After
nearly
a
decade
of
development,
Nanoleaf’s
smart
switch
is
finally
here.
You
can
pre-order
the
$30
Sense
Plus
Smart
Wireless
“Anywhere”
Switch
today,
and
it
should
ship
in
October.
But
to
get
to
this
point,
Nanoleaf
had
to
pivot
from
its
adoption
of
Thread
and
create
a
new,
proprietary
protocol
called
Litewave.
The
battery-powered
device
brings
physical
control
to
Nanoleaf’s
smart
lighting
system,
allowing
you
to
press
a
button
to
turn
lights
on
or
off,
dim
or
brighten,
or
change
colors.
Plus,
built-in
motion
and
light
sensors
let
the
Sense
adjust
your
lighting
based
on
room
conditions.
“We
needed
to
make
sure
that
our
products
would
work
reliably
with
less
dependence
on
the
platforms,”
Gimmy
Chu
The
Sense,
a
version
of
which
was
first
announced
in
2020
and
then
again
in
2023,
has
been
long
anticipated
by
fans
of
the
company’s
RGB
lighting
line.
The
wireless
smart
switch
allows
you
to
control
all
the
lights
in
one
room
or
multiple
rooms
without
using
voice
or
pulling
out
your
phone.
It’s
a
similar
concept
to
Philips
Hue’s
wireless
dimmer
switch
or
Lutron
Caseta’s
Pico
remote,
and
can
also
be
mounted
on
a
wall
plate
like
a
traditional
light
switch
or
used
as
a
portable
remote.
I
got
some
hands-on
time
with
the
Sense
at
the
IFA
tech
show.
It
has
six
buttons:
on/off,
dim/brighten,
and
the
two
configurable
buttons.
It’s
a
tad
bulky
but
lightweight.Photo
by
Jennifer
Pattison
Tuohy
/
The
Verge
However,
in
addition
to
standard
lighting
controls,
the
Sense
features
two
configurable
buttons
that
can
be
programmed
in
Nanoleaf’s
app
or
set
up
to
work
with
Apple
Home
and
Samsung
SmartThings
through
Matter.
This
lets
you
create
automations
with
other
devices
to
have,
say,
a
“Movie
Time”
scene
that
closes
the
shades,
dims
the
lights,
and
adjusts
the
thermostat
with
the
press
of
a
button.
But,
because
not
all
Matter
platforms
support
smart
buttons
yet,
the
Sense’s
Matter
integration
is
currently
in
an
early
access
program.
The
Sense
uses
two
protocols
simultaneously
to
connect
with
Nanoleaf’s
lights.
Matter
over
Thread
and
Litewave,
a
technology
the
company
developed
specifically
for
this
product.
A
proprietary
local
protocol
that
works
over
the
same
802.15.4
radio
as
Bluetooth/Thread,
Litewave
allows
the
switch
to
communicate
with
all
Nanoleaf
lights,
whether
they
use
Thread,
Bluetooth,
or
Wi-Fi.
1/2
The
Sense
works
with
all
Nanoleaf’s
current
smart
lights,
regardless
of
their
protocol.
These
Essentials
bulbs
and
light
strips
use
Thread
and
Bluetooth.Image:
Nanoleaf
According
to
Nanoleaf
co-founder
and
CEO
Gimmy
Chu,
finding
the
right
technology
to
produce
a
reliable
wireless
switch
experience
has
taken
eight
years.
“We
needed
a
low-power
networking
solution,
like
Thread,
and
we
also
needed
a
common
communication
protocol
—
like
Matter,”
he
says.
However,
while
the
company is
a big
proponent
and
early
adopter
of
Thread,
it
has
struggled
with
its
Matter
over
Thread
implementation.
This
led
it
to
develop
the
proprietary
protocol
to
ensure
its
new
smart
switch
would
work
reliably
with
all
its
smart
lights.
In
an
interview
with
The
Verge,
Chu
attributes
some
of
these
struggles
to
the
complexity
of
Matter
and
its
multiple
platforms.
“We
don’t
have
control
over
the
Matter
controller,
which
is
responsible
for
making
sure
that
things
like
pairing
work
correctly
and
that
Thread
network
is
being
maintained
correctly,”
he
says.
“We
needed
to
make
sure
that
our
products
would
work
reliably
with
less
dependence
on
the
platforms.”
Chu
says
Litewave
provides
a
robust
and
reliable
local
connection
that
enables
instantaneous
control
—
as
fast
as
flipping
a
light
switch.
“With
it,
we
can
simultaneously
be
part
of
the
Matter
over
Thread
mesh
network
and
also
support
our
communication,”
he
says.
Litewave
also
doesn't
require
a
Thread
border
router
or
Matter
controller
to
work,
making
setup
simpler
for
users.
You
only
need
those
additional
devices
if
you
choose
to
enable
Matter.
Related
Over
Litewave,
the
Sense
controls
multiple
Nanoleaf
lights
immediately
with
no
“popcorn”
effect
(where
lights
pop
on
one
after
another).
Chu
showed
me
this
in
action
during
our
video
interview:
a
dozen
downlights
turned
on
and
off
instantly
as
he
pressed
the
button. “We’ve
tested
it
with
over
100
devices
across
10,000
square
feet,
and
everything
is
instantaneous
with
about
100
percent
reliability,”
he
says.
In
another
shift
away
from
relying
solely
on
Thread,
Nanoleaf
is
releasing
its
first
Matter
over
Wi-Fi
light
bulb
—
all
its
current
bulbs
use
Thread.
The
full-color
and
tunable
white
Essentials
Matter
Wi-Fi
A19
Smart
Bulb
is
developed
for
Walmart
and
costs
$29.99
for
a
two-pack
(you
can
also
buy
it
at
Nanoleaf’s
webstore
for
$49.99
for
four).
Chu
says
they
decided
to
go
with
Wi-Fi
because
they
feel
like
Thread
is
still
too
niche
for
the
Walmart
customer.
“The
mass
market
does
not
know
what
Thread
is,”
he
says.
“When
launching
into
a
place
like
Walmart,
we
wanted
to
make
sure
we
were
catering
to
as
broad
an
audience
as
possible.”
“The
mass
market
does
not
know
what
Thread
is,”
Gimmy
Chu
Nanoleaf
isn’t
the
only
company
hedging
its
bets
on
Matter
over
Thread.
After
several
Thread-only
launches,
Aqara’s
latest
lighting
products
work
with
Thread
and
Zigbee
—
the
protocol
it
used
to
connect
all
its
devices
prior
to
working
with
Thread.
The
company
says
it
did
this
because
Zigbee
currently
provides
more
features
on
its
platform
than
Matter
over
Thread,
and
it
wanted
to
give
its
users
the
choice.
The
just-released
Thread
1.4
update
is
supposed
to
address
many
of
the
current
issues,
and
as
Matter
develops,
feature
parity
should
arrive.
But
it
will
take
a
while
for
manufacturers
to
implement
the
new
Thread
spec.
In
the
meantime,
companies
like
Nanoleaf
have
little
choice
but
to
look
for
alternative
solutions
while
Thread
sorts
itself
out.
Comments