FBI releases redacted report of its GamerGate investigation

It’s one thing to have read about (and reported on) the various threats of violence perpetrated by GamerGate, but seeing the FBI’s collection of documents regarding the harassment campaign is entirely different. The Bureau recently released a 173-page document that compiles a plethora of emails and tweets received, seemingly, by targets including culture critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Brianna Wu. There are also internal reports, police reports and letters of request to various gaming and tech companies. I only say “seemingly” because names, email addresses and identifying information has been redacted throughout the report. But lining up the emails with dates and news stories, it’s plainly obvious who the trolls were writing to.

One email to the Utah State University’s Taggart Student Center boasts: “You can try calling the FBI to come arrest me, but I’m behind 7 proxies and you’ll never be able to backtrack this IP. Can’t lulzback the [redacted].” As you’ll see, that confidence was not misplaced.

Other bits include formal FBI reports on the activities and investigations of bomb-threat suspects and Twitter users freely distributing personal identifying information (doxxing). For the latter, the FBI had the users’ account information, IP address and the threatening posts in question. Also included are requests from the FBI to Google for compliance to help with the investigations.

In an email regarding a YouTube account, the FBI asked Google to:

“take all necessary steps to preserve for a period of ninety (90) days any and all record and other evidence, including, but not limited to all e-mail, Google Talk histories, buddy lists, profiles, subscriber information, method of payment and detailed billing logs in its possession relating to the email accounts.

“The FBI is also requesting that Google Inc take all necessary steps to preserve for a period of ninety (90) days any and all records, videos, content and other evidence for the following YouTube account: [redacted].”

Similar messages were sent to Microsoft. In one internal report, the FBI details its use of Palantir to “analyze results obtained from a subpoena request to Twitter” for account info pertaining to a threat posted by a user.

There’s no shortage of galling information to sift through, including, as The Verge points out, a report detailing an interview between the Bureau and one of the harassers who was let off with little more than a slap on the wrist. The suspect admitted to calling and threatening a target 40 to 50 times a day by phone. After telling the agent they would stop the harassment, it seems like nothing further was done.

The closing report, dated September 21st, 2015, is again heavily redacted but essentially says that even with reviewing the dozens of threats, issuing subpoenas and tracking IP addresses that “no additional subjects or actionable leads were developed.”

The investigation into GamerGate was closed that year.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Trump’s first week: An affront to the web and science

For those who opposed Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House, the first week of his presidency confirmed a number of fears. Many of Trump’s perceived worst characteristics were on full display. He openly lied about crowd sizes at his inauguration, made his baseless accusations of mass voter fraud a matter of federal investigation and laced his inauguration speech with nationalist overtones.

Work began on two of the big initiatives Trump focused on in his campaign: dismantling the Affordable Care Act and building a wall on the Mexico border. The week also featured major moves relating to issues that we focus on here at Engadget: The new administration’s disregard of climate change and the environment was on full display, and a major foe of net neutrality is now leading the FCC.

The moves to dismantle environmental regulations have easily been one of the administration’s biggest focuses in week one. Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to resume work on the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline, two oil lines with extremely contentious histories. President Obama rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline in 2015, arguing that it would undercut the US’ place as a leader in the fight against climate change and temporarily blocked work on the Dakota Access pipeline as well. The New York Times noted that the pipelines “were more about symbol than substance,” but Trump immediately reversing Obama’s orders around them shows that environmental concerns are not a priority.

Signing orders to move forward with the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/OErGmbBvYK

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2017

The Environmental Protection Agency has also been under siege since Trump took office. After the inauguration, he immediately froze all grants and contracts. It’s not totally unprecedented, as new administrations often put a halt on work that was ongoing to give time to review it, but this freeze isn’t the only way the EPA has been targeted thus far.

The new administration also banned all EPA employees from posting updates on social media and speaking to the media. The research arm of the Department of Agriculture was under a similar ban that was lifted a day later. On Thursday, USA Today reported that the ban on grants had been lifted after less than a week. “We finished our review process,” said acting EPA spokesperson Doug Ericksen. “As of now, nothing has been delayed. Nothing has been cut. There was simply a pause and everything’s up and running.” Regardless, it’s concerning to see the government keep its employees from speaking to the public.

