Nanoleaf Blocks LED wall panels get pegboard and shelf attachments

Nanoleaf is giving its popular smart lighting panels a major refresh. The Nanoleaf Blocks (starting at $199.99) feature edge-to-edge lighting that the company says eliminates hot spots and dark corners, bringing a smoother, more even look. The new Blocks can also be customized with pegboards, shelves, and textured light panels to bring more function to your wall art. They’re available for preorder now and ship in October.

The company announced the new panels during its Nanoleaf Live event on YouTube and will show them off at the IFA tech show in Berlin this week. Nanoleaf is also adding two new features to its desktop app that work with the Blocks, as well as its entire line of smart lights, to offer more immersive lighting experiences.

Nanoleaf Blocks are square LED light panels with a modular design that allow you to create personalized wall art and display some of your favorite collectibles on integrated shelves and pegboards. They come in two sizes, which can be combined with textured covers, backlit pegboards, and shelves to light up your space while also showing off your Funko Pops, plants, favorite keyboard, or whatever else you think deserves pride of place on your wall.

The lights themselves have been significantly upgraded, adding edge-to-edge illumination for the first time. In a preview ahead of the launch, Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu demoed the panels to The Verge. The lighting appeared smooth and clean with no dark spots, and each square gave off a diffuse light that extended beyond the panels, casting light onto the wall behind it, creating a soft glow effect.

The Blocks work over Wi-Fi and are compatible with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings. Matter support is planned, but Chu says the company is waiting for the smart home standard to support dynamic lighting scenes. The panels have a physical controller for manual control of power, brightness, and scene selection.

A Squares Smarter Kit with six squares costs $199.99, a Combo XL Smarter Kit with squares, small squares, light pegboards, and shelves costs $249.99, and add-on kits for additional shelves, pegboards, squares, and textured squares cost $29.99 each. You will need to drill into your wall if you want to use the pegboard or shelving.

Nanoleaf’s desktop app for managing the smart lights is getting two new features: Orchestrator and Scenescapes.

Orchestrator — which was announced at CES — is now available in beta. This deploys advanced music synchronization to not only pulse the lights in time with a beat but to also create color palettes and animated motions that match individual songs. Scenescapes combines lighting scenes with audio to create ambient background noise, such as ocean waves or a crackling fireplace.

The Blocks are available for preorder at shop.nanoleaf.me and are coming to Best Buy, Amazon, and The Home Depot in October.