Home LivingSmart HomeNanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition reviewFun and flexible smart lightingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictIf you’re a gamer and have had an eye on some decorative smart lighting for your home then the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition is a great way to do that. You get enough panels to create Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (or any other shape you want) and then light that how you want, with Nanoleaf’s app making it easy to change up how the panels are lit.Reasons to buy+Lighting panels are bright and powerful+Lighting can be synced with music and games+Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app+Wide variety of lighting scenes free to downloadReasons to avoid-Build diagrams need to be downloaded-You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy-Not exactly cheapWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Home LivingSmart HomeNanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition reviewFun and flexible smart lightingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictIf you’re a gamer and have had an eye on some decorative smart lighting for your home then the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition is a great way to do that. You get enough panels to create Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (or any other shape you want) and then light that how you want, with Nanoleaf’s app making it easy to change up how the panels are lit.Reasons to buy+Lighting panels are bright and powerful+Lighting can be synced with music and games+Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app+Wide variety of lighting scenes free to downloadReasons to avoid-Build diagrams need to be downloaded-You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy-Not exactly cheapWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Fun and flexible smart lighting
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictIf you’re a gamer and have had an eye on some decorative smart lighting for your home then the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition is a great way to do that. You get enough panels to create Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (or any other shape you want) and then light that how you want, with Nanoleaf’s app making it easy to change up how the panels are lit.Reasons to buy+Lighting panels are bright and powerful+Lighting can be synced with music and games+Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app+Wide variety of lighting scenes free to downloadReasons to avoid-Build diagrams need to be downloaded-You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy-Not exactly cheap
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictIf you’re a gamer and have had an eye on some decorative smart lighting for your home then the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition is a great way to do that. You get enough panels to create Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (or any other shape you want) and then light that how you want, with Nanoleaf’s app making it easy to change up how the panels are lit.Reasons to buy+Lighting panels are bright and powerful+Lighting can be synced with music and games+Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app+Wide variety of lighting scenes free to downloadReasons to avoid-Build diagrams need to be downloaded-You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy-Not exactly cheap
T3 VerdictIf you’re a gamer and have had an eye on some decorative smart lighting for your home then the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition is a great way to do that. You get enough panels to create Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (or any other shape you want) and then light that how you want, with Nanoleaf’s app making it easy to change up how the panels are lit.
T3 Verdict
If you’re a gamer and have had an eye on some decorative smart lighting for your home then the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition is a great way to do that. You get enough panels to create Sonic, Tails and Knuckles (or any other shape you want) and then light that how you want, with Nanoleaf’s app making it easy to change up how the panels are lit.
Reasons to buy+Lighting panels are bright and powerful+Lighting can be synced with music and games+Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app+Wide variety of lighting scenes free to downloadReasons to avoid-Build diagrams need to be downloaded-You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy-Not exactly cheap
Reasons to buy+Lighting panels are bright and powerful+Lighting can be synced with music and games+Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app+Wide variety of lighting scenes free to download
Lighting panels are bright and powerful
Lighting can be synced with music and games
Strong Nanoleaf smartphone app
Wide variety of lighting scenes free to download
Reasons to avoid-Build diagrams need to be downloaded-You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy-Not exactly cheap
Build diagrams need to be downloaded
You’ll want cable ties to keep the cabling tidy
Not exactly cheap
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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T3 is a huge fan of smart lighting and in ourNanoleaf Shapes reviewwe gave the modular RGB smart lighting system a maximum score of 5 stars.
As such, I was excited to test out the brand’s new Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition, which T3 hadpreviously reported on.
In this Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition review I explain what you get in this limited edition version - tied in to the new Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie - what it is like to install and how it performs.
(Image credit: Nanoleaf)
(Image credit: Nanoleaf)
Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition review: what’s in the box, price and release date
In the Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition box you get 32 colored lighting panels. These are triangles, with 4 large and 28 small. You also get a control bar, 33 lighting panel connectors, 28 small sticky pads (for attaching panels to a wall) and 4 large sticky pads. One power supply with cables is also supplied to power the smart lighting panels.
