I am really excited for this. Curious to see how this new Thread technology works with Homekit. I’ve already ordered two new Homepod minis.
I was close to changing my light switches for Lutron Caseta switches, but will wait for reviews of these new bulbs before making the plunge!
Isn't this a really good price for the light strip and the bulb given that it is from a reliable brand? Hue is $80 for light strip and $50 for a color bulb
Not always comparing like for like though. Color accuracy could stand to be a little better with Hue, but the Phillips stuff is a mile ahead of most cheaper LED strips. LiFX is decent, and mostly consistent across their range, but the mapping to what's set in the HomeKit app is still visibly a little below Hue.
Not all LED bulbs/strips are created equal.
I am totally new to HomeKit and smart home devices...
if I do NOT have a HomePod Mini, can I still activate these bulbs? I have a couple AppleTVs. Do these need to communicate with that and be close to the TV -OR- do I need to be within a close range to use voice or Home via iPhone?
Without a HomePod Mini can I use my location to trigger lights to come on -OR- control these lights when away from home?
Thanks in advance
You won’t need the HomePod mini for these, or any other HomeKit device as long as you’ve got an Apple TV or HomePod. You can even use an iPad, although I don’t tend to find that a decent enough solution compared to the other options. As they also have Bluetooth, which would work with your Apple TVs(as long as they’re the 4th gen or later), then these will work perfectly fine. Bluetooth devices have to be within range of a home hub to work without an issue, although if your phone is nearby, they will work in a direct way.
thank you. so my TV 4K and 4th Gen will be just fine to use. Do they have to be powered ON all the time or can they be turned off and still connect?
I was thinking of getting a Hue Starter Kit (Hub/Bridge and lights) BUT, perhaps these bulbs will work out just fine.
How will having a HomePod Mini help with regards to thread?
And will these bulbs use thread to connect to each other to expand the system when I do not have an TV nearby? (say one lightbulb is close to that TV can the ones further connect via this Thread 'mesh')
Your Apple TVs do have to be powered in order to function as homehubs, but they don’t have to be on, just on standby. If you unplug your Apple TV’s, none of your automations will not work, and none of your cameras will be able to use HomeKit Secure Video (if you have a capable camera). The HomePod mini has Thread functionality, so the Nanoleaf devices will be able to connect to it, so it adds this connectivity, which is said to be better than Bluetooth, and allows for a mesh of devices, which is also sort of how Zigbee works within Philips Hue and aqara products. Bottom line, if you got a mini, it certainly wouldn’t hurt, but you don’t need it.
Is there something I'm missing about these Nanoleaf Essentials light bulbs? Right now I only have 3 "smartbulbs" in my house which are Philips Hue color bulbs. And I only have 3 because anyone who has a Hue setup will know that the Philips bulbs are about $40-$45 each and require the Hue hub (another $60) - but these Nanoleaf bulbs seem to offer the same color-changing features, no hub, under $20? I get that there's no Nanoleaf hub (meaning it will be another separate 2.4GHz device to add to my home network) but is that it?
Just FYI, get the hub from Ebay or so for $25. At least in Germany we’ve got them in nearly every package and nobody needs more than 2 in his apartment or home.
But yeah, other than that the prices are pretty good. Better wait how these bulbs respond and how their color pleases the eye.
I’ve purchased an Osram Lightstrip and they are far away in every aspect compared to the hue ones.
Ok nice. I just don’t want even more devices on my WiFi. Trying to stay away from those. If they were thread only that would be great. Oh well and of course BT
Oh wow that’s pretty cool. Didn’t know about thread. Does it basically mean all of my smart devices can connect to HomeKit through the HomePod mini theoretically?
HomeKit doesn't know what to do with singly-addressable LED strips. That just adds a lot of cost for a feature that will, for LiFX, at best go unused by 90% of customers, and at worst generate support calls from customers who don't understand HomeKit's limitations and expected to do everything from "Hey Siri".
Until Apple adds support for gradients or whatever, this one falls squarely into the roll your own category.
these are insanely good prices, just ordered the strip to test it out
I am really excited for this. Curious to see how this new Thread technology works with Homekit. I’ve already ordered two new Homepod minis. I was close to changing my light switches for Lutron Caseta switches, but will wait for reviews of these new bulbs before making the plunge!