Similarly, NPR reported that the EPA will have to submit its studies and data for review by “political staff” before public release. These reviews could contradict contradict the agency’s scientific integrity policy, which was put into place in 2012. It prohibits “all EPA employees, including scientists, managers and other Agency leadership from suppressing, altering, or otherwise impeding the timely release of scientific findings or conclusions.”

BREAKING: Trump administration mandating EPA scientific studies, data undergo review by political staff before public release.

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 25, 2017

Considering all of this, it’s no surprise that when the White House website was updated last Friday, all references to climate change were removed. All of WhiteHouse.gov was updated and all of the old Obama site’s content was archived, so it’s not as if those pages would have lived on anyway. But with not a single mention of climate change anywhere to be found, it’s clear the administration doesn’t believe it is a priority. Reports have also suggested that the EPA’s climate change data and research could be scrubbed from its site, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening in the near future.

As the week went on, a few brave souls within the government took to Twitter to stick it to Trump. On inauguration day, the official National Park Service Twitter account retweeted a photo comparing the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd to Obama’s — after which all Department of the Interior employees were told to stop using official Twitter accounts.

For later, after those Badlands National Park tweets get deleted, here’s what happened. ht @migold pic.twitter.com/b5vnKjwDnn

— Patrick LaForge (@palafo) January 24, 2017

Some defied those orders, though — the best example thus far was the Twitter account for the Badlands National Park. Earlier this week, someone with the account’s password started posting data on climate change (supposedly they were posted by a former employee who still had access to the account). Naturally, the tweets were quickly deleted, but events like this and the EPA’s gag order haven’t reflected well on the new administration.

Oddly enough, the administration may be making things harder for itself by deleting the handful of tweets that have popped up on government accounts. Deleting tweets could violate the Freedom of Information Act if they weren’t properly saved; there’s a reason that @POTUS and other such accounts note that “tweets may be archived.” Trump himself may have already violated that rule by deleting a few tweets that had typos in them.

Speaking of Twitter, the digital handoff between Obama and Trump hasn’t been all that seamless. There’s been a number of gaffs, perhaps most publicly with the @POTUS Twitter account. Those following that account while President Obama was in office were supposed to be transferred to a new account, @POTUS44. That archival account presents everything tweeted from the @POTUS handle while Obama was in office.

Thanks to a bug in Twitter’s transition tool, however, anyone who followed @POTUS44 after noon on inauguration day was set to follow @POTUS as well, and lots of people who unfollowed @POTUS found that it didn’t stick. It was quickly sorted out, and obviously not the government’s fault, but it was another bungle that got plenty of attention.

More crucially, a number of useful resources from the official White House website under the Obama administration were removed without being replaced. For example, there’s no more Spanish-language version of the site, something that existed under both Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush. In addition to removing climate change pages, the White House website now makes no mention of LGBTQ rights — no big surprise given the administration’s lack of focus on those areas, but still troubling to the millions of Americans who care about them.

This afternoon, I was informed that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump designated me the 34th Chairman of the @FCC. It is a deeply humbling honor. pic.twitter.com/Joza18aP33

— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) January 23, 2017

But the most important news regarding the internet during Trump’s first week came when Ajit Pai took over as FCC commissioner, succeeding Tom Wheeler. Pai’s ascension was no surprise, but it raises concerns for those who support net neutrality. Pai has been a staunch opponent, and the Trump administration has made it clear to values growing business rather than upholding consumer-friendly policies. Disappointing, to be sure, but at the very least Trump can’t banish net neutrality protection with the wave of a pen — it’ll take some time to roll back what happened under Obama and Wheeler.

Those are just a few of the things that happened in an extremely busy first week for the Trump presidency. All told, the new president signed 12 executive orders in his first week, a pace he certainly won’t keep up. (President Obama averaged 35 executive orders per year during his tenure.) The breakneck pace may slow down, but president Trump’s priorities are quickly coming into focus. Sadly, a free web and scientific integrity aren’t among them.

