Speaking of RGB lighting, the brighter the better, right? maybe not. When Nanoleaf first announced the limited edition shape ultra black triangle Last summer, to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary, they sold out quickly.By customer demand, Nanoleaf is back with another run of Black Panels. They also sent me a set of white triangles for comparison.
Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Triangles – Overview and Installation
The Ultra Black Smarter Kit (Nanoleaf likes puns) comes with 9 triangular panels (2 more than the white kit), a controller, and a power cord. The box also includes all necessary mounting hardware (9 rigid links and mounting tape). The Ultra Black Smarter Kit’s $219.99 price tag is $20 more than the white triangle or hexagon kit, but the two extra panels make the price slightly more attractive than the other kits. For larger designs, you can purchase additional Ultra Black Triangles individually for $24.99 or in discounted 3- and 25-packs for $69.99 and $529.99 respectively. All expansion packs include the same amount of mounting hardware as the panel. The included controller can be used with up to 500 individual panels and is compatible with all Nanoleaf Shapes products (white triangles, mini triangles, and hexagons). The Smarter Kit’s 45W cord can power up to 28 panels, so larger designs will require additional cords (a 75W cord costs $39.99).
The solid black triangle spans 9 inches on each side. The panel is only 6mm thick and has a depth of 1cm when installed. Each triangle has six connection points, two on each side. To mount a panel, snap a linker to each point that connects to another panel, apply mounting tape to the mount in the middle of the panel, and stick it to the wall. Each mounting plate can be nailed to the wall if the surface is too rough to attach the tape.
The panel itself is made of plastic. Although it is thin at 141g per piece, it has considerable rigidity and durability. After mounting and removing the panels a number of times, I finally stuck all the panels in place with mounting tape. It can be removed without damaging the wall (I’ve seen reports online saying otherwise, but I’ve removed multiple pieces with no issues).
Linkers are rigid, so each panel in your design must connect to at least one other panel. The panels fit snugly together so there is no curvature in the line when the first panel is placed. This makes it very easy to create long straight lines without the need for levels or extra measurements. Nanoleaf also has an optional flexible linker if you want to add your own angles, create gaps between his two parts of the design, or extend the light to his second side. I have.
All in all, the installation was a breeze and I was able to hang a set of 9 panels in less than 30 minutes. I dropped a few panels from a height of 4-5 feet just to see how durable they were, with no ill effects. One of them bounced off my desk and rolled onto the floor. That little stunt caused scratches on the black coating. This is noticeable when viewed properly. If minimal care is taken during installation, these issues should not occur. I drop things so you don’t have to.
Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Triangle – Functionality
The Ultra Black Triangle Controller acts as the brain of your operation and can be plugged into open link spots. The controller has his five buttons: On/Off, Brighten, Darken, Scene Shuffle, and Rhythm Scene Shuffle. Out of the box, the controller comes preloaded with dozens of light scenes. Honestly, if you have $200+ of lights hanging on your wall, you’ll need to connect Shape to Wi-Fi for even more control.
To do so, the Nanoleaf controller connects to your router using 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. No option for direct Ethernet connection or 5GHz Wi-Fi. After downloading the Nanoleaf app to his Android phone, his first two attempts to identify the controller and connect it to the router failed. After a quick router reset, the shapes were identified and connected without issue. Since then, I’ve unplugged and replugged the controller multiple times without issue, but I figured it was a router issue, not Nanoleaf’s.
When connected to Wi-Fi, Ultra Black can be controlled via the Nanoleaf app (mobile or desktop) or integrated into a variety of 3rd party smart systems such as Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and IFTTT. Gamers already managing light shows on their PC can also quickly add Nanoleaf Shapes to their Razer Chroma or Corsair iCUE suites.
The Nanoleaf app allows you to download additional scenes and create your own light schemes. The mobile app is great for choosing scenes, adjusting brightness, or setting schedules, but creating scenes on my phone wasn’t a great experience. Not enough screen space to create and manage designs. We found the desktop app mirrored the mobile app, and with the extra screen space and mouse control, it was much better at creating scenes.
Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Triangle – aesthetics
When you compare Ultra Black Triangles to the rest of the Shapes product line, the only difference is cosmetic. The Ultra Black Triangle is the same size and shape as the White Triangle. They are compatible with all other Nanoleaf products in the Connect+ ecosystem, including all Shapes and Elements products. The black panel is also equipped with screen mirroring and rhythm visualizer functions. It’s also touch active, but with the lights off the matte black finish shows off all the fingerprints.
The most noticeable difference between the original white panel and Ultra Black is the overall brightness of the lights. Unlike the overwhelming glow of white panels, the black coating gives the lighting a more muted look.
Beyond panel brilliance, there are some trade-offs to consider when choosing black and white panels. First, the black edging creates a pure black outline around the illuminated surface, while the white edging causes some of the light to bleed through. Conversely, the white panel has a more consistent color across the triangle. With a black panel you can clearly see the light emanating from his three corners of the panel. This is more pronounced in some colors than others. There are some panels where one corner shines brighter than the other two, probably because the LED lights aren’t fully recessed into the corners.
The most amazing thing about the Ultra Black Triangle is how it looks when turned off. When the whole design is turned off, the black panels stand out, making it look like a geometric mass on the wall. It is not attractive to see it running. However, the same is true of a set of white panels on dark walls. The answer is to keep the panel on at 5-10 percent brightness.
When lit, the unlit panel also stands out, but this time it’s a plus. When the white panel flashes, it practically disappears in the flood of light emitted by the rest of the panels. With Ultra Blacks, turning off the panel still affects the display.
final thoughts
You could say I’ve been a bit of a late adopter when it comes to RGB. did. RGB first crept into my gaming space in the form of backlit keyboards. It was more about function than aesthetics. From there, mice, case fans, GPUs, and most recently his AIO cooler added his splash of RGB to the desktop. For me, nanoleaf shape On my walls, I went against every fiber of my anti-RGB existence. And now, like a kid taking the last step from high diving, I resurfaced on the other side, wondering why I waited so long to make the leap to RGB.
When I was installing the panels, it wasn’t just about adding RGB to my living space. When I installed each panel, all I could think was that that little piece of plastic cost about $24.9 panels, power cord, mounting tape $219.99 It seemed silly. And if all I was doing was setting up some lights on the wall, it would be.
But I turned them on. And it wasn’t just RGB lighting. There was a wall’s worth of decorations and an entire room’s worth of lighting. When set to white light, the set of nine panels he puts out more light than a single lamp ($40 to $60 or more, depending on your preference). There are also works of art that you can change colors to suit your mood. Your guests must be more than happy to see a cool piece of art than another wall full of family portraits. It will feel justified.
The products described in this article are provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
