I’ve tried lots of different ways to light up the patio in my backyard so I can enjoy sitting outside into the wee hours. Everything from fairy lights to path lights to standard string lights has been wrapped around the myrtles or dug into the borders. But none have survived more than a couple of scorching South Carolina summers. So, I was excited to test two new smart outdoor string lights from Nanoleaf and Lifx.
Technology
Smart string light showdown: Nanoleaf versus Lifx
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25387393/247055_VS_Review_04112024_CVirginia_D.jpg?ssl=1 "Smart string light showdown: Nanoleaf versus Lifx")
The Nanoleaf Matter Smart Multicolor Outdoor String Lights ($129.99 for a 49-foot string with 20 bulbs) and Lifx Outdoor SuperColor String Lights ($129 for a 24-foot light string with 12 bulbs) both feature individually addressable full-color and tunable white LED bulbs and are capable of gradient lighting effects. This makes them super versatile. I can have a green and gold-themed St. Paddy’s Day party in March, a red, white, and blue-themed Fourth of July bash, and a lovely soft candlelight white for dinner al fresco anytime.
Both are compatible with all major smart home platforms, so I can set the lights on schedules, control them with voice commands, and have them turn on when the patio door opens using a contact sensor. Most importantly, both these brands’ string lights are seriously sturdy. After watching them survive a cracking spring storm last week, I’m hopeful that these could be a more permanent solution to illuminating my backyard.
I tested the Lifx and Nanoleaf head-to-head over two weeks. Read on to see which came out on top and which could be a good fit for your garden this summer.
How we rate and review products
How we rate and review products
Design and build quality: Lifx looks good, but Nanoleaf is so sparkly!
These are not your mother’s string lights. Nanoleaf and Lifx have gone for bold industrial design, with Nanoleaf building on its dodecahedron heritage to produce a gorgeous light bulb. The faceted face creates a lovely effect that looks like a crystal hanging from my trees and is dazzling even when off.
Lifx has gone for an ultra-modern, Tron-style look — a tubular shape with a stick of light inside. They’re stylish but with less flair than Nanoleaf’s. I do like that the Lifx bulbs attach directly to the string and don’t dangle as far down as the Nanoleaf, creating a cleaner look. This makes the Lifx a better choice for hanging along a structure like the wall of a porch.
Both lights feel solid and durable, and the acrylic bulbs don’t break when dropped. The cables and plugs are similarly super heavy-duty, being weatherproof and holding up to rough handling during installation. Neither offers replaceable bulbs, but if a bulb goes bad, both string lights are covered under two-year warranties.
Light quality: Lifx has serious range
The Lifx’s color rendering and tunable white light are very impressive. With a color rendering index (CRI) of 90 and white light that goes from rich, warm candlelight at 1500 Kelvins to an icy blue cool white at 9000 Kelvins, the Lifx has better color and a broader range of white than Nanoleaf (80CRI and 2700K to 6500K).
Its colors are also more saturated; red on the Lifx is really red, whereas on the Nanoleaf, it’s more pink and softer. But while brighter is usually better in a light bulb, I’d argue that accent light in your garden is one place you probably don’t need to go for the brightest.
Lighting effects and features: Lifx’s color blending is mind-bending
Each Lifx bulb has three addressable zones that blend together in an almost magical way. It’s hard to pinpoint which color you’re seeing; instead, it’s just a soft ambiance, a welcome change from jarring multicolor effects on most addressable lighting I’ve tested.
While the Nanoleaf bulbs can only show one color at a time per bulb, the cut glass design does create an array of different shades. Nanoleaf’s scenes can also cycle through different colors to give a similar effect to the Lifx, but Lifx’s technology is better.