The Public Access Weekly: Feel the pain

Greetings and salutations all, and welcome to Friday. We’re going to make it a quick one — I’ve been unexpectedly laid up with back pain this week so the whole Public Access machine has sort of ground to a halt. That means a lot of you have been waiting too long to hear back about articles and registrations, and my sincere apologies for that. So, let’s get this party started so I can get back to all of you (very patient) folks!

A quick note for Public Access users: There have been some issues lately with members not understanding what constitutes plagiarism so let me clarify. Publishing work that belongs to someone else is plagiarism. Do not publish someone else’s work under your name — even if they are a friend and ask you to help them out because they are having computer problems, or say they’ve been waiting too long for an article to be approved, or have forgotten their login info. If you did not write it, and your name is on it, that is plagiarism and we will bounce you. If you want to quote something that someone else has written or said, then you need to use quotation marks around the text you did not write and cite the source with a mention and a link. As always, if you have questions you can email us or click the “Start Conversation” button within the story template.

Looking for something to read? Check out:

Richard Smith’s first Public Access post walks us through his thoughts and opinions on the Google Pixel and Pixel XL handsets — and it’s a great example of a Public Access member giving their straightforward, unvarnished opinion on a new smartphone line.

Meanwhile, Matthew Finch gave us some insight onto how artificial intelligence and chatbots are impacting the future of health services by examining the partnership of Google’s DeepMind with the National Health Service and how that partnership is improving patient autonomy.

Lastly, Jojo Roy contributed a thoughtful piece on our “heads down” world of technology consumption and absorption in the context of how digital game designers could change the culture by creating games that provide novel social experiences that foster human togetherness.

Looking for something to write about? Mull over:

Five states have introduced “Right to repair” bills to help tech repair kiosks and shops get access to legit parts and official manuals. Should manufacturers make it easier for third-party shops to repair their products? Should the grey-area legalities around authorized parts simply be clarified to protect them? Or should companies do better in providing customers with authorized repair centers?

Sophocles said “I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.” Apparently over six thousand Pokémon Sun and Moon players feel differently, as the company recently put the smack down on those who had been using modified save files. So…What’s the best way for a gaming company to catch and punish cheaters?

Sean Buckley is not a fan of the PlayStation Store’s ‘minimum funding’ charges, even going so far as to declare the practice “anti-consumer” (although to be fair he also admits he might just be a whiner). There were plenty of folks in the comments who agreed or disagreed with both his claim, and his opinion, so we thought we’d throw it open to you: Is the PlayStation Store’s minimum funds practice a minor quibble or a pain in the ass? Why or why not? And should the company end or upgrade these policies?

‘Gears of War 4’ makes cross-platform multiplayer official

Last December Microsoft tried out something it hadn’t done in quite awhile: adversarial cross-platform multiplayer. For a single weekend, there was a test between folks playing against each other in Gears of War 4 on PC and Xbox One. Now, that’s moving from a beta to an official release. Before you reach for the pitchforks, though, this is only for the brawny shooter’s (unranked) Social Quickplay mode. From a post on the Windows 10 blog:

“Despite the closely matched performance between users on both platforms seen in our cross-play Test Weekend, we always want to ensure our Ranked experiences are as closely matched and competitive as possible.”

More or less, don’t expect the different platforms to commingle during any type of serious play. Over on Xbox Wire, Gears developer The Coalition’s Liam Ashley writes that both console and PC players had “closely-matched results” in terms of average kill-to-death ratios, score and kills per-match based on their respective skill ratings.

With this experiment in the books, it wouldn’t be surprising if we see cross-platform play happen in other games. After all, the gulf between aiming accuracy via mouse and keyboard on a PC versus a gamepad is a pretty high bar to overcome. Now it’s been addressed in a way that seemingly Microsoft and fans are happy with.

Since that hurdle has been addressed, what’s stopping Microsoft from opening up people playing Forza on a PC against pals on Xboxes? So long as it isn’t ranked competition, there shouldn’t be too much pushback.

Source: Windows 10 blog, Xbox Wire

Japan is getting a Final Fantasy XIV-inspired live-action TV drama

When you hear the term “live action Final Fantasy TV drama,” you probably imagine something akin to Game of Thrones. But don’t get your hopes up too much. Final Fantasy XIV: Daddy of Light is actually an upcoming Japanese TV drama that centers on the relationship between a father and son playing the popular MMO, reports Kotaku. It’s based on a series of blog posts by a Japanese gamer who played FFXIV with his 60-year-old father, and it’s also apparently the first time Final Fantasy has inspired a live action show. The series will also incorporate in-game segments from the MMO when it launches in April, so fans will still be able to get their Chocobo fix.

