TheNanoleaf Blocks—compatible with existing Nanoleaf Shapes products—don’t break any new ground when it comes to lighting effects. But they do add a selection of handy new panels to show off your gear—and some visual interest from textured panels.
Nanoleaf Blocks
The Nanoleaf Blocks take modular lighting to the next level by combining visual interest and new panel types with practical functionality. While installation requires more effort because of the load-bearing panels, the creative freedom offered is unmatched. However, with a premium price tag and limited accessory options, they may not suit every budget. For those willing to invest, the Blocks represent a bold step forward in modular lighting that no competitor can currently match.
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Price and Availability
The Combo XL Kit (as reviewed) retails at $250 and is available now, with expansion sets of two large panels for $60.
Specifications
What Are Nanoleaf Blocks?
When you think of “modular lighting," Nanoleaf is the first company that comes to mind. Your gaming area is probably full of exclusive knick-knacks and fancy gaming gear that you want to show off, but until now, that meant a trip to Ikea to find some shelves, then trying to fit your lights around it.
Nanoleaf Blocks adds some display options for your gear right into the lights, incorporating both a pegboard and small shelves.
The XL starter kit consists of:
I was also sent a pack of two textured squares for added variety. These are the same size as the squares but with a geometric multi-faceted relief pattern, adding even more depth.
Interestingly, the panels' frosted covers can be removed, revealing the intricate pattern of LED modules that make up each panel.
Installation: You Need to Drill
Unlike most Nanoleaf lighting, which can be affixed to your wall using double-sided sticky pads alone, the load-bearing shelves and pegboards will need screwing if you’re going to put anything of significant weight. When correctly installed, the shelf has a load limit of 1.5kg (3.3lbs), while the pegboard has a total limit of 3kg (6.6lbs). This might be a deal breaker for renters or those afraid of a power drill.
As well as a set of screw fixings and drywall anchors, you’ll find the standard double-sided sticky pads (small and large) and link pieces—these go in between the modules to carry power and signal.
Nanoleaf has upped the game with the technical design of the panels. Each affix to a backplate, which allows them a certain degree of wiggle room during installation. This also means that if you need to replace a panel, you can do so without ripping the super-adhesive sticky pads off the wall.
There’s no complexity to connecting them; ensure each module connects to another one already connected. This contrasts with some competitors' modular lighting panels, which must follow a single continuous circuit path and can often restrict your design choice. The Nanoleaf Blocks can branch out or become a dead-end; it doesn’t matter. The Nanoleaf app will intelligently map out your design automatically without using the camera. All the panels can be rotated, which wouldn’t normally make a difference aesthetically but means four different orientations of the textured panels are possible.
In addition, the larger blocks feature two possible linkage points on each side. This means you create a half—width offset design and enables the use of smaller blocks. Smaller panels must line up with the edges of the larger block they connect to and can’t themselves be offset (because they only feature a single connection point on each side).
The power connector and controller module are also separate pieces, meaning they can be plugged in anywhere on your design that’s convenient.
Everything feels well thought out, and there are very few limitations on how to build your design. The shelf, for instance, can be placed on the bottom, the top, or in between a number of panels. If it extends beyond the light panels, a cover is provided to hide the brackets.
That’s a lot of creative freedom.
Before actually installing your lights onto the wall, it’s a good idea to lay them out on a table. Once the shape is designed, iPhone users can (in theory) even try their design out in Augmented Reality, though I couldn’t get this to work on an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Unfortunately, the Nanoleaf layout assistant web app appears to have been abandoned, supporting only the basic Canvas, Light Panels, and Shapes. That means you can’t virtually test out a design before committing to purchase.
Nanoleaf Blocks vs Canvas
Compared to previous Nanoleaf square light panels, the Blocks add a few improvements, even beyond the more varied panel designs and the addition of functional components like shelving and pegboards.
Physically, the Block light panels are a lot deeper than previous shapes—just over an inch, compared to about a quarter of an inch before—which adds another dimension to the display, making them more of an artistic fixture than a simple light-up wall painting.
The LEDs provide a more even coverage across the blocks and to the edges, with up to 320 lumens output per Block (though this will be only in pure white mode, colors are always dimmer on smart lights).
