Two minute review
If there’s one thing our Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip review taught us, it’s that it’s often the simplest products that provide the best solutions. For example, when it comes to game desks, or at least game desks without RGB lighting, a simple but highly customizable light strip would be more than adequate, as long as it’s done right and right.
Two factors make the Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip a brilliant, possibly all-in-one solution for gaming desk lighting: it delivers powerful, highly customizable lighting and uses magnets instead of pesky glues. Those two things make it a great choice for anyone looking to spice up their gaming setup with dynamic RGB lighting without going over the top. And they don’t even need the Secretlab Magnus Metal Desk to work, even though it was designed specifically for that desk.
There are some things we wish it could be able to do, such as allowing users to customize each of the 123 LED bulbs individually. However, there are already enough tweaks to keep your everyday RGB enthusiast happy and saturated.
Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip price and availability
- Costs $79 (£55, AU$79)
- Available in US, UK and Australia
The Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip, launched in late April 2022, will cost $79 (£55, AU$79). That may seem a bit pricey, especially for a light strip that’s only 59 inches long. However, its robust, high-quality construction and embedded magnets add to its value.
While there are cheaper options, such as Govee’s Neon LED Strip Light, which will set you back $79 / £79 for a longer three-meter strip, the Secretlab MAGRGB comes with a more user-friendly app and better customizations. Keep in mind that there are also more expensive options, including Philips Hue’s Gradient Lightstrip, which will set you back a whopping $179 for an 80-inch strip in the US and £169 for the 55-inch option in the UK.
All things considered, $79/£55/AU$79 is a fair price for what you get.
Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip setup
- Easy and quick to physically set up
- Easy to pair with the Nanoleaf and Apple HomeKit apps
Made and designed specifically for the Secretlab Magnus Metal Desk, it’s no surprise that the Nanoleaf-powered Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip takes cues from the desk’s magnetic modular design. Fifteen small but powerful magnets line one side of the strip, making it easy to stick to any metal surface. On the Magnus desk, it should be attached to the back of the table top with the lights pointing strategically toward the back cover of the desk. This magnetic solution makes it quick and painless to install.
Simply slide it under the table top opposite the tailgate, which you have to flip open for easier access, and it snaps right into place. You may need to make minor adjustments, especially if you want to keep it nice and flush with the edge of the table, but you don’t have to do much.
Really, the trickiest part of the setup here is connecting the connector cable to the light strip and controller ports, as you do need to be careful not to break any of the tiny pins inside. But as long as you’re careful and gentle, this shouldn’t be hard to do.
Pairing with the Nanoleaf app — and later with the Apple HomeKit (or Google Home) app — is also a breeze. We already had the Nanoleaf app installed on our phone, as we have other Nanoleaf products, but if you don’t have them, download it as you need the app for the device to work.
Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip design and features
- Uses magnets; can be attached to other metal surfaces
- Voice control via Google Home or Apple Homekit
Measuring 10mm x 16mm and measuring 1.5m (59in) in length, the Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip is just the right size and length to fit over the Secretlab Magnus cable tray and extend the length of the table. burnt out.
Again, instead of glues that Nanoleaf uses for its other products, it comes with built-in magnets that allow it to stick to the Magnus effortlessly. But those magnets also stick to anything with a metal surface, so you really don’t need this particular desk to use it. For example, we tested it on our FlexiSpot EG8 Comhar standing desk, and it stayed in place beautifully. Because it bends a little, it even curves around the rounded edges of the desk, although not perfectly.
The ends of the light strip where the connector ports are located do not have magnets, which we assume was on purpose to make it easy when trying to disconnect the connector cable. Keep that in mind if you’re tinkering and adjusting something though, as a light tug can pull those ends off.
A controller is included, which also has its own magnets on the back so you can also attach it to the desk so it won’t get in the way and your setup is nice and tidy. The controller comes with a power button, a button to choose between five different lighting presets, and brightness buttons.
It’s not something you’ll be using often, especially as the Nanoleaf app does give you better control over the lighting, but it’s still good to have on hand. We had ours strapped to one of the hind legs where you barely notice it, but it’s still very accessible.
Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip performance
- Plenty of customization options
- Bright, powerful lighting
The Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip doesn’t just shine in design and arrangement; it also delivers performance.
First of all, customizations are essentially endless. At the moment the Nanoleaf app doesn’t seem to give you the option to adjust all 123 LEDs individually – instead you can create palettes with just seven colors each – but it does allow you to create multiple scenes in which you can create a palette and choose from five different light movements and customize it.
Each lighting move also has its own set of adjustments. For example, the Stripes gesture lets you choose the portion of the layout that uses each color from your palette, how fast the animation moves across the strip, and which direction it goes. Meanwhile, the Flow gesture lets you set how long the scene pauses on each color, how fast the animation moves, loop on or off, and the direction.
If you don’t have a lot of time to play with scenes, the light strip also comes with exclusive lighting effects from Team Liquid, Cloud9 and Secretlab, as well as access to Nanoleaf’s existing palettes.
Unfortunately, if you don’t want moving lighting, you’ll have to play with the speed of the animations or stick to color. At the moment there doesn’t seem to be an option to have no animations. The good news is that any changes you make to the app happen in real time as long as the light strip is on, so you can experiment and make adjustments on the fly.
More importantly, the LED lighting is powerful and bright. Even during the day, we can see the colors beautifully and vividly reflecting off the wall we propped up our Magnus desk against. And that’s at 50% brightness. The way the light strip should be attached to the Magnus desk is strategic so that it bounces off the edge of the back cover (and also against the wall if you put the desk against a desk) and then beams up. That works like a charm, giving you a level of immersion that not many RGB gaming peripherals can provide.
Should I buy the Secretlab MAGRGB smart light strip?
