So Christmas has just passed but did you know now is the best time of year to get a bargain for decorations and get them stored for next year. 

In this review, we are covering the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights which are a fantastic upgrade to your standard Christmas lights. They are perfect for adding that extra sparkle to your tree or wrapping them around the stairs as we have. 

The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday string lights currently cost £99 but expect them to drop in price a little in the January sales. They are the latest smart light product from this well-known brand so let’s take a look at the design and more importantly how they perform. 

Design

The Nanoleaf smart string lights just like the Twinkly Strings we reviewed last year come on a continuous run on one string. What Nanoleaf has provided is two strings of 125 LED’s both measuring 10m each. 

The benefit of doing this is if you have two areas that you want to cover the split makes it easier to achieve so wrapping up the staircase was helpful. However, if this was a Christmas tree you chose to decorate having two sets can be a little more tricky to achieve. 

Unlike the Twinkly Strings we have reviewed this option from Nanoleaf is only available in one length. However, a feature I was pleased with is the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String Lights are suitable for both inside and outside use. So after Christmas, you could always move them to the garden and set them up as some nice mood lighting as we plan to do after Christmas. 

Setup 

Setting up any set of Christmas lights is not very tricky at all simply wrap the lights around your tree or stick the lights using little suckers to the window. 

You are given an in-line control that provides you with some basic options such as the power button but also allows you to switch through a series of pre-set scenes. We found having this controller very useful as any member of the family could pick a pre-set scene. 

In addition to the little controller, you can link these lights up to the Nanoleaf app which has both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Once connected to the app you can link these to your smart assistant like the Amazon Echo Show 8 we have also reviewed.

 

This allowed me to switch on both my Twinkly Strings lights and the Nanoleaf lights in one voice command.  You can also connect them to your Apple Home set-up, the functions are limited all you can do is change colour, adjust the temperature of the lights and switch them on/off. 

 

The Nanoleaf app does all of the above but also gives you dynamic scenes. There is also a scene creator in the app. You have several templates and can create your light displays and patterns. There are also rhythm scenes that allow the lights to change colour to the beat of the music you are playing. 

The app does a good job but compared to the Twinkly app, Twinkly gives you that mapping aspect so you can create a scene based on how the lights are laid out. You are also given much more customisation options.   

Performance

When you compare the Nanoleaf Matter Smart Holiday String lights I felt they were just as bright as the Twinkly option. I also found having the option to dim the lights when you want to a very useful feature especially when you are watching The Christmas Carol and do not want the lights to distract you. I also found the colour range matched that of the Twinkly option they can produce the colour spectrum properly.

Verdict

If you are looking to upgrade your Christmas Tree lights there are quite a few options out on the market from the Philips Hue Festavia and Twinkly Strings which are more expensive and have slightly different features. 

However, if you are looking for a set of bright lights with a wide range of dynamic scenes and offer excellent value for money then the Nanoleaf option we have reviewed is your best option to buy.  

Product Rating    

Overall ranking: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars – 4.0 stars  

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