Toronto-based Nanoleaf’s smart light panels can spice up any workspace

There are a variety of smart light companies out there, but few make devices as interesting as those from Toronto’s Nanoleaf.
The company recently sent over both its ‘Canvas’ and ‘Light Panels’ products for me to test out and I was quite impressed with the versatility on offer. For those unfamiliar with Nanoleaf, the company makes smart lighting panels in various shapes and sizes. These panels can connect together and light up in several different colours and patterns.
Canvas panels come in 15 x 15cm squares while the Light Panels — previously called ‘Aurora’ — are triangles with roughly 23.5cm long sides. Both support Nanoleaf’s cool new ‘Screen Mirror’ feature , which lets you connect the panels to your computer and have them mirror the on-screen colours. In fact, both products are very similar aside from their shape, but we’ll dive more into the differences down below.
To start, setting up either the Canvas or Light Panels is a rather simple process. In both cases, you’ll need the smartphone app — it’s available on iOS and Android for free. Once installed, follow the steps in the app to complete the pairing process. In my case, I needed to check the back of the panels for a code number and type it into the app.
Oddly, when I tried the process on iOS, it wanted to scan a code on the panel instead of manually typing in the number. No matter how hard I tried, the app refused to scan the code. I was eventually able to add it manually, but the overall process was quite frustrating. Once paired, however, the panels worked well.
Canvas or Light Panels?
If you’re trying to decide between one option or the other, it’s helpful to know the differences. Aside from the shape and size, the biggest differentiator is the included smart features.
The Light Panels on their own are a little ‘dumber’ than the Canvas panels. They connect to your Wi-Fi network so you can fully control them from your smartphone. However, that’s about the extent of what they can do. On their own, the Light Panels have a power switch and a toggle button to cycle through different ‘Scenes.’
Additionally, the Light Panels include a ‘Rhythm Module’ that allows the lights to react to music. If you’re curious to know more about the Light Panels, check out  MobileSyrup’s  prior coverage .
Canvas, on the other hand, are a little bit smarter. They include a built-in ‘Rhythm Mode’ that reacts to music instead of a separate module like the Light Panels. On top of that, the Canvas are touch sensitive and the ‘base’ panel includes a set of buttons.
The buttons allow users to control the panels by increasing or decreasing the brightness, shuffling through Scenes and enabling the Rhythm Mode. I also found the Canvas to be much more interesting in terms of layout. Because of the way the links are positioned on the Canvas squares, you can achieve more unique designs compared to the Light Panels, which...