In case you have a group that you simply wish to exhibit, whether or not it is high-end sneakers, costly collectible vinyl figures, or one thing else you wish to draw consideration to, Nanoleaf’s EXPO Good LED Show Circumstances are value trying out. They’re priced at $270 for a pack of 4, with further growth instances obtainable for $63.
The EXPO Good Circumstances are LED geared up show packing containers 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 may be positioned inside.
When it comes to dimension and form, they remind me of the shoe packing containers that folks get to retailer their sneakers. They’re just below 15 inches lengthy, 11.4 inches deep, and eight.7 inches tall. The within measurements are a bit smaller, so you may have about 7.5 inches in top. The peak has been probably the most limiting consider my testing, since taller collectible gadgets will not match inside. For sneakers, which these instances are positively designed for, you’ll be able to match as much as a dimension 15 sneaker. Nanoleaf has a information on what other forms of issues match inside, however there is not a point out of a weight restrict. Most collectibles that may match aren’t wildly heavy, and the instances 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 method and it isn’t terribly laborious to get them put collectively, however it did take me a very good half hour to arrange 4 of them. I discovered setting them as much as be considerably irritating as a result of it takes extra pressure than you may suppose to get them to snap in place.
As soon as assembled, they really feel sturdy, despite the fact that they’re fabricated 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 Circumstances in white, and that is not going to suit some aesthetics. I believe there are a whole lot of collectors who may choose black, however the white does work effectively for highlighting the gadgets inside. Both approach, 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 Circumstances hyperlink along with connectors, that are included within the field. There is a fundamental controller field that gives energy and that the facility adapter plugs into, and the remainder of the packing containers plug into it. Nanoleaf designed them to be arrange multi function row or stacked up, so you’ll be able to really make a number of totally different designs. There’s no wall mounting {hardware}, so 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 an alternative of bodily buttons. The buttons are too delicate, and when you even brush them, they activate. They’re additionally considerably annoying for actions like resetting the EXPO Circumstances. I might have most popular commonplace bodily buttons.
I set the instances 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 prime of every field that the bottom of a second field sits in for a safe match, however there isn’t 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 prime of the instances, however the depressions would have made for an unstable floor, which is one thing to remember if you wish to have one thing on prime. I added some craft foam to have a flat floor, and that ended up working effectively.
I’ve seven instances to suit throughout my bookcase, however as much as 300 may be related collectively. Upon getting over eight instances, you want a 75W energy provide unit from Nanoleaf, which I consider is offered individually as a result of the bottom kits ship with a 42W energy provide. A 75W energy provide helps 14 instances, so when you go over that quantity, you may want two or extra energy provides. Be aware that whereas 300 may be related, Nanoleaf says it’s best to solely stack them 16 excessive vertically. There isn’t any limitation in a horizontal orientation.
The EXPO Circumstances connect with the Nanoleaf app, and are HomeKit-enabled, so you’ll be able to 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 lightweight sequences which might be obtainable within the app. I like Nanoleaf’s app, and I believe the corporate has executed a very good job making it simple to get a complete vary of various scenes and colour choices for its merchandise with little effort.
You may set the EXPO Circumstances to strong colours or create your personal animated scenes within the app, however there are additionally neighborhood created scenes and AI Magic Scenes. With neighborhood scenes, you’ll be able to obtain a whole lot of actually nice colour/sample combos created by others, and the AI Magic Scene permits you to put in any phrase to have AI provide you with one thing. There’s an choice to create a playlist to have the EXPO Circumstances cycle by scenes, and there’s a rhythm choice, which permits the chosen colours to shift in time with music that is enjoying. You can too 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 believe is vital for the EXPO Circumstances. Relying on what you may have inside, among the deeper colours and the animations could make the contents laborious to deal with. If I am exhibiting off collectibles, I typically like them to be seen, so I’ve been setting the EXPO Circumstances 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 instances together with a colour, they usually get pretty vivid. Nanoleaf says they’re every 50 lumens, and I often have them on half brightness or decrease.
I do not wish to do a Nanoleaf evaluate 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 Circumstances 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 12 months have additionally been steady. My solely current concern was with the Sense+ Swap 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 instantly from Nanoleaf. They mistakenly despatched me a controller case as an alternative of an growth case, so I obtained in contact with assist as an everyday buyer. I obtained a reply again rapidly, and obtained a alternative. I’ve seen Nanoleaf assist being extra lively on varied social channels like Reddit lately, so I believe they’re making an attempt to enhance. I hope that newer merchandise are going to have an extended life than among the older gadgets with fewer connectivity points, however time will inform.
Nanoleaf’s EXPO Circumstances include a two-year guarantee and a 30-day return interval (when bought from the Nanoleaf web site).
Backside Line
Nanoleaf’s EXPO Circumstances have been clearly designed for exhibiting 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 excellent desk accent, room ornament, or ambient gentle supply.
It is good to have an ambient lighting choice that additionally has some utility, and Nanoleaf’s EXPO instances are a strong various to including LED lights to an ordinary 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 total, it is a strong product that is distinctive and has worth for collectors.
I do suppose these are on the costly aspect at round $67 per case, however the target market for these doubtless spends much more on what goes contained in the instances.
Purchase
The Nanoleaf EXPO Good LED Show Circumstances can be bought from the Nanoleaf web site or from Amazon for $270, which features a set of 4 instances. Extra instances can be found for $63.
Be aware: Nanoleaf offered MacRumors with a set of EXPO Good LED Show Circumstances for the aim of this evaluate. No different compensation was obtained.
