Nanoleaf's next foray into smart lighting, the Canvas panels, will finally ship on Dec. 1, the company's CEO revealed on Friday.
The panels are still in development but close to being finalized, Gimmy Chu told CNET at IFA 2018 in Berlin. A nine-panel starter kit will sell for $199.
The Canvas will be similar to Nanoleaf's current Light Panels, also known as the Aurora, but square and touch-sensitive with some effects triggered simply by touching a panel. There will also be labeled controls letting people cycle through patterns without having to use use the company's mobile app or a voice assistant.
Nanoleaf is promising support for Apple HomeKit and Siri, as well as IFTTT, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant.
Some changes have been made in the course of development, Chu noted. The number of panels that can be linked to one power source has dipped from 1,000 to 500, and a cross shape the company was originally hoping to get rid of will be left intact.
"We ran a poll, and the current design actually did really well with our users," said Chu.
Caught up with @Nanoleaf CEO Gimmy Chu at #IFA2018 last night. The new, touch-sensitive Canvas panels are set to arrive December 1st. Here's a peek at the latest design, with new base station controls like a shuffle button built right into one of the panels itself. pic.twitter.com/cmw5HtPIMw
-- Ry Crist (@rycrist) August 31, 2018