On the other hand, the Nanoleaf Canvas introduced an innovative touch sensor for each panel, which the Blocks don’t have. I must admit, I never used it to control anything, and the handful of built-in “games” were gimmicks, so it’s not a massive loss.
Modular Upgrades
I was also sent a modular pack of two textured squares to add a little variety. All of the individual components of the Nanoleaf Blocks starter kitare available separately:
Up to 500 panels can be connected to a single controller, however, you also need to consider the power usage. Each power supply can handle 42W maximum, which equates to 17 of the larger panels or 60 of the smaller ones (or some combination thereof, 3W for each large panel and 0.8W for each smaller one). To exceed those limits, you’ll need inject more power from another power supply, which means purchasing another starter kit (and then you’ll have a spare controller).
Frustratingly, there are no options for additional pegboard accessories, and the pegboard design is custom, so Ikea Skådis accessories won’t work. You could 3D print some additional hooks, but right now, your only option for mounting your gear onto the pegboard is to use the two supplied hooks.
Music Reactive Light Show and Desktop Sync Features
The Nanoleaf Blocks enjoy the same extensive built-in and community scene access for dynamic and music-reactive light shows as the rest of the Nanoleaf line. Scenes can be downloaded to the controller for use without having to launch the app first, and use the on-device microphone. You can even group the lights and activate the same scene across multiple fixtures, though I had varying levels of success when I tried this with the original Panels, and Skylight, with some scenes behaving as if they are static on the Blocks, but music reactive on the others.
For even more impressive musical light shows, you have a few options.
Nanoleaf’s new Premium subscription service uses the audio directly from your PC rather than the on-device microphone for more reliable beat detection. It also unlocks the full set of Soundscapes, which are soothing ambient audio tracks with an accompanying programmed light show. Premium costs $2 per month, or $20 annually, with a one-month trial.
Another option isLight Link, a third-party solution that only works with specific songs but has handcrafted light show sequences rather than just beat detection. It has a demo mode with a sample of sequences, and requires an active Spotify Premium subscription. Although it’s pricer at $7/month, or $60 annually, it also works with a wide range of lighting products, not just Nanoleaf; and you may program your own sequences.
TheNanoleaf desktop app (for Mac or Windows)is a must-have if you want to sync on-screen content to your lights. You’ll find it under the Gaming tab, but it’s equally applicable to movie-watching and other desktop activities. Compatible with multiple devices, you may move the fixture around to show which part of your screen it should extend. Sadly, something about Fortnite caused it to crash every time; it’s not as robust as a hardware-based HDMI signal analyzer like theGovee AI Sync Box.
Compatible With All Smart Home Systems
The Nanoleaf Blocks are Matter-compatible, meaning they can seamlessly work with all the major smart home control systems. You’ll find the necessary pairing code on the back of the controller and the manual. If you use it with multiple smart home systems simultaneously, you’ll need to pair it using the provided code first, then generate a new pairing code for the second system using your smart home app.
The Nanoleaf Blocks use Matter over Wi-Fi, not Thread, and like most smart home kits, they insist that you have a separate 2.4GHz network—but they worked fine with my dual-band access point.
Although Matter makes it easy to control basic lighting features from any system, you’ll still want to keep the Nanoleaf app installed for access to any dynamic or music-reactive scene. Matter doesn’t currently support scenes and can only set a single color across the whole fixture. However, you can power it on and off remotely using Matter without affecting the currently loaded scene.
Should You Buy Nanoleaf Blocks?
The only problem with theNanoleaf Blockshas always been the premium pricing. At $250 for the starter kit, plus another $60 per two expansion blocks (or four small ones), the cost rises fast—and you’ll almost certainly want more.
When Nanoleaf first came out with themodular Light Panelsconcept, they had the market cornered with novelty. But years later, there are numerous clones and competitors out there vying for your wall space.
Still, the Blocks are an innovative twist, and no one else can match these (yet), in both function or form. The increased depth adds a brilliant element of dimensionality, the pegboard and shelving add function to show off your favorite gear, and it still maintains the modular ethos. The Nanoleaf Blocks offer the most dynamic and visually engaging modular panel lighting system so far—but at a price that might be too high for most people.