Lifx also has more options for flashier effects. Options like twinkle, color cycle, strobe, and morph created a fun ambiance on my patio, and I could adjust features like speed, colors, and direction. Lifx has a decent library of colorful lighting designs and I really like the art series inspired by pieces such as Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
However, Nanoleaf has many more designs to choose from, including hundreds of user-generated ones. A handful were created just for the string lights; my favorites were Sunset Sky, which cycled through warm reds and oranges, and Twilight, with crisp whites and soft grays.
I could create my own designs in both apps, with Lifx’s being the easiest to use. Nanoleaf’s app is messy and crashes a lot, but its new AI scene generator makes it easier to create new designs without struggling through the app.
Lifx’s app also has basic functions like setting schedules, which is frustratingly not an option with Nanoleaf — to set a schedule, you need to use a third-party smart home platform.
Cost: Nanoleaf is cheaper and longer
While both string lights start at $130, for that Nanoleaf gives you 20 bulbs on almost 50 feet compared to just 12 bulbs over 24 feet on the Lifx (30 feet including the power cord). The Lifx are closer together, though, at 23 inches apart compared to 28 inches for Nanoleaf.
Nanoleaf is the better deal, especially for a large area like my patio. The 98-foot string with 40 bulbs is $200, and the 147-foot string with 60 bulbs is $300. In comparison, the maximum length of the Lifx — three strings together, totaling 74 feet and 36 bulbs — costs almost $400.
Connectivity and compatibility: Nanoleaf has more connection options, but Lifx is more reliable (so far)
The Nanoleaf and Lifx lights work over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. While the Lifx connected easily, I struggled to get the Nanoleaf on the same network, even though both lights were set up in the same location. Eventually, moving the router closer to the Nanoleaf worked.
Both lights will work with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings. As part of Nanoleaf’s Matter Essentials line, the Nanoleaf string lights connect to smart home platforms via Matter-over-Wi-Fi. This means it works with any Matter-compatible platform. However, you will need a Matter controller to connect.
Lifx relies on individual integrations with each platform, so it works with fewer but doesn’t require any additional hardware. Lifx says a firmware upgrade will bring the option of Matter-over-Wi-Fi compatibility later this year.
As is par for the course with Matter and me, it took multiple attempts to get the Nanoleaf lights onto a Matter platform. I wasn’t able to connect at all using my iPhone 15. Eventually, with a Samsung Galaxy S22 I connected to SmartThings and, from there, successfully shared the lights with Apple Home and Amazon Alexa using Matter’s multi-admin feature. You don’t have to use Matter with the Nanoleaf; you can connect directly to the Nanoleaf app over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but you will need Matter for smart home integrations.
Both these string lights will make spring sparkle
These are both very nice string lights. They’re expensive but built to last. While Lifx has better lighting effects and an easier-to-use app, the Nanoleaf has the edge in terms of overall look. The bulb shape is just gorgeous and looks so nice in my backyard. While not as bright as Lifx, the whites and colors provide more than enough richness and warmth for ambient outdoor lighting. Lifx’s effects and color blending are very impressive, but Nanoleaf’s soft, sparkly glow won me over. Plus, it’s more affordable.
Both Lifx and Nanoleaf have other smart outdoor lighting options, so you can sync their lighting effects across your whole landscape. However, Philips Hue has the biggest outdoor selection (although, strangely, no string lights).
There are also other options for smart string lights, including those from Govee, Twinkly, and Wiz. But these are all the traditional round bulb shapes. Nanoleaf and Lifx have added unique twists to the outdoor string light look, and both have done it very well.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
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Substack is notifying some users that the email addresses and phone numbers linked to their accounts were exposed in a “security incident” last year. In an email to account holders, Substack CEO Chris Best said that a hacker had accessed internal data without authorization in October 2025, but that passwords, credit card numbers, and other financial information remain secure.
“On February 3rd, we identified evidence of a problem with our systems that allowed an unauthorized third party to access limited user data without permission, including email addresses, phone numbers, and other internal metadata,” Best said in the email. “We do not have evidence that this information is being misused, but we encourage you to take extra caution with any emails or text messages you receive that may be suspicious.”
