Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: cheerful, cost-effective and Christmas ready
In T3’s Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review, I happily wrapped these festive smart lights around my Christmas tree to give them a thorough testing. Compared to my terrible and non-smart tree lights, the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights are a must-have purchase for this holiday season and the next… and the next!
If you use the best smart bulbs inside and outside your home, why wouldn’t you use them on your Christmas tree?! For better control, to save extra money on your bills and for more lighting colours and patterns, you need smart holiday lights for every festive occasion.
Enter the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights that launched earlier this year. By connecting to the Nanoleaf app, these lights unlock smart capabilities and let you customise your tree with a tap of a button. To find out more, here’s my full review of the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights.
Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: Unboxing and set-up
The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights came in a small and compact cardboard box, so it won’t take up any unnecessary room in your loft after you’ve packed away your Christmas decorations. Out of the box, the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights measured 20 metres and had 250 LED lights to wrap around the tree.
The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights had a divider in the middle of the cords to perfectly cover every area of the Christmas tree. Personally, I hate putting lights on the tree as I just want to get to the baubles, but I appreciated the large amount of lights that the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights came with. Putting the divide in the middle of the tree meant I could unfurl 125 lights up to the top of the tree and the other 125 lights down to the bottom without running out of bulbs.
Once the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights was wrapped around the tree and turned on by plugging it into the wall, I downloaded the Nanoleaf app and made a Nanoleaf account. To set up the app properly, you’ll need to scan the code that comes with the instructions manual in the box for your personal lights. From there, the app connected to the Wi-Fi and scanned to find your lights (they’ll need to be on to do this). After finding my lights, the app asked me to assign it to a room in my house and name them for better controls. The set-up process was quick, easy and relatively painless!
Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: design and features
At 20 metres and with 250 addressable LEDs, the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights offer customisable colours, scenes and lighting animations for the perfect Christmas look and decoration in your home. The lights can be controlled by simply switching them on by the wall, tapping a button on your phone or by voice command. They can also be synced to music so the lights change colours and ‘dance’ to the beat.
Designed for both indoor and outdoor use, the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights are incredibly easy to use and the app has a user-friendly interface, making it perfect for beginners and experts. They connect to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Matter, the Nanoleaf app and through an existing smart home ecosystem, so everyone can use them, regardless of how smart their home is.
Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: performance and app
In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong with Christmas lights as they make everything look pretty and festive! But I was very impressed with the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights. Not only are they powerful, customisable and attractive, but the lights and cable looks and feels incredibly high quality.
Even without using the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights to the app, the lights are easy to use and offer lots of pretty colours. But connecting to the Nanoleaf app is the real treat with these smart lights. The app is easy to set up and use, although I did notice that it did lag slightly when trying to switch between scenes. It’s only slight but I did have to close and reopen the app to get it to work properly, but that was the only ‘issue’ I had with the app.
The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights has access to 16+ million colours so you can completely customise how you want your tree or decor to look. The app also has access to other palettes that aren’t festive themed and you can create schedules and add additional products for easier control. When you click on the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights, the app has a simple and straightforward layout that breaks up into ‘Basic’, ‘Scenes’ and ‘Favourites’.
Basic has a rainbow palette where you can select different colours so your lights are one block colour, and Favourites is where you can save commonly used colours and brightness. The Scenes section is the best part of the app, and you can choose from a selection already made by Nanoleaf or make your own. I liked the Candy Cane scene which used red and white colours and moved up and down the tree, and I loved switching between different options depending on the mood.
Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: price
The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights cost £119.99 and are available to buy at Nanoleaf. This is slightly more expensive than traditional Christmas lights but the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights have more features and capabilities, and will last for a long time. Nanoleaf has also discounted the lights in the lead-up to Christmas so you can find them for under £100.
Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: verdict
The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights are an absolute joy to set up and use. They’re pretty, festive and incredibly fun to play with, and I expect to use them every Christmas from now on. The app offers a great user experience and while it lags ever so slightly, it unlocks lots of features and palettes to set the mood in your home.
Are they expensive for Christmas lights? Yes, but they don’t necessarily have to just be kept for the festive season. In all honesty, I’ll probably use them once a year which is a shame. But since they can be used indoors and outdoors, I might find a way to use them all year round because I’ve enjoyed using them so much.
Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights review: Alternatives to consider
A good alternative to the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights is the Philips Hue Festavia lights. From the popular smart light brand, Festavia from Philips Hue has 250 bulbs like the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights so they can fully cover your tree and other aspects of your home. They’re slightly more expensive and the brightness could be better but if you have a Philips Hue ecosystem, Festavia is worth adding to it.
For more alternatives, check out these 3 Christmas tree lights you need for the festive season.