Via: Kotaku

Source: Model Press

Pursue startup success at any cost in ‘The Founder’

If you’ve ever wanted to play through a cynical take on Silicon Valley in a Sims-like fashion, Francis Tseng has a game for you. It’s called The Founder and this dystopian look at the founding and success of a startup comes in the form of a browser-based game. You start out in 2001, plotting to take over the world after naming your company, picking a business and adding your first employee. Of course, you’re working in an apartment like all new companies do.

Before you know it, it’s 2020 and you’re building government drones and developing brain implants. There’s even a parody version of TED talks called DENT for you to participate in. Of course, growth and profits are the only indicators of success and you’ll have to make some decisions along the way that may seem just fine during the course of the game, but they come at a huge cost.

Tseng says his experience working in the real Silicon Valley shaped his idea for the game. He explained to Fast Company that while a lot of good things were happening during his time there, he felt like a lot of innovation was going to waste.

Tseng says it took him about a year and a half to build the startup simulator in his spare time. The goal here is that as the game progresses and technologies get more insane, players will eventually realize that the startup is part of a world you really don’t want to be a part of anymore. After hitting Kickstarter to crowdfund the final product, the game was released online today. However, you really shouldn’t expect to have a good time playing it. As Tseng notes, “The only way to win is not to play.”

Via: Fast Company

Source: The Founder

BitTorrent’s live TV app finally arrives on Android

Despite troubles plaguing the company, BitTorrent has brought its peer-to-peer live streaming app to Android, a few weeks after making the iOS version available. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, where it has already garnered a lukewarm rating of 3.2.

BitTorrent Live lets you watch TV broadcasts for free, and features programming curated by the company. It includes livestreams of “alternative voices in news,” as well as sports and cultural content. Since Live is a peer-to-peer system, the quality of its streams will depend on the number of users tuning in. Based on the Play Store reviews, it appears the Android app lacks Chromecast support, and needs to work on improving its interface and library.

Meanwhile, BitTorrent recently lost one of its CEOs who was involved with its ad-supported video and music-streaming service Now, causing speculation that the service was in trouble. BitTorrent later said it “remains focused on the media space.” Bringing BitTorrent Live to Android is a good follow-through on that commitment, but given the turmoil reportedly going on at the company, the future of BitTorrent Live is uncertain.

Source: Google Play Store

The Chevy Bolt makes green driving fun

I’ve driven the Chevy Bolt a few times. At CES, briefly in San Francisco, and after a tour of the GM plant where the electric car will be assembled. But all those tests were in pre-production vehicles. Sure, they were working cars, but they weren’t quite ready for consumers. The company still needed to tweak and refine the EV leading up to its official launch at a dealership in Fremont, California in December. Finally , GM put me behind the wheel of a consumer-ready Bolt, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Chevy has pulled off something rather spectacular. It’s built a car that, regardless of drivetrain, is a wonderful four-door hatchback. The interior is big enough to carry four full size adults plus a week’s worth of groceries, while the vehicle itself retains the nimbleness and driving experience of a small vehicle. More importantly, it’s a tech-savvy, long-range EV that just hits under the $30,000 mark and doesn’t make drivers feel like they have to change how they drive.

That’s my biggest takeaway from my 100-mile-plus drive through the mountains, cities and highways of the Bay Area. Like while driving a Tesla, I never really felt any range anxiety. It’s rated to go 238 miles between charges thanks to its 60-kWh battery pack. But unlike any currently-available Tesla, you can buy a Bolt for just under $30,000 ($29,995, to be exact) after federal tax credits. Sure, the $35,000 (before federal tax credits) Model 3 is on the way, but the Bolt is on sale right now in Oregon and California and will be available nationwide in mid-2017.

Of course only the most obsessed-with-range EV owner will be able to eek that 238-mile range out of the vehicle. From my drive in various conditions and using all three mode (Sport, Drive and Low) I logged about 216 miles on a full charge. If the car had had more high-speed highway time, my mileage would have been less. But I spent less time checking how much juice I had and more time just driving.