Substack says that it has since fixed the security problem, and is now conducting a full investigation alongside bolstering its systems “to prevent this type of issue from happening in the future.” The platform didn’t provide any details regarding what the security issue was, or how many users have been impacted — myself and several Verge colleagues who also use Substack did not receive the email. We have reached out to Substack for clarification.
“I’m incredibly sorry this happened,” Best said in the email to users. “We take our responsibility to protect your data and your privacy seriously, and we came up short here.”
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Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson after she failed to appear for church and could not be reached by family. When deputies arrived, several things stood out. Her phone, wallet and car keys were inside the home. The daily medication she relies on was left behind. Given her age and mobility challenges, investigators said she would not have left voluntarily.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has since stated publicly that the case is being treated as a suspected abduction, and the home was processed as a crime scene. As the search continues, investigators are piecing together not only physical evidence and witness tips, but also the digital trail left behind by everyday technology.
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Investigators are examining digital clues from phones, cameras and networks to help narrow the timeline in the Nancy Guthrie missing person investigation. (Courtesy of NBC)
Why technology matters in missing person investigations
In cases like this, technology rarely delivers a single smoking gun. Instead, it helps investigators answer quieter but critical questions that shape a timeline. Investigators ask when everything still looked normal. They look for the moment when devices stopped communicating. They try to pinpoint when something changed. Phones, medical devices, cellular networks and cameras generate timestamps. Those records help narrow the window when events may have taken a dangerous turn.
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Smart cameras and neighborhood footage can provide crucial time markers, even when images are unclear or partially obscured. (Courtesy of NBC)
How investigators connect data across agencies
Behind the scenes, investigators rely on advanced analytical systems to connect information from multiple sources and jurisdictions. In Tucson and across Pima County, law enforcement agencies use artificial intelligence-assisted crime analysis platforms such as COPLINK, which allows data sharing with at least 19 other police departments across Arizona. These systems help investigators cross-reference tips, reports, vehicle data and digital evidence more quickly than manual searches.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Tucson Police Department and the FBI also work through real-time analytical crime centers, including Tucson’s Real-Time Analytical Crime Center (TRACC). These centers allow analysts to review large volumes of data together, from phone records and license plate reads to surveillance timestamps.
This type of analysis does not replace traditional police work. It helps narrow timelines, rule out possibilities and prioritize leads as new information comes in.
Bluetooth data and Apple’s potential role
iOS may retain low-level Bluetooth artifacts outside the pacemaker app. Access to this data typically requires:
- Legal process
- Apple cooperation
- Device forensic extraction
Bluetooth artifacts cannot determine distance. They cannot show that two devices were a few feet apart. What they can sometimes provide is timestamp correlation, confirming that a Bluetooth interaction occurred. That correlation can help align pacemaker activity with phone movement or inactivity. It is not publicly known whether Apple has been formally contacted in this case. An inquiry has been made. Apple typically does not comment on specific investigations but may confirm what categories of data could be available.
What the iPhone itself may reveal
Even without medical data, the iPhone left behind may provide valuable corroboration. With proper legal access, investigators may examine:
- Motion sensor activity
- Cellular network connections
- Wi-Fi associations
- Camera metadata
- Power and usage patterns
This data can help establish whether the phone moved unexpectedly or stopped being used at a specific time. Again, the value lies in confirming timelines, not speculating motives.
Cell tower data and coverage around the home
Public mapping databases show dense cellular coverage in the area surrounding the Guthrie residence. There are 41 cell towers within a three-mile radius. The closest carrier towers are approximately:
- AT&T at 1.0 mile
- Verizon at 1.4 miles
- T-Mobile at 3.0 miles
Carrier records can be analyzed to identify device connections, sector handoffs and anomalous activity during the critical window between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. This analysis is complex, but it can help confirm whether a device moved or disconnected unexpectedly.
