- Nanoleaf 4D V2 uses a camera and light strip to extend colors from your TV
- It has no mounting brackets, and should be easier to fit than other systems
- Its camera has also been upgraded to work with wider screens
Smart-lighting company Nanoleaf has revealed a new version of its budget-friendly Philips Ambilight alternative, which is easier to install and supports wider screens. Nanoleaf launched the 4D V2 system at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, alongside a new color-shifting floor lamp, a premium software subscription service, and an LED light therapy face mask.
Like many of the best Ambilight alternatives, the Nanoleaf 4D setup uses a camera mounted at the top of your TV to capture what’s being displayed, then mirrors the colors at the edges using an LED light strip fitted behind the screen. Any setup that uses a camera can be thrown off by reflections on the screen, but they’re much cheaper than upgrading your TV to an Ambilight model, or using a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and Hue Gradient Light Strip.
One of the biggest drawbacks of all Ambilight alternatives is the need to attach a strip of lights to the back of your TV by fitting a set of fiddly adhesive brackets. The Nanoleaf 4D V2 gets around that problem with a lighter, bendable LED strip that you can attach directly to the TV – no brackets necessary. Nanoleaf promises this will make it easier to fit, and judging by its promotional images it should make the back of your TV look tidier as well. The image below shows how the Nanoleaf 4D V2 (left) looks compared with a Philips Hue Gradient Light Strip (right).
Nanoleaf has also upgraded the 4D 2K’s camera with a wider mount, keeping it more stable (thereby increasing the accuracy of color mirroring) and making it compatible with wider screens.
The system will be released later this year. Nanoleaf has yet to announce an official price, but the original Nanoleaf 4D system cost $99 / £89.99 / AU$189.99 for TVs up to 65 inches, and $119 / £119.99 / AU$229.99 for TVs up to 85 inches, so I’d expect it to be similar.
Another bright idea
Nanoleaf also used this year’s CES event to announce a new subscription software service, Nanoleaf Premium, which will give fans of Nanoleaf’s best smart lights access to two new features: Orchestrator and Scenescapes.
Most smart lighting systems use a microphone to sync light patterns and colors with music, which generally works well, but is susceptible to interference from ambient noise. Instead, Orchestrator connects directly to the audio source for more accurate audio syncing.
Nanoleaf Scenescapes sounds very much like the Philips Hue system’s lighting scenes, which are themes that you can apply to all the lights in a room to create a particular mood. For example, you might pick something like Beach or Fireplace when you want to relax in the evening.
Nanoleaf Premium is available now for the Nanoleaf desktop app. You’ll get a free trial, after which you’ll be charged $1.99 (about £1.50 / AU$3) monthly or $19.99 (about £15 / AU$30) annually. You might balk at the idea of paying for themed lighting schemes when Philips Hue scenes are free to use, but Hue hardware is much more expensive to buy at the outset, so it’s a question of what your priorities (and budget) are.
- Should I buy a Philips Ambilight TV?
- The Philips Hue app is getting a big upgrade this year, with a new generative AI assistant
- Philips Hue now works with the latest LG TVs, so you can turn your movies or games into a light show
TechRadar will be extensively covering this year’s CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2025 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.
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