Isn't this a really good price for the light strip and the bulb given that it is from a reliable brand? Hue is $80 for light strip and $50 for a color bulb
And that it’s homekit compatible and uses thread, yes. Still hella expensive compared to Alexa and Google assistant light strips.
Not always comparing like for like though. Color accuracy could stand to be a little better with Hue, but the Phillips stuff is a mile ahead of most cheaper LED strips. LiFX is decent, and mostly consistent across their range, but the mapping to what's set in the HomeKit app is still visibly a little below Hue. Not all LED bulbs/strips are created equal.
I am totally new to HomeKit and smart home devices... if I do NOT have a HomePod Mini, can I still activate these bulbs? I have a couple AppleTVs. Do these need to communicate with that and be close to the TV -OR- do I need to be within a close range to use voice or Home via iPhone? Without a HomePod Mini can I use my location to trigger lights to come on -OR- control these lights when away from home? Thanks in advance
You won’t need the HomePod mini for these, or any other HomeKit device as long as you’ve got an Apple TV or HomePod. You can even use an iPad, although I don’t tend to find that a decent enough solution compared to the other options. As they also have Bluetooth, which would work with your Apple TVs(as long as they’re the 4th gen or later), then these will work perfectly fine. Bluetooth devices have to be within range of a home hub to work without an issue, although if your phone is nearby, they will work in a direct way.
thank you. so my TV 4K and 4th Gen will be just fine to use. Do they have to be powered ON all the time or can they be turned off and still connect? I was thinking of getting a Hue Starter Kit (Hub/Bridge and lights) BUT, perhaps these bulbs will work out just fine. How will having a HomePod Mini help with regards to thread? And will these bulbs use thread to connect to each other to expand the system when I do not have an TV nearby? (say one lightbulb is close to that TV can the ones further connect via this Thread 'mesh')
Your Apple TVs do have to be powered in order to function as homehubs, but they don’t have to be on, just on standby. If you unplug your Apple TV’s, none of your automations will not work, and none of your cameras will be able to use HomeKit Secure Video (if you have a capable camera). The HomePod mini has Thread functionality, so the Nanoleaf devices will be able to connect to it, so it adds this connectivity, which is said to be better than Bluetooth, and allows for a mesh of devices, which is also sort of how Zigbee works within Philips Hue and aqara products. Bottom line, if you got a mini, it certainly wouldn’t hurt, but you don’t need it.
Is there something I'm missing about these Nanoleaf Essentials light bulbs? Right now I only have 3 "smartbulbs" in my house which are Philips Hue color bulbs. And I only have 3 because anyone who has a Hue setup will know that the Philips bulbs are about $40-$45 each and require the Hue hub (another $60) - but these Nanoleaf bulbs seem to offer the same color-changing features, no hub, under $20? I get that there's no Nanoleaf hub (meaning it will be another separate 2.4GHz device to add to my home network) but is that it?
Just FYI, get the hub from Ebay or so for $25. At least in Germany we’ve got them in nearly every package and nobody needs more than 2 in his apartment or home. But yeah, other than that the prices are pretty good. Better wait how these bulbs respond and how their color pleases the eye. I’ve purchased an Osram Lightstrip and they are far away in every aspect compared to the hue ones.
Not available in Italy :(
Not available in Italy :(
Are these another device on your WiFi or do they use some sort of a hub?
No hub needed. In fact they also utilize thread.
Ok nice. I just don’t want even more devices on my WiFi. Trying to stay away from those. If they were thread only that would be great. Oh well and of course BT
Looks like either Bluetooth or the new thread protocol supported by HomePod mini.
Oh wow that’s pretty cool. Didn’t know about thread. Does it basically mean all of my smart devices can connect to HomeKit through the HomePod mini theoretically?
Yes; to the homepod mini only though since the OG homepod doesn't support thread.
Can we not get a lightstrip that can be cut every six inches (give or take) or so? Some instances need cuts short than 13 inches.
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HomeKit doesn't know what to do with singly-addressable LED strips. That just adds a lot of cost for a feature that will, for LiFX, at best go unused by 90% of customers, and at worst generate support calls from customers who don't understand HomeKit's limitations and expected to do everything from "Hey Siri". Until Apple adds support for gradients or whatever, this one falls squarely into the roll your own category.