To top off that long-range battery, the base model Bolt ships with industry-standard level 2 port. The 240-volt plug will add about 24 miles in an hour to the car. A typical 120-volt home outlet will add roughly four miles in an hour. For an additional $750 buyers can add the optional DC fast charger that will push 90 miles in 30 minutes to the pack. Of course it requires a DC fast charger. But more of those are appearing every day.

Buyers will have to weigh the pros and cons of each system, but the level 2 standard charger should be more than enough for most commutes and weekend jaunts.

However you charge, the car itself doesn’t feel like it’s been watered down or restricted to get you to your destination. It pumps out 200 horsepower and 266 pounds of torque from its 150-kW motor. It has enough getup-and-go in sport mode to tame local onramps with a zero-to-60 rating of under 6.5 seconds. Even in regular drive mode the car felt quick thanks to all that electric torque, which also helped it launch on the steep hills of San Francisco without any issues.

In low mode the car dials it back a bit and enables some aggressive regenerative braking when you take your foot off the accelerator. Chevy calls it one-pedal driving. It made perfect sense while driving in traffic and on San Francisco’s surface streets. For even more energy-conscious folks, the Bolt borrows a feature from the its hybrid cousin, the Volt (a pair of cars that will force folks to enter into a “Who’s on First” routine each time one of them is mentioned). The Regen on Demand lever behind steering wheel that brings the car to a stop without using the brake while maximizing the amount of electricity being sent back to the batteries.

During the drive it was clear that Chevy had taken the best bits of EV technology and crammed it into the Bolt. That includes a low center of gravity thanks to a battery pack placed at the bottom of the vehicle. Throw in what feels like a slightly tighter suspension than what I found on the pre-production models and navigating mountain roads was a blast for what’s essentially an economy car. The steering is tight and the ride is solid enough for spirited cornering, but not so much that a rough road or pot holes will knock you silly.

All that adds up to a driving a experience that’s more entertaining than I would have expected. Chevy could have easily hit its mileage range and price points and called it a day. But it made something better: an excellent car that just happens to run on electricity instead of gas.

That’s not to say the Bolt is perfect. One issue that might turn off some potential buyers is the front seats. They’re not uncomfortable if you fit into them. At six-foot three and 210 or so pounds, I felt as if I was hitting the width limit of chair. Any driver that’s wider in the hips area than me would probably start feeling cramped after about 30 minutes.

The rest of the interior feels open and roomy thanks in part to all the large windows. I was able to sit in the back seat without the front passenger sitting with their knees pressed against their chest. You can put most of your junk in the trunk and because the car doesn’t have a spare tire (it has special Michelin tires that automatically seal themselves) there’s extra room below the main cargo area. Putting the rear seats down obviously adds enough room for most trips to Ikea or Costco.

Chevy wants the driver not only to feel like they’re not cramped, but also that they can customize their infotainment experience. Information on the 10.2-inch touchscreen can be adjusted to the whims of the driver. Changing the widgets (which include energy use, audio, phone, clock, Bluetooth setup and others) to fit your needs is straightforward. The dash cluster is also adjustable with three different layouts; Classic, Modern and Enhanced. Classic gives you the bare minimum of information. Enhanced goes full-bore on details about your driving and Modern is somewhere in the middle.

One thing Chevy did not add is navigation. Instead it expects Bolt customers to be use Android Auto or CarPlay to fill in that gap. I rarely use a car’s navigation system and rely more on my smartphone to get around, so this decision makes sense to me.

One issue I did have with the infotainment system was the angle of the center console. I had to lean forward to reach the top icons. Not an ideal situation. But overall, I’m a fan. It doesn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming and it presents the information you want and how you want it without having to delve into the owner’s manual.

Really that’s one of the biggest selling points of the Bolt. You just get in and drive. Sure it’s full of technology, but most of that gets out of the way and lets the driver enjoy themselves. Chevy wanted to create an an affordable, long-range electric car without compromise but what it’s done is actually a bit more ambitious. It’s shown the world that Detroit is not only embracing the future, right now, it’s the leader.

