News
Nanoleaf Sense+ Control Lighting Handles Automation By Itself
The smart light switches connect to a Thread Border Router known as the Nala Learning Bridge, which features an onboard assistant.
Smart devices such as light bulbs and switches have been around for a long time. These products allow you to turn lights on and off remotely, adjust colors and brightness, plus set up automatic schedules.
There is, however, a slight catch.
Until now, the scheduling part of the equation is something you’ve mostly had to handle yourself, and depending on the app in question, the experience can often be frustrating and time-consuming.
Nanoleaf aims to fix those scheduling issues with its newly announced Sense+ Control family of products. The smart device lineup consists of the Sense+ Smart Light Switch, Sense+ Wireless Light Switch, and Nala Learning Bridge. All three products are Matter and Thread enabled and feature built-in motion and ambient light detection. The Nala Learning Bridge functions as a Thread Border Router and acts as the smart home network’s hub while featuring its own ambient lighting.

As well as a router, Nala is also the name of the Nanoleaf Automations Learning Assistant. The inbuilt technology uses complex machine learning algorithms to predict a user’s routines and adjust lighting accordingly. The company claims that, “Over time, users will be able to have a truly intelligent and hands-free experience with the smart lighting in their home.”
Nanoleaf 4D

Also announced at this year’s CES 2023 was the Nanoleaf 4D, a system that synchronizes Nanoleaf lights with your TV. The system will ship with the Nanoleaf Screen Mirror Camera and a light strip featuring 50 customizable LED zones.
Using Nonoleaf’s Sync+ technology, the Nanoleaf 4D can mimic your screen’s colors and lighting patterns across all of the other Nanoleaf lights in the room, and supports pre-made scenes, including sunrises.
Nanoleaf Skylight

Nanoleaf already offers modular wall panels in its lineup, but soon, the company will add a set of square RGBW LED panels that can be arranged in different patterns on ceilings.
Named Skylight, this new product includes Nanoleaf’s screen mirroring technology, a music visualizer, and supports group scenes. Like the Nala Learning Bridge, Skylight can also be used as a Thread Board Router.
Finally, the company will also update its Essentials line to make them Matter compatible and release software updates to ensure everything works harmoniously. The Sense+ Control line, Nanoleaf 4D, and Skylight should all arrive in stores by the second half of 2023, with pricing yet to be announced.
News
Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments
Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.
For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.
Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.
Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.

The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.
Also Read: This UAE Platform Wants To Replace Fashion Photo Shoots With AI
The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.
For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.
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