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.
Connect this $25 multicolor smart light to your iPhone and set the mood
If you’re looking for a stylish new LED table lamp that can set any mood, this one delivers — and it gives you notifications right from your iPhone. The Notti smart light hooks up to your smartphone through Bluetooth to give you a heads-up with a pop of color for calls, texts, Facebook updates and more.
For a limited time, you can get the Notti smart light on sale for just $24.99.
Don’t sleep on perfect ambient lighting [Setups]
As we’ve seen so often in our endless tour of computer setups on social media, ambient lighting matters. Sure, you want proper lighting so you can see what you’re doing, but extra-mile work like setting Philips Hue ambient lighting — as in today’s Mac Studio setup — can make a big difference cosmetically and in more practical ways.
Eve rolls out world’s first Matter-over-Thread smart outlet
Eve Systems introduced the first Matter-over-Thread smart electrical outlet along with a Matter-enabled smart light switch and window blinds on Monday, the company said.
Eve Energy Outlet, Eve Blinds Collection and Eve Light Switch all work with HomeKit. The outlet and blinds go on sale in early February 2024 and the light switch arrives a bit later.
Cheap LED strip lights give coder’s MacBook rig a moody vibe [Setups]
Deliberate lighting choices, especially those featuring vibrant colors, can do a lot for a computer setup. They can improve mood and vision, and they can even give humdrum gear in a boring room a dazzling look and feel.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup belongs to a coder in Panama who used some basic, cheap LED strip lights to transform his workstation into a light show — to the delight of viewers on social media.
Nanoleaf’s nifty portable smart lamp and new bulbs support Matter and HomeKit
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.
Pump up gaming and streaming with new Yeti mics and Litra lights
The new Logitech G Yeti GX microphone, Yeti Orb microphone and Litra Beam LX light came out Tuesday to pump up sound and immersive play for gamers and streamers, Logitech’s gaming division said Tuesday.
New ‘4D’ TV screen mirror kit jacks up entertainment
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.
Eve updates Flare portable lamp with Thread support
Eve Systems rolled out its second generation of the Eve Flare portable smart LED lamp Tuesday, adding Thread networking support.
It also released the Eve Shutter Switch, but only in parts of Europe.
Early deals running out on Lego-like Yeelight Cube smart lamp for HomeKit
Yeelight launched its highly customizable, Matter-compatible and almost Lego-like Cube ARGB Table Lamp at CES 2023. You can mix and match its Matrix, Panel and Spotlight elements to suit your computer setup in myriad ways.
And the company’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign with early-bird deals of up to 36% off the standard kit ends in three days.
Matter-enabled Nanoleaf smart lights come with one HomeKit catch
Nanoleaf opened up preorders for its newly Matter-enabled Essentials lineup of smart bulbs and light strips Wednesday.
Thanks to the Matter smart-home standard, they work with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms. But there is one catch regarding their use with HomeKit.
Hubitat hub update broadens smart-device compatibility with HomeKit
With a new software update to the Hubitat Elevation hub, users can bridge hundreds of Z-Wave and Zigbee devices not normally compatible with HomeKit into their Apple Home app, Hubitat said Wednesday.
The Hubitat Elevation software version 2.3.4 update brings HomeKit integration. It lets the hub serve as a bridge for “countless lights, switches, sensors and other devices that are not natively HomeKit compatible,” the company said.
New Philips Hue smart lights get festive for the holidays
With the Christmas holiday season fast approaching, Philips Hue, owned by Signify, broke out its new Festavia string lights. They work with HomeKit, the Home app, Siri voice commands and the Hue app.
They’re not cheap, however. A 65-foot cord with 250 LED lights goes for $160.
Will Roku’s new smart-home gadgets work with HomeKit and Matter?
Roku is best-known for its streaming media devices. But it’s branching out with a whole-home strategy that will see a range of smart-home gadgets, including security cameras, lights and plugs, go on sale next week at Walmart, the company said.