Source: Chevy

MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPhone Case and Dock From Grovemade

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with Grovemade to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company’s wood iPhone cases and a matching dock. All of Grovemade’s products, ranging from Apple accessories to desk sets, are made from high quality wood and leather, and everything matches.

Grovemade’s docks, priced at $79, are made from wood and solid aluminum. Available in Walnut or Maple, the base of the dock is crafted from solid aluminum with a handmade wooden cap. An iPhone cable routes up through the aluminum base for charging purposes, and it’s heavy enough that it’s super stable on a desk.

Docks are available for all Apple iPhones from the iPhone 5 and later, and our giveaway winner will be able to choose the wood and size appropriate for their iPhone.

Grovemade offers four different iPhone case styles, ranging in price from $139 to $59. The Leather iPhone Wallet Case ($129-$139) features a frame carved from walnut or maple wood and covered with vegetable-tanned leather. It keeps the display safe from scratches and bumps but leaves the screen and all ports accessible.

The Leather Case ($109-$119) is a standard-style iPhone case with a wood frame and a backplate made from vegetable-tanned leather. Like the Wallet Case, the leather of the Leather Case will wear in and develop a unique look with use.

Grovemade also makes both a plain wood iPhone Case ($89 to $99) and a minimal iPhone Bumper, both designed to add minimal bulk while still protecting an iPhone. The iPhone Case uses a thin stick-on backplate combined with the iPhone Bumper to prevent dings and scratches.

All cases are available in Walnut or Maple wood and fit the iPhone 6 and later. Some of the cases are also available for the iPhone 5, 5s, and SE.

We’re giving away one case and one dock to two MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (January 27) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on February 3. The winners will be chosen randomly on February 3 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tags: giveaway, Grovemade
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Review: Nanoleaf’s ‘Aurora Smarter Kit’ Offers Awesome HomeKit-Enabled Mood Lighting for $200

Nanoleaf started out in 2013 as small company offering a Kickstarter project for an energy efficient light bulb, which led to the launch of the HomeKit-enabled Nanoleaf Smarter Kit, a set of three standard-style bulbs connected by a hub.

Nanoleaf’s first HomeKit accessory worked well but was rather ordinary, something that can’t be said about its newest product, the Aurora Smarter Kit. Inspired by the aurora borealis phenomena, the Aurora is like no other HomeKit product — or lighting product — on the market.

Priced at $199, the Aurora Smarter Kit is a set of modular mood lights that can be arranged in hundreds of ways. Each triangle-shaped light can be set to a different color using the Aurora app, and movement patterns are used to create a dynamic lighting setup that’s essentially interactive art.

Design and Setup

The Aurora Smarter Kit includes nine plastic triangles with LEDs in each corner, a main connector that plugs into one of the triangles and into a standard wall socket, adhesive strips, and connectors to connect and power each triangle.

While one triangle needs to be attached to the power source (which can power up to 30 triangles), the others triangles draw power through the main triangle using small plastic connector tabs that can be placed on any side of each individual triangle. That means the triangles can be arranged in an endless number of patterns, and triangles beyond the additional nine can be added to the design.

Triangles need to be connected to one another for power, so there’s no way to split the triangles up unless you have two kits with two power panels. Some of Nanoleaf’s imagery shows the Aurora split across two walls or connected at a 90 degree angle — this is not possible at the current time. Nanoleaf tells me that flexible connectors that will allow the triangles to be placed around corners are in the works and will be released in the summertime.

Each triangle measures in at about 9.5 inches long and 8 inches on the sides, so a set of nine takes up a good amount of space on the wall depending on the arrangement. A single wire will need to snake up the wall, connecting the power panel to an outlet.

Nanoleaf recommends setting up all of the panels and testing them before attaching them to the wall, so mine went on the floor first while I picked a layout. With the Aurora, you’re going to want to invest some time in arranging the triangles into a suitable shape, because these go up on the wall using 3M adhesive strips. Once up, they’re not moving without some serious effort.

Testing the panels on the floor
I made a design on the floor and used paper guide triangles, included in the packaging, to mock it up on the wall so I could get the proper alignment. Again, with that adhesive, this is a measure twice stick once operation.