Cameras, license plate readers and neighborhood footage
Investigators are also reviewing surveillance systems. Tucson primarily uses Verkada cameras integrated with the Fusus platform. Flock Safety cameras are used in other parts of the region, including South Tucson.
More than 200 automatic license plate readers are deployed in the broader area, allowing investigators to review historical vehicle movements during the critical time window. These systems can capture license plates, vehicle make and color, vehicle type and alerts tied to suspect vehicles.
Private sources may matter just as much. Neighbor doorbell cameras and home systems can provide important timeline markers, even if the footage is grainy. Some modern vehicles also record motion near parked cars if settings are enabled.
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Everyday devices quietly record timestamps that may help investigators understand when something has changed and where to look next. (Courtesy of NBC)
Ways to keep your loved ones safe
Technology can help protect older or vulnerable relatives, but it works best when combined with everyday habits that reduce risk.
1) Use connected cameras
Install smart doorbell cameras and outdoor security cameras that notify family members when someone unfamiliar appears. Alerts can matter just as much as recorded footage. Many newer systems allow AI-based person detection, which can alert you when an unknown person is seen at certain times of day or night. These alerts can be customized, so family members know when activity breaks a normal pattern, not just when motion is detected.
2) Wear an emergency pendant or medical alert device
Emergency pendants and wearable SOS devices let someone call for help with a single press. Many newer models work outside the home and can alert caregivers if a fall is detected. Some devices also include GPS, which helps when someone becomes disoriented or leaves home unexpectedly. This remains one of the most overlooked safety tools for older adults.
3) Enable device sharing and safety features
If your loved one agrees, enable location sharing, emergency contacts and built-in safety features on their phone or wearable.
On smartphones, this can include:
- Emergency SOS
- Medical ID access from the lock screen
- Trusted location sharing through apps like Find My
These features work quietly in the background, allowing help to reach the right people quickly without requiring daily interaction.
4) Create simple check-in routines
Use apps, text reminders or calendar alerts that prompt regular check-ins. If a message goes unanswered, it creates a reason to follow up quickly instead of assuming everything is fine. Consistency matters more than complexity.
5) Use devices with passive safety monitoring
Some phones, wearables and home systems can detect changes in normal daily activity without requiring a button press. For example, smartphones and smartwatches can notice when movement patterns suddenly stop or change. If a device that usually moves every morning stays still for hours, that shift can trigger alerts or prompt a check-in from a caregiver. Smart home systems can also flag unusual inactivity. Motion sensors that normally register movement throughout the day may show a long gap, which can signal that something is wrong. Passive monitoring works in the background. It reduces the need for constant interaction while still creating early warning signs when routines break.
6) Know emergency contacts and escalation steps
Enable smart alerts from home security systems so that family members know when doors open late at night, remain open longer than normal or when systems are armed or disarmed. Fire and smoke listener alerts and bedside panic buttons add another layer of protection, especially overnight. Car apps can also share safety signals, such as when a vehicle is unlocked, a door or window is left open or when location sharing is enabled with trusted family members.
“No single device can protect someone on its own,” a law enforcement expert told CyberGuy. “What helps most is layering. A camera paired with a wearable. A phone paired with check-ins. Technology paired with human attention. Each layer adds context and reduces blind spots. Together, they create earlier warnings and faster responses when something goes wrong.”
Kurt’s key takeaways
The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie is heartbreaking. It also highlights how deeply modern technology is woven into everyday life. Digital data from phones, cellular networks, and cameras can offer valuable insights, but only when used responsibly and in compliance with privacy laws. As this investigation continues, technology may help law enforcement narrow timelines and test theories, even if it cannot answer every question. In cases like this, every detail matters.
As digital footprints grow more detailed, should tech companies give law enforcement broader access when someone goes missing? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has earned more than $400 billion in annual revenue for the first time. The company announced the milestone as part of its Q4 2025 earnings report released on Wednesday, which highlights the 15 percent year-over-year increase as its cloud business and YouTube continue to grow.
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