# iConnectHue for Philips Hue — user reviews > 310 indexed App Store user reviews of iConnectHue for Philips Hue by Stefan Gohler, rated 4.20/5 from 755 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iconnecthue-for-philips-hue/id639343132/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iconnecthue-for-philips-hue/id639343132.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 520 · 4★ 66 · 3★ 33 · 2★ 40 · 1★ 96 ## What do users think of iConnectHue for Philips Hue? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Quick and helpful support - 👍 Unequaled among all 3rd party Hue Apps - 👍 Best app for Philips Hue! - 👍 Excellent app - 👍 Fantastic app - 👍 Absolutely amazing! - 👍 Easily the best app for Philips Hue - 👍 The superior Philips Hue app - 👍 Hands down best app I've ever had - 👍 Awesome app - 👍 The best Hue app I've used - 👍 Transforming Hue lights and Switches into magical devices - 👍 Must have for any Hue based smart home - 👍 Constantly evolving, and amazing support! - 👍 Best Hue app on iOS - 👍 Excellent and better than the Philips app - 👍 Worth the Pro Subscription! **Cons** - 🐛 Does not support Festivia correctly - 🐛 Scam - 🔋 Works until it doesn't - 💰 always wants more money - 💰 Bait and switch - 💰 $4 and 99% is behind subscriptions and paid add-ons - 💰 Overpriced - 💰 Wasted $6.00 - 💰 RIP OFF - 💰 Moved Widget functionality behind paywall with iOS 18 - 💰 Widgets now require paid membership - 💰 Going back to Hue app - 💰 Decent but meh - 💰 Bought the upgrades but later realised that the cool features are Pro only - 💰 Nickel and dimes - 💰 Expensive - 💰 Difficult to use and far to many in app purchases - 💰 Pay to pay more - 🐛 Does not connect to the Philips hue light, requires a bridge so I wasted money - 🐛 In-App Signup for Membership Times Out / Does Not Work - 🐛 Color picker update is terrible - 🐛 One lasting issue... - 🐛 Awful interface and creates clutter - 🐛 Latest version crashes on iphone5 **Commonly reported bugs** - Does not support free placement of colors on the Festivia Christmas lights or other gradient lights - Remote access issues where it requires re-login frequently - Scenes and automations not working as expected, lights not responding correctly - Crashes and freezes, especially after updates - Incompatibility with some Hue devices and accessories **Most requested features** - Support for Festivia and other gradient lights - Siri/Shortcuts integration - Standalone widget without subscription - Standby mode widget - Ability to set fade in/out timers for scenes and colors - More direct control over hub rules and ability to edit/delete - Comprehensive backup and restore functionality - Automatically include some basic scenes when creating a new group - Dimmer circle/slider on group page to dim all lights in the group at once - Light cycles for Hue white ambiance lights - Ability to choose a specific color for Discotainment instead of just a gradient ## Newest reviews (13 of 310) ### 5/5 — Grateful *2026-05-20, version 5.14.8* Had the app for a good few years now and it’s always been dependable and easy to use. Over the years I’ve seen how much development has gone on, so I took out the pro membership even though I only use a limited amount of functionality, it’s been well worth it. Also for the first time ever, I’ve just contacted them for help and within 24 hours they responded and offered a solution. Can’t recommend enough. ### 5/5 — Essential; get the most out of your hardware *2026-03-13, version 5.14.7* Bought in 2021 & used every day since. Some favorite features: - Hold for secondary action & long press exclusivity. - Time alternations. - Inactivity timers as low as 30 secs. - Battery indicators & low warning. - Toggle motion sensors & set lights color. - Adjust motion sensor sensitivity. ### 2/5 — Paid app with Additional Membership *2026-03-04* I think it’s a bit shady this is a paid app that then locks most features behind an additional subscription. Ive seen other comments with the developer defending this by saying you can also buy individual feature à la carte without a full membership. And yes, you’ll see these marked in the application as “try free”—but it’s not free, since you had to pay to download the app. I think this app has a lot of potential, but please be aware that your first purchase is paying for a demo. EDIT: Adding following the developers response. To say 2/3s of features are available is again misleading. Take Animations for instance- one of the listed features in the app description. I counted over 60 animations available in your app. Only six of them are included in the base price. No one would reasonably expect that they would have less than 10% of a feature listed in the description when making an actual purchase. If I had three apples and let you take a single bite out of two of them - I couldn’t conscionably say you paid for 2/3s of my apples. I don’t think this is