Each panel attaches to the wall using three 3M adhesive strips, one in each corner of the triangle. Hanging them on the wall took about a half hour from arranging the paper triangles to the finished product. The panels snap together as described above with the connectors, so it’s just a matter of lining everything up and pressing down to make sure it’s adequately adhered to the wall.

The triangles are made of a lightweight opaque plastic, so with three adhesive strips, they are well and truly stuck. The triangles aren’t going to slip off the wall or come down in an earthquake, and while mine have only been up for two weeks, I suspect if one strip begins to fail, the other two strips will keep it attached.

Paper mockup
All of this adhesive makes it a hassle to rearrange the panels, which is a shame. I would love to be able to change my design on a regular basis to keep it from getting stale, but unsticking the panels from the wall is a huge pain (not to mention the 3M strips can damage some paint).

On the plus side, using adhesive for attachment makes for a clean, futuristic look with just a single wire connecting the entire setup to a power source.

I started out with 12 triangles (the main kit and an extra kit Nanoleaf sent) but once I set them up on the floor, I loved the look enough that I went to Best Buy and bought another expansion kit. A week later, I bought another, so now I have 18 triangles.

Expansion kits are priced at $60 for three panels, and while that’s far from cheap, it’s on par with other lighting kits like Philips Hue. I think most people will want to buy at least one expansion kit for the Nanoleaf Aurora — nine panels feels like too few.

On the main power piece that connects to one of the triangles, there’s a power button and an additional button that allows you to manually swap through different pre-set scenes that have been established in the app. This allows the Aurora to be controlled sans iPhone, but it’s the only manual control available.

Light Output

The base Aurora module doesn’t quite put out enough light to be used as a main light source in a room (unless the room is fairly small), but it works well as a nightlight, and it does get bright enough that it can be paired with a standard lamp or two for sufficient room lighting. It’s also the perfect amount of light for watching movies or playing video games.

Because I was only expecting the Aurora to provide mood lighting, I was surprised at how bright it can get. The colors are super rich and vibrant with the brightness cranked up, or more muted and soft with the brightness turned down. I keep the brightness at about 25 percent, which is comfortable enough to provide a little light without being obtrusive.

Light output will change with the number of panels. Nine isn’t enough to light a room, but 18 goes a lot further at maximum brightness depending on the color it’s set to. I have a fairly large office and I’d compare the 18-panel Aurora setup to a standard lamp based on the amount of light output. It won’t light my office on its own, but paired with one or two lamps, it’s a good amount of light.

Maximum brightness at top, 50% brightness at center, 25% brightness at bottom
You can see the three LEDs in each corner of the Aurora panels, with the light very clearly radiating from those areas. At dimmer settings and with some color rotation patterns there’s also a noticeable flickering as the lights shift colors, most apparent when the Aurora is dimmed. It’s a little distracting, but not a deal breaker. It doesn’t appear to flicker the same way at maximum brightness, or if it does, it can’t be seen because it’s so vibrant.

Several times, I’ve noticed bright flashes of light coming from the Aurora, almost like one of the LEDs is flaring. This is definitely a bug and an irritating one — it happens at least once a day, but it doesn’t seem to impact the functionality of the light.

I leave my Aurora panels turned on all the time except for at night. They’re LED so they don’t use a lot of energy and they don’t get warm. When off, it just looks like a bunch of white plastic triangles on the wall, which isn’t as appealing as the bright colors. That’s something to keep in mind if you don’t plan to have the Aurora turned on permanently.

App and HomeKit Features

Over the last two years, Apple’s HomeKit has improved quite a bit. Adding new devices to HomeKit is almost always simple and error free, and the Aurora Smarter Kit was no exception. Setting it up consisted of powering it on, connecting to it directly via WiFi, inputting the password for my WiFi network, and scanning the HomeKit hardware code using the Nanoleaf Aurora app (the Home app – or any other HomeKit app – can also be used for this process).

It should be noted that the Aurora only works with a 2.4GHz WiFi network, so you will need to make sure you have that option set up on your router. Though the Aurora needs to connect to the 2.4GHz network, I can still control it with my iPhone connected to the 5GHz network. It works when away from home too, thanks to the HomeKit integration and an Apple TV hub.