But a report indicates the company isn’t saying yet whether its new gadgets will work with the new Matter smart-home connectivity standard supported by Apple and other companies. It’s designed to let devices from different makers work together on systems like Apple’s HomeKit and others.
Roku’s lack of clarity is a bit odd, given that it’s among the companies supporting Matter, and that might give some would-be purchasers pause.
Go to the dark side with special-edition Nanoleaf Shapes smart lights
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.
Aqara jacks up HomeKit motion sensor’s sensitivity and battery life
Working to automate your smart home with better security? Aqara recently updated its Motion Sensor for HomeKit, renaming it the Motion Sensor P1 and adding sensitivity modes and longer battery life — up to five years.
Add new colorful skins to your Nanoleaf Lines lights
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.
Jazz up your decor with HomeKit-compatible Nanoleaf Lines smart lights
Nanoleaf rolled out the latest in its catalog of modular, HomeKit-compatible LED smart-light panels. Following a parade of shaped-product releases — triangles, squares, hexagons — you can now buy Nanoleaf Lines for $200 and use them to make all sorts of lighted shapes. And you can sync them to action on a screen or to music.
Instantly add smart lighting controls to your home at 33% off
People say smart homes are the future, and it becomes more and more true each year. In 2019, an estimated 27% of the U.S. population owned a smart home device, but that’s only the beginning for this growing trend. According to research, U.S. smart home sales are projected to reach “more than $47 billion by 2024, which would be approximately three times as much as the revenues in 2017.”
This stylish smart lamp connects to Amazon Alexa to control your home
If you’re limited on space, you know the special value of multitasking furniture and organizers. Whether it’s a standing desk you can easily convert, cord organizers to keep cable clutter at bay, or other helpful space-saving goods, it certainly helps to decorate your pad with stuff that performs more than one function.
This C by GE Sol WiFi Alexa Enabled Smart Light doesn’t just brighten your space with a modern glow. It also fully connects to Amazon Alexa to give you better control of your living space.
Philips’ new Hue lights are ready to take over your home
Philips wants to cover your home from the inside to the outside with its new lineup of smart lightbulbs that debuted today.
The new collection includes the smart vanity mirror that leaked last month and has a ton of new lights that are perfect for your bathroom, living room, bedroom, den or even the backyard.
4-in-1 HomeKit smart switch puts Alexa in your wall
iDevices’ new HomeKit-compatible smart switch will do much more than just control your lights. With sensors, a speaker and Amazon’s Alexa baked in, the Instinct packs four different functions into a standard light switch.
You can use Alexa voice commands to play music or control your lights. Or, if you’ve got your iPhone or Apple Watch at hand, you trigger HomeKit activities with Siri.
We talk iPhone’s 8 big price hike and our favorite HomeKit smart lights on The CultCast
This week, on The CultCast: rumors point to a big iPhone 8 price hike. What’s the max you would pay? Plus: Intel makes a huge move to push Thunderbolt into the mainstream; Ikea about to drop tons of great HomeKit gadgets on us; DJI’s Spark selfie drone is a compact powerhouse; we’ll tell you about our favorite smart lights; and we’ll tell you about the weird and whacky gadgets we’re reviewing in an all-new Under Review!
Our thanks to Blue Apron for supporting this episode. Blue Apron makes it easy to cook delicious meals at home. Get your first three meals free at BlueApron.com/CultCast.
Sengled lights are smarter than your average bulb
LAS VEGAS — It seems like everyone is selling some kind of smart light bulb these days, but Sengled is setting itself apart by incorporating wild add-ons like Bluetooth speakers and Wi-Fi repeaters.
That’s right, a light bulb with a speaker.
At a demo during CES Unveiled here, the company showed me its lineup of four smart bulbs, all of which have their own gimmick beyond the to-be-expected remote control functionality through an app.