a poorly designed app, I just think you’re being opaque about what is available at what price. You responded with a “magazine” analogy and described the options to buy one issue or a whole subscription. But you have always been able to flip through magazines before purchasing them. And if I thumbed through a magazine and saw it only contained 10% of the cover story, then I certainly wouldn’t buy it. **Developer response:** For context: Our App Store description clearly explains which features are included in the base app, and which features are optional - and yes, it's a "paid app with additional Membership", so much is correct and available for everyone to read before purchase. In addition, all reviews and our responses are publicly available before purchase. All relevant information is available beforehand so everyone can make an informed decision before purchasing. To the facts: 1. Most features are in the base version - about 2/3rds. The basic app is a fully functional version that includes the majority of core features, such as light and group control, timers, configuration tools, an extensive switch and sensor editor, and comprehensive widgets, and you get everything that's written in our app store description. Saying this would be a "demo" would be misleading. 2. "Try free" is in the context of a purchased app - you don't see it in the app store description. This information is there to let users know that they can try it, but it's not bound to an additional purchase. Putting this in any other context would be misleading. 3. Ongoing development costs money. The Hue system - and iOS - evolve over time, rapidly. We are not able to cover our ongoing expenses via a single purchase. Having our work not paid would mean you wouldn't get any updates - as it happens with so many other Hue apps. 4. Regarding your update: Please note that the "Animation Upgrade" is a listed feature, while Animation packages - which we've described as being "optional" - are content, and the discussion has been about "features". Content can be created by yourself - though we offer ready-made packages to save you time in exchange for a payment - which in turn helps us to keep iConnectHue's development paid and active. Putting content, which you can create yourself, into the same category as features, which you cannot recreate, is not an accurate representation of the app's functionality and would be misleading. The model, as it is, is similar to a magazine: Purchase one, read it as much and as many times as you want. You want more? You can purchase them one at a time, or get it via subscription. This is an accepted model. We understand that different users prefer different pricing structures, this is why we offer options. The app, however, delivers exactly the functionality described in the App Store listing. Reviews are meant to help others - reviews with misleading information won't. We have addressed all factual inaccuracies as transparently as we can. The app delivers exactly what is described, and all relevant information was available before purchase. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out via the app: Go to "Help & More"->Contact. Your iConnectHue Team ### 2/5 — Paid app with Additional Membership *2026-02-18, version 5.14.5* I think it’s a bit shady this is a paid app that then locks most features behind an additional subscription. Ive seen other comments with the developer defending this by saying you can also buy individual feature à la carte without a full membership. And yes, you’ll see these marked in the application as “try free”—but it’s not free, since you had to pay to download the app. I think this app has a lot of potential, but please be aware that your first purchase is paying for a demo. ### 2/5 — Pay to download, pay more to use basics, pay even more to use everything *2026-01-21, version 5.14.4* Pay to download a base app and get almost no functionality (much less than the Philips Hue app), you then need to pay for a base membership to get a few free samples of the pro membership items but will need to individually buy them (not as much functionality as the Philips Hue app yet), finally you need to pay for a Pro membership to get full functionality and get all the animations/scenes for “free” (same as the Philips Hue app, but iConnectHue has more animations). Only get this if you are sure the Philips Hue app does not have the animations you need and know this app has it. Comparison: Color change: Philips Hue app matches all versions of iConnectHue Scenes: Philips hue app has more scenes than the base iConnectHue version of the app and the basic membership, but has a better ability to modify the scenes (even beats the pro membership) Animations: Philips hue app has more animations than the base iConnectHue app and the base membership. The pro membership has more animations than the Philips Hue app. ### 5/5 — Amazing! *2026-01-16, version 5.14.3* It’s reliable, easy to use, has fun features like animated colour presets, and frankly it is the only app I NEED in my shortcuts and on my Apple Watch. I’ve had it for over five years, and am delighted it’s actively updated and supported. ### 5/5 — Quick and helpful support *2025-12-31* When required support has been prompt and helpful to resolve my questions. ### 2/5 — Does not support Festivia correctly *2025-12-27, version 5.14.0* This app, unfortunately, does not support free placement of colors on the Festivia Christmas lights or other gradient lights. Edit: developers response is misleading. Festivia and other gradient lights are not fully supported. Specifically scattered modes do not work. Gaslighting is uncouth ### 3/5 — Does not support Festivia correctly *2025-12-20, version 5.13.3* This app, unfortunately, does not support free placement of colors on the Festivia Christmas lights or other gradient lights. ### 5/5 — Only app I use for hue *2025-12-12, version 5.13.1* The easiest app to use for hue integrations. Love this app ### 2/5 — Works until it doesn’t *2025-11-24, version 5.13.1* Been using this app since the last one Apple no longer supports…. $$ :-( lately on only one of my iOS devices it fails to function… tried removing it and re-downloading it to see how long it will last. Lately Apple has been disallowing functionality due to VPN usage. This also is very concerning as functionality is growing less and less since their AI efforts are growing more and more restricting. ### 5/5 — It’s worth it. *2025-10-26, version 5.13.0* This app gets the best out of my Hue system. It’s worth it for the ease and mastery of my Hue setup. I’m saying that as a subscriber. One of the best apps of the whole App Store in my opinion. ### 5/5 — The Philips Hue app & clearly a work of love. *2025-10-10, version 5.13.0* This app is the only app to use. It is wonderfully written and has a user interface far better than other apps I’ve tried using. It allows you to use the basic functionality of Hue switches, and will also allow you to go farther in implementing sophisticated switch behaviors. I’ve been using the app for 3 years now, and it just keeps getting better. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Rip off *2026-04-18, version 5.14.8* I buy the app, and it turns out they’ve put a bunch of features behind a subscription. ### 1/5 — Total Scam. Shame on iConnectHue *2026-03-06, version 5.14.6* This was a fantastic app until you updated it, and now our request requesting me to pay for something I already paid for. Whoever is in charge needs to reverse this decision. Why should I buy your lights if you’re gonna charge me more later than to operate them totally ridiculous! ### 1/5 — This app is a scam *2026-02-27, version 5.14.6* This is a paid app that has predatory additional in app purchases. Not worth the nickel and dime model. I will just use Home Assistant or Alexa. ### 1/5 — Paid App Subscription *2026-02-04, version 5.14.4* Wow I love paying to get an app and then forced into a subscription to get use out of it… ### 1/5 — Subscription?! *2026-01-07, version 5.14.2* The app is $3.99 to download. Fair enough. If you want see the actual temperature (6500 Kelvin, for example), though, that's a PRO feature. $14.99 a year? This is misleading. Will be disputing this with Apple. ### 1/5 — Scam *2025-12-21, version 5.13.3* The app killed off perpetual licenses users and removed functionality already paid for ### 1/5 — Bait and switch *2025-10-11, version 5.13.0* Pay some. Then pay some more. The. Pay some more. Ridiculous ### 1/5 — always wants more money *2025-09-02, version 5.11.2* “This is a new device or function that wasn't supported when you purchased the app.” This is the message I get when trying to use this app. I’ve already nought the app, how many times do we have to throw money at you?? In reading the dev responses here, it seems this app is their whole career & needs ongoing subscriptions. As I’ve already paid, I’m not doing it again. Deleting it & suggest anyone reading reviews takes a second thought on this one. ### 1/5 — Misleading and scam *2025-07-04* I bought this app for my Apple Watch to control the brightness of the smart lights. However, I found out that this app was just an upgrade and asking me to purchase another app to be able to use Apple Watch to change the brightness. I chose ‘iConnectHue for Apple Watch’ and this is what’s happening. Title of this app should be ‘Upgrade of iConnectHue’. Now I am thinking if I really need to download the Apple Watch app because it seems like Phillips is charging for every single features and all of them look so complicated. I am already feeling like I got scammed. This is so disappointing and all the good explanations for Phillips are now gone. **Developer response:** Hello JP Monk, Thank you for purchasing iConnectHue. We’d like to respectfully