Nanoleaf's Sense Plus Smart Switch is finally here

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..

. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy.