Nanoleaf debuts outdoor lights at CES, but no “learning” lights

Nanoleaf has long trumpeted the idea of smart lights that actually live up to the name, and at last year’s CES, the manufacturer announced a new series of “learning” lights that pick up your habits over time. But while Nanoleaf has other smart lights to unwrap at CES 2024, the promised Sense+ Controls line isn’t among them. 

What Nanoleaf does have on hand for this year’s CES is a trio of new Matter-enabled Essentials lights, including the company’s first outdoor lights, while the ceiling-mountable Skylight panels that missed a Q3 2023 launch window will finally ship later this month. 

Nanoleaf is also touting a new feature for its Nanoleaf Desktop app that precisely syncs your Nanoleaf lights with music or other audio from your PC or Mac. 

But those new products are overshadowed by the absence of the Nanoleaf Sense+ Controls line and the intelligent “Nala” learning bridge, which Nanoleaf promoted at last year’s CES as the “world’s first ever hands-free smart lighting experience” for homes. 

Originally due to arrive in the fall of 2023, the Sense+ Controls line consists of three products, including two smart light switches and the wireless Nala learning bridge, which is designed to monitor your habits and create “personalized” and “predictive” automations for a “truly intelligent and hands-free experience.” The Nala learning bridge sits in a night light, which also acts as a Thread border router for Matter. 

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf has been talking about such “learning” lights for years, starting with a never-released “Learning Series” of intelligent lights, buttons, and switches that would have acted as a “sensory network” for detecting motion and ambient light.  

Nanoleaf first announced the Learning Series back at CES 2020 for a 2021 ship date. That never happened, with the Learning Series presumably having morphed into the Sense+ Controls line. 

The whole “learning” lights concept is an intriguing one, and very much in line with Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu’s stated desire to “get smart lighting to be actually smart” rather than just “a glorified remote control.”  

That’s a laudable goal, but will these mold-breaking learning lights ever ship? We’re starting to wonder, especially given that the Sense+ Controls line didn’t even rate a mention in Nanoleaf’s CES 2024 pre-brief materials. 

Asked about the fate of Sense+ Controls, a Nanoleaf rep replied that the series is “planned for release this year,” adding that the company has been “working hard behind the scenes to create the best possible experience with this new product line.” Well, let’s hope so. 

Meanwhile, the ceiling-mountable Skylight line of light panels that were first announced at CES 2023 will now ship in late January (missing the original Q3 2023 launch window), Nanoleaf announced, but its promised Sense+ light-sensing capabilities will remain dormant until the full series of Sense+ Controls products arrives. 

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf

The square-shaped, flush-mounted Skylight panels ($249.99 for a three-piece “Smarter” kit, or $69.99 for a one-piece expansion kit) will be able to glow in up to 16 million colors, same as Nanoleaf’s other smart lights, and you’ll be able to incorporate Skylight installations in lighting scenes and routines. The first Skylight panel you mount must be hardwired to power, but you’ll then be able to connect up to 100 more panels to the first one without additional wiring. 

I’m told that Skylight won’t work with Matter, or at least not initially. (A Matter update for Skylight “may” arrive eventually, Nanoleaf says.) 

Also coming soon are three Matter-enabled products from Nanoleaf’s Essentials line: a five-meter indoor Smart Multicolor Lightstrip, Multicolor Outdoor String Lights (15 meters), and Multicolor Permanent Outdoor Lights, the latter being a series of puck-style lights attached to a 30-meter strip. 

Nanoleaf revealed few details about the new Essentials lights, which (aside from the indoor-only Smart Multicolor Lightstrip) are the first Nanoleaf products designed for outdoor use. 

We do know that the Outdoor String Lights and Permanent Outdoor Lights have (respectively) IP65 and IP67 ratings, indicating that they’re dust-tight and should withstand jets of water (or “powerful” jets, in the case of the Permanent Outdoor Lights) from any direction.  

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf

The new Essentials lights are due to ship this spring, with pricing to be announced closer to the ship date. 

Finally, Nanoleaf has announced the music-syncing Orchestrator, which will arrive this spring in an update to the Nanoleaf Desktop software. 

Unlike Nanoleaf’s Rhythm mode, which uses a built-in microphone to sync the beat of nearby music sources with your Nanoleaf lights, Orchestrator works directly with the audio card on your PC or Mac, employing its “Smarter” technology to deliver “the most accurate real-time audio-visual experience,” Nanoleaf says. 

We’ll have reviews of Nanoleaf’s new Essentials light and Orchestrator once we get some hands-on time—and in the meantime, we’ll be keeping an eye out for those long-awaired Sense+ Controls products.