In the early days of HomeKit, I used to have a lot of issues with new accessories causing problems with my setup, resulting in a lot of resets or inexplicable connection issues, but I haven’t had that happen in the last year. HomeKit isn’t perfect, especially when it comes to getting Siri to recognize voice commands, but it’s better than it used to be.

Siri’s interaction with the Aurora is similar to any other HomeKit-enabled light. You can use Siri to change the lights on, off, to a specific color, or to a pre-defined scene created in the Nanoleaf Aurora app.

Siri can only turn the Nanoleaf a specific color, unless you’re using scenes
Unfortunately, there’s no way to create light shows or multi-colored light setups with the Aurora outside of scenes, so you will need to use the dedicated app a lot of the time rather than Siri or Apple’s Home app.

Third-party app makers don’t always do a great job with their apps, and while Nanoleaf’s app isn’t terrible, it could use some improvement. A lot of the time when I open the Nanoleaf app I get a connection error that says the Aurora can’t be reached. This seems to be an app problem rather than an internet problem because five seconds later, the connection is fine.

The Nanoleaf app’s interface is neat. It displays a real-time view of the Aurora lights in the arrangement you’ve created and with the colors you’ve set.

Controlling the Aurora revolves around choosing a pre-existing color palette or creating a new one. Any color can be picked and added to a palette, and then that palette is used to assign a color to each triangle.

Tap a color, tap a triangle, and it shows up right on the wall. When a color palette is set, there’s an option to add several light effects to switch between the colors of your palette in various patterns.

Options include Random (randomly changes the colors of the triangles), Flow (slowly transitions between colors), Wheel (a continuous shifting gradient of colors), Highlight (like random, but with a focus on the left side of the palette), Fade (all the triangles shift between each color), and Burst (triangles shift colors from the middle out).

Brightness, movement speed, transition smoothing, and direction are also options that can be set.

All palettes can be saved as scenes that can be activated via Siri or through the Scenes section of the app. Like other HomeKit apps, the Nanoleaf app can control other HomeKit-enabled accessories, but it is limited to lights. To have the lights turn to specific scenes at pre-set times, a Schedules feature can be used.

Siri and Apple’s Home app can be used to turn the Aurora off and on, dim it, set a single solid color, or activate a scene. Individual triangles can’t be controlled via Siri or in the Home app.

Bottom Line

At $200, the Aurora Smarter Kit isn’t cheap, but its uniqueness, vibrant colors, HomeKit support, and customizable design make it worth the price. It’s almost more art than light, and while it won’t light up an entire room, it’s a perfect accent light or night light. It can be the centerpiece of a room or a subtle background accent depending on the colors and the brightness.

Not everyone is going to feel like a $200 light is a worthwhile purchase, but if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind shelling out a couple hundred dollars for a futuristic tech toy or a neat lighting solution, I can guarantee you’re not going to be disappointed with the Aurora.

I do wish adhesive wasn’t the solution for mounting the Aurora because it makes it difficult to rearrange panels at will (and this kind of adhesive always has the potential to damage walls), but there doesn’t seem to be an alternative option so it’s a shortcoming that has to be lived with. And it’s a downside I don’t mind tolerating for the benefits of the Aurora.

There are also some bugs and connection issues with the Nanoleaf Aurora that potential buyers should be aware of, but none of the bugs I ran into severely impacted functionality.

The Aurora is pricy, but Nanoleaf has some additions in the works like sound integration and new panel shapes, so this seems to be a system that’s going to last for long time and provide years worth of value. I’d happily use the Aurora without HomeKit integration, so that it works with Siri and the rest of my smart home products is a bonus.

Pros:

• Modular
• Expandable
• Super bright
• Can control each triangle
• HomeKit compatible

Cons:

• Requires 2.4GHz network
• Connectivity problems
• Odd LED flashes
• Flickering color transitions at low brightness

How to Buy

The Aurora Smarter Kit can be purchased from the Nanoleaf website for $199. It’s also available from Best Buy’s website and retail stores for the same price.

Nanoleaf provided MacRumors with a Nanoleaf Starter Kit and one expansion set for the purposes of this review. The author also purchased additional expansion sets.

Tags: review, Nanoleaf
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