tuesday that should catch the attention of Mac users looking to enhance their desktop aesthetics. The new Nanoleaf PC Screen Mirror Lightstrip, available for pre-order at $49.99, offers a simplified approach to ambient lighting. You plug it right into your computer and stick it to the back of your display.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: First, Erfon recounts his recent, extremely lengthy trip to the Apple Store to check out the latest MacBook Pros. He put the nano-texture screen to the test — and came back with a surprising verdict. Then, we discuss some of the coolest — and some of the weirdest — new gear shown off at CES this week.

Also on The CultCast:

• The iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 won’t arrive as soon as some Apple rumormongers suspected.
• Dell “borrows” Apple’s iPhone naming convention to simplify to its product lineup … and then blows it!
• Griffin wraps up with a pro tip that you almost need to see to believe.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Known for its modular light panels, Nanoleaf pushed boundaries Tuesday at CES 2025 with a new and slightly disturbing LED Light Therapy Face Mask as well as its first smart floor lamp. Those are in addition to other lighting products, like light strips, plus a new software subscription service. If you’re looking to enhance your setup with immersive lighting effects that mirror screen content, check out Nanoleaf’s PC Screen Mirror Lightstrip.

Apple plans to expand its Adaptive Lighting feature to Matter-compatible smart lights with the release of iOS 18, which will significantly increase the number of smart lights that can use the popular feature in the Apple Home ecosystem. And among the first to work on it is Nanoleaf, according to a new report.

Monitor stands, aka monitor risers or desk shelves, are often unsung heroes of computer setups. Even just a single shelf can add so much in terms of organization and ergonomics. In today’s colorful and artistic Mac mini workstation, the Fenge monitor riser is crucial. Without it, the desktop would devolve into chaos. 

Sometimes what stands out in a computer setup isn’t a major piece, like a computer or display, but a cool accessory. Today’s colorful M1 Mac mini workstation with dual displays and loads of artwork features a cool accessory one could easily miss — a Lab22 Infinity Adjust iPad stand.

Already known for all sorts of innovative smart lighting, Nanoleaf unveiled its first outdoor string lights at CES 2024 in January. But now you can finally buy them to dress up your yard or patio in time for spring. Nanoleaf Matter Smart Multicolor Outdoor String Lights come in three lengths.

Nanoleaf added a handy new portable smart lamp with brand partner Umbra and two new smart bulbs to its Essentials line, the company said Thursday.

All of the products will work through the Matter smart-home standard with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms.

New Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Smart Holiday String Lights — with support for the new Matter standard and all smart-home plaforms, including HomeKit — are coming in time for winter holidays, the company said Thursday.

Or maybe even in time for Halloween, for that matter. At any rate, it’s almost time to get festive.

Nanoleaf says its new 4D Screen Mirror Camera and Lightstrip Kit will “take your entertainment experience beyond the screen.” And now you can finally preorder the hardware, which the company unveiled at CES in January.

Once it ships, you get a big light strip to set up behind your TV. The camera lights it up with colors reflecting what’s on the screen. And you can mix in other Nanoleaf smart lights, too.

A humble light strip can have a huge impact on a computer setup and even the room it’s in, providing functional lighting as well as setting a mood with white or colored lights at different temperatures (cool, warm, etc.). Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup uses nothing but a Nanoleaf Essentials light strip behind the desk and a Xiaomi monitor lamp to light its way. And they do so to great effect.

Read more about the lighting below, plus the setup’s use of a Sonos Bluetooth speaker for audio and an iPhone with Continuity Camera for effective videoconferencing.

Celebrating its “10-year Nanoversary,” Nanoleaf put out a special edition of its Shapes smart-lighting panels. It’s a new all -black color option: Ultra Black Shapes Triangles.

Like the other colors, the new set works with HomeKit as part of your smart-home lighting.

We don’t run across huge numbers of computer setups online driven by M1 MacBook Air laptops. When a laptop is the main computer, it’s more often a MacBook Pro.

But a MacBook Air powered by an M1 chip is a formidable machine, whether you’re tossing it in your knapsack for work on the go or leaving it on a stand on your desk, jacked into a USB-C hub and external display.

An M1 MacBook Air drives today’s featured setup — located in Germany — which also features some interesting bits and pieces we haven’t seen elsewhere. Those are a nifty Marshall wireless speaker and a foot hammock.

Nanoleaf rolled out its new Lines Skins Tuesday. They attach to the Nanoleaf Lines lights to change the color of their white plastic bars. That can help them blend in nicely with a room’s design and decor.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Even more details surface about Apple’s hardware plans for 2022. If last year was “modest” (LOL), this year looks jam-packed with major updates. We’re talking redesigned AirPods Pro, a new Apple monitor, even-more-impressive MacBook Airs and … an iPhone? You gotta be kidding us.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple hits $3 trillion market cap, albeit briefly.
• A giveaway that features a great-looking charger from Journey.
• The most interesting products out of this year’s big CES trade show in Las Vegas.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

There is a lot to get HomeKit fans excited at this year’s CES tech showcase in Las Vegas. Quite a few companies announced products that will support Apple’s home-automation system, including lights, door cameras and more.

Glitzy projects like concept cars get more attention, but HomeKit accessories are more likely to make people’s lives better.

At CES 2022, Nanoleaf said an upcoming firmware update will make its lighting products the first third-party border routers for HomeKit-over-Thread devices available now and coming out in the future.

The firmware update, due to roll out in the first quarter of 2022, will broaden Nanoleaf products’ support for Thread, improving devices’ connectivity and reliability over home networks.

If one thing catches your eye first about Redditor arnaki_gkioulmpasi’s setup, it’s probably the interesting light show on the wall behind it. That array is made up of Nanoleaf Shapes that can be arranged any which way.

Those cool-looking lights, along with a Yeelight Screen Light Bar Pro atop the Dell 32-inch curved 4K monitor and a standing lamp next to the desk, keep eyestrain to a minimum.

A set of origami-style lights illuminate the cozy setup of Instagram user @mrisad, an integration delivery manager. The Nanoleaf lights floating above his dual monitors evoke the control panels from some ’70s sci-fi show. And they’re integrated with HomeKit, Apple’s home-automation platform.

The heart of his rig is a beautiful pair of screens. The large main screen is a $1,000 curved, 38-inch screen from LG. The second screen is a 28-inch Asus gaming monitor. He hooked them both up to a Mac mini, and elegantly suspended them in midair by an inexpensive ($40) but fully articulated desktop stand.

To round out his setup, @mrisad has a Magic Keyboard and Trackpad from Apple, and a trio of chargers for his iPhone, iPad and AirPods. As for audio, he has a HomePod and a pair of Sennheiser noise-canceling headphones.