When you’ve got a group that you simply need to showcase, whether or not it is high-end sneakers, costly collectible vinyl figures, or one thing else you need to draw consideration to, Nanoleaf’s EXPO Good LED Show Instances are value testing. They’re priced at $270 for a pack of 4, with further enlargement circumstances accessible for $63.
The EXPO Good Instances are LED geared up show bins for collectibles. They’re rectangular, with white plastic sides and clear plastic on the entrance and the again. The entrance panel opens up in order that gadgets might be positioned inside.
When it comes to dimension and form, they remind me of the shoe bins that individuals get to retailer their sneakers. They’re slightly below 15 inches lengthy, 11.4 inches deep, and eight.7 inches tall. The within measurements are a bit smaller, so you’ve about 7.5 inches in top. The peak has been essentially the most limiting consider my testing, since taller collectible gadgets will not match inside. For sneakers, which these circumstances are positively designed for, you possibly can match as much as a dimension 15 sneaker. Nanoleaf has a information on what different kinds of issues match inside, however there is not a point out of a weight restrict. Most collectibles that can match aren’t wildly heavy, and the circumstances are sturdy, so weight in all probability will not be a priority for most individuals.
These ship in flat-packed, and every field must be assembled one-by-one. The items solely go collectively a technique and it isn’t terribly exhausting to get them put collectively, however it did take me a superb half hour to arrange 4 of them. I discovered setting them as much as be considerably irritating as a result of it takes extra power than you may assume to get them to snap in place.
As soon as assembled, they really feel sturdy, regardless that they’re made from plastic. They do not look or really feel low-cost, however it’s clear that they are plastic and never one other materials. Nanoleaf solely makes the EXPO Instances in white, and that is not going to suit some aesthetics. I think there are a whole lot of collectors who may favor black, however the white does work effectively for highlighting the gadgets inside. Both means, the meeting retains what’s inside mud free, however Nanoleaf would not point out UV safety so I assume that is not included.
Like Nanoleaf’s lighting panels, the EXPO Instances hyperlink along with connectors, that are included within the field. There is a predominant controller field that gives energy and that the ability adapter plugs into, and the remainder of the bins plug into it. Nanoleaf designed them to be arrange multi functional row or stacked up, so you possibly can truly make a number of totally different designs. There’s no wall mounting {hardware}, in order that they’re designed extra to go on the ground or on a floor like a desk or a shelf.
The controller field has a set of touch-based controls on it for altering the colours and the brightness with out the app, and I hate them. They use contact activation as a substitute of bodily buttons. The buttons are too delicate, and in case you even brush them, they activate. They’re additionally considerably annoying for actions like resetting the EXPO Instances. I’d have most well-liked normal bodily buttons.
I set the circumstances up throughout a set of bookcases in my workplace in a horizontal line, however I additionally examined them in a two row vertical orientation, they usually stack effectively. There’s an indentation on the high of every field that the bottom of a second field sits in for a safe match, however there is not any clip or different mechanism that holds them in place apart from floor space and the indentations. I needed to have the ability to put LEGO that I’ve on high of the circumstances, however the depressions would have made for an unstable floor, which is one thing to remember if you wish to have one thing on high. I added some craft foam to have a flat floor, and that ended up working effectively.
I’ve seven circumstances to suit throughout my bookcase, however as much as 300 might be linked collectively. Upon getting over eight circumstances, you want a 75W energy provide unit from Nanoleaf, which I imagine is offered individually as a result of the bottom kits ship with a 42W energy provide. A 75W energy provide helps 14 circumstances, so in case you go over that quantity, you will want two or extra energy provides. Word that whereas 300 might be linked, Nanoleaf says you must solely stack them 16 excessive vertically. There isn’t any limitation in a horizontal orientation.
The EXPO Instances connect with the Nanoleaf app, and are HomeKit-enabled, so you possibly can entry them within the House app and management them with Siri. Thread is included too, for improved connectivity. Like different Nanoleaf merchandise, they are often set to over 16 million colours, with totally different patterns and light-weight sequences which might be accessible within the app. I like Nanoleaf’s app, and I feel the corporate has finished a superb job making it straightforward to get an entire vary of various scenes and colour choices for its merchandise with little effort.
You may set the EXPO Instances to strong colours or create your individual animated scenes within the app, however there are additionally group created scenes and AI Magic Scenes. With group scenes, you possibly can obtain a whole lot of actually nice colour/sample combos created by others, and the AI Magic Scene helps you to put in any phrase to have AI give you one thing. There’s an choice to create a playlist to have the EXPO Instances cycle by way of scenes, and there’s a rhythm possibility, which permits the chosen colours to shift in time with music that is taking part in. You may as well join them to a PC or Mac setup with different Nanoleaf lights utilizing the Nanoleaf desktop app.
There are a number of shades of white along with colour, which I feel is essential for the EXPO Instances. Relying on what you’ve inside, a few of the deeper colours and the animations could make the contents exhausting to deal with. If I am displaying off collectibles, I typically like them to be seen, so I’ve been setting the EXPO Instances to lighter colours and shades of white (1200K to 6500K). The deep colours do look good with sneakers or extra easy gadgets, and the backlighting is certainly eye-catching.
You may choose a brightness stage for the circumstances together with a colour, they usually get pretty vibrant. Nanoleaf says they’re every 50 lumens, and I often have them on half brightness or decrease.
I do not need to do a Nanoleaf evaluation with out addressing connectivity and customer support, two areas the place Nanoleaf has traditionally struggled. Older Nanoleaf merchandise can have points, and I’ve had controllers fail on the Aurora and Canvas panels. The newer Thread-enabled merchandise appear to be extra dependable to this point, and I’ve examined the EXPO Instances since final August with just one connectivity hiccup throughout setup. They have not disconnected from Wi-Fi since, and the Nanoleaf Skylights I’ve had arrange since final yr have additionally been secure. My solely current subject was with the Sense+ Change intermittently disconnecting, however it’s been okay for a pair months now.
As for my customer support expertise, I wanted a seventh field and I purchased it immediately from Nanoleaf. They mistakenly despatched me a controller case as a substitute of an enlargement case, so I bought in contact with assist as an everyday buyer. I bought a reply again rapidly, and obtained a substitute. I’ve seen Nanoleaf assist being extra energetic on numerous social channels like Reddit lately, so I feel they’re making an attempt to enhance. I hope that newer merchandise are going to have an extended life than a few of the older units with fewer connectivity points, however time will inform.
Nanoleaf’s EXPO Instances include a two-year guarantee and a 30-day return interval (when bought from the Nanoleaf web site).
Backside Line
Nanoleaf’s EXPO Instances had been clearly designed for displaying off high-end sneaker collections given the form and dimension, however they work effectively for any small collectible. They pair up with different Nanoleaf lights and make for an incredible desk accent, room ornament, or ambient gentle supply.
It is good to have an ambient lighting possibility that additionally has some utility, and Nanoleaf’s EXPO circumstances are a strong various to including LED lights to a regular show case or curio cupboard. I did not love the bodily buttons and I want there have been extra colour choices for individuals who do not love white, however general, it is a strong product that is distinctive and has worth for collectors.
I do assume these are on the costly facet at round $67 per case, however the target market for these doubtless spends much more on what goes contained in the circumstances.
The way to Purchase
The Nanoleaf EXPO Good LED Show Instances can be bought from the Nanoleaf web site or from Amazon for $270, which features a set of 4 circumstances. Further circumstances can be found for $63.
Word: Nanoleaf offered MacRumors with a set of EXPO Good LED Show Instances for the aim of this evaluation. No different compensation was obtained.
