What is it?
A smart and budget light strip to brighten up a gloomy day.
Good points?
LED light strips have recently become the must-have home style accessory, but cheap variants require wired controllers. Nanoleaf has created its light strip with Bluetooth and Thread wireless support which makes setting home scenes easy and without having to reach for the remote.
At £17.99, the product is an affordable way to showcase and focus attention on a shelf or other feature of your home. The strips can also be used simply to light up a dark area that doesn't warrant a full light beam from a traditional bulb.
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The Nanoleaf smartphone app allows you to control the light strip colours or set particular combinations to switch them on and off. The starter pack also includes a wired controller should you not have access to your app.
Set up is similarly easy to every other LED strip you might have seen. Simply measure the needed length, cut to fit, stick it to your desired surface and plug-in the AC adapter.
There are also some handy cut lines displayed on the strip, so you don't inadvertently slice at the wrong point and damage an LED.
You can cycle between a large selection of colours to find the right one for a scenario or mood.
Bad points?
There is no Amazon Alexa support, which is surprising given the size of the Amazon range and its popularity.
Best for ...
Those looking to follow every modern lifestyle trend going or who fancy a career in YouTube or Twitch.
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Avoid if ...
You think coloured lighting effects should be left exclusively for Christmas or sci-fi spaceships.
Score: 8/10.
Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip, £17.99 (uk-shop.nanoleaf.me)
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