Existing Nanoleaf Essentials will not gain Matter support.
In early 2023, Nanoleaf will launch a new line of Essentials smart lighting products with Matter compatibility. The new products include several smart bulbs (A19, GU10, BR30) and a Lightstrip—yes, this is basically a refresh of Nanoleaf’s current Essentials lineup.
The Matter 1.0 standard acts as a “universal translator” for smart home products. If two products support Matter, they will work together regardless of their branding. All major smart home companies, including Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Apple, plan to roll out Matter support in the coming months.
Unfortunately, existing Nanoleaf Essentials will not support Matter. This is a huge pain-point for customers, who were previously told that Thread-enabled Essentials were “Matter-ready.” But, as Nanoleaf explained in April of 2022, “Matter continued to develop and grow after the Essentials’ release … eventually it grew to a size that wouldn’t physically fit in the original design.”
We’re disappointed that existing Nanoleaf Essentials won’t receive a Matter upgrade. But hey, if you want Matter-compatible Nanoleaf products, they’ll arrive early next year. Nanoleaf also plans to reveal some new Matter-ready devices at CES 2023, which is pretty exciting.