In terms of release date, the Sonic Edition is out now and can be bought from various retailers including directly from theNanoleaf store. The Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition price is £299.99 in the UK. Unfortunately the product is not currently available in the USA.
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Today’s best Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit Sonic Limited Edition dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit Sonic Limited Edition deals
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The box itself has a Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie sleeve, which advertises what you can build with this set, which are smart lighting versions of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition review: setup
Setup involves taking the panels out of the box and then basically building the character shape you want. The manual shows you the best way to do this in terms of steps but doesn’t come with an actual build diagram, which needs to bedownloaded. I didn’t realise this at first so I built the character based on the box art. I feel it would be a super cheap addition for Nanoleaf to include a small print out of the build diagrams for each character in the box, so am unsure why it doesn’t include one.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Panels are affixed together easily, though. The included 33 panel connectors just snap in and snap off, meaning you can affix two panels together in seconds. Importantly, though, there are only enough panel connectors in the box to build a character if you only connect panel-to-panel with one connector, so while it may seem like it makes sense to anchor panels together with more than one connector, that is not possible (or technically needed).
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Once I’d built Sonic (of course I had to pick the main hero for this review) and affixed sticky pads to each of the panels I then proceeded to break the panels into more manageable chunks before placing them on my wall of choice.
Affixing panels entails pressing them firmly, onto the wall for 30 seconds. My experience with this was flawless. I placed the panels on, held them in place for 30 seconds, and then they never moved and felt super secure.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Once thing you do need to be aware of when putting up Nanoleaf shapes, though, is that the panel that has the power connector attached to will have a cable trailing from it. Nanoleaf panels have cable channels in their rear, though, so providing you forward plan then you can guide the cablebehindthe panels and have it just become visible again at the bottom of the creation.
I’d then advise investing in some small wall-mountable cable ties to guide the cable neatly (and tidy to the wall) to the power socket, as otherwise the cable will just hang loosely and look a bit (in my mind at least) untidy. I think really I’d expect a few of these cable ties in the box if I’m being perfectly candid, as it would complete the package so to speak.
Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition review: performance
The Nanoleaf app is essential for controlling the smart lighting panels and determining what lighting design they have. You can select static designs as well as active ones called ‘scenes’, with lighting panels actively changing colour and pulsing in various ways.
I chose the official Sonic lighting scene and the result can be seen in the video above.
In addition to these more standard lighting features, the Nanoleaf panels also come with a ‘Rhythm Mode’ which is cool as it syncs the lighting on the panels to your music.
This kit also supports Nanoleaf’s ‘Screen Mirror’ feature, which means you can sync what is being displayed on your monitor or TV from a PC on the lights to add an extra level of immersion.
The Nanoleaf shape panels are also touch sensitive, meaning you can play lighting-based games on them. One is aptly called “Catch A Hedgehog” and is like the game Whac-A-Mole but with lights. This isn’t my bag but I’m sure younger users could enjoy it.
Overall, I was really impressed with the sheer quantity of lighting scenes I could display on the Nanoleaf panels. This is great as, really, for all the Sonic theme-ing here these are just Nanoleaf Shapes in a different box. As such, if you ever get tired of having Sonic, Tails or Knuckles on your wall, you can just create whatever pattern you want.
Naturally, you could also augment this kit with more Nanoleaf panels, too.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit – Sonic Edition review: verdict
Overall, then, I think Nanoleaf has done a good job here in tying its 5-star rated product to a much-loved video game series.
The price of the kit will mean that it most likely isn’t for everyone, though. At the time of writing this kit costs £299.99 in the UK and that is a decent chunk of change.
Nanoleaf Shapes Starter Kit Sonic Limited Edition: Price Comparison
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