clarify a few key points, as your comments appear to be based on some misunderstandings. First, please note that we are not Philips and have no affiliation with them. iConnectHue is a completely independent third-party app designed to give Hue users more advanced and flexible control over their lighting systems. We do not benefit from Philips hardware sales - our ongoing development and maintenance, which requires time and resources just like any other work, is funded entirely through app purchases and optional in-app upgrades. Regarding Apple Watch functionality: The app you purchased is iConnectHue, and, as shown in the pictures, you can control your lights via the main switch without the Watch Plus purchase. This purchase, is clearly described in the App Store as an add-on, both in the first Watch app screenshot AND the app’s description. We always encourage users to carefully read the App Store description before purchasing. Calling the app “misleading” or a “scam” is not only unfair, but also inaccurate, as the misunderstanding here was not caused by us, but rather by skipping the provided information. Publicly accusing developers of dishonest behavior when the actual issue stems from skipping available information creates a false impression - not just for us as developers, but also for other users who rely on fair and accurate reviews when making decisions. We kindly ask that you reconsider your review in light of this information. If you need help getting started or understanding how the Watch add-on works, please reach out to us via “Help & More -> Contact” in the main app - we’re always happy to assist. Best regards, Your iConnectHue Team ### 1/5 — $4 and 99% is behind subscriptions and paid add-ons *2025-06-24, version 5.9.1* I mean, come on. Do better. To respond the the response, this is their model: 1) Pay for the premium app, 2) Pay for add-ons (which doesn’t even fully unlock the things your paying for fyi…just “some features”), 3) Pay for the Paid subscription (which then unlocks a lot of features) 4) Pay for the Super Premium Subscription (which finally unlocks the entire app…for now). It literally monetizes every possible aspect of the app, charging you every step pf the way. Choose your path: Subscription, Free + Paid Add-ons, or one time purchase. They do all of the above and subscription 2x. Just obscene over-monetization. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Beats scenes from the official Hue app *2026-06-22, version 5.15.1* Love it so far no complaints other than monthly subscription wished there was a better one time purchase but the developers are putting in great work ### 5/5 — Order of magnitude better than the stock Hue app *2026-06-21, version 5.15.1* Which isn’t saying much, of course. But even if the official Hue app *weren’t* miserable, I’d still love iConnectHue. All kinds of thoughtfully-implemented features, but doesn’t take long to get the hang of. ### 5/5 — User since 2018 *2026-06-07, version 5.15.1* Long time user here. This app keep getting better and better. The developer continues to add new features. Really appreciate everything and the ease of use. Highly recommend. ### 5/5 — Just a lot of fun *2026-06-07, version 5.15.1* Good things when you play with the lights ### 5/5 — Longtime user - keeps getting better! *2026-06-01, version 5.15.0* Been using this for over a year, and it is continuously improving. Great job, iConnectHue! ### 5/5 — Très satisfait *2026-05-29* Très satisfait de cette application que j’utilise depuis des années, en effet les mises à jour sont réguliers avec des nouveautés et plus d’options de réglage. Merci aux développeurs. **Developer response:** Bonjour eric_73, Merci pour ton avis et pour ta fidélité à iConnectHue depuis de nombreuses années ! Nous sommes ravis d’apprendre que tu es très satisfait de l’application et que tu apprécies les mises à jour régulières, les nouvelles fonctionnalités ainsi que les options de réglage supplémentaires. Savoir que ces améliorations enrichissent réellement ton expérience au fil du temps est très motivant pour nous. Nous avons déjà transmis tes remerciements à nos développeurs, qui ont été très heureux de les recevoir. Les retours comme le tien nous encouragent beaucoup à continuer à améliorer l’application à l’avenir. Si tu as des questions ou des idées, n’hésite pas à nous contacter directement depuis l’application via : Aide et plus > Contact. Nous te souhaitons encore beaucoup de plaisir avec iConnectHue et espérons que tu continues à l’apprécier ! Ton équipe iConnectHue ### 5/5 — Really impressed, reliable *2026-05-27, version 5.15.0* I’ve had this app for many years, and it has been consistently reliable and easy to use. I particularly like the seasonal lighting packs for a bit of fun over Christmas. It’s probably the app I’ve used longest aside from Safari. ### 5/5 — A Truly Fantastic App *2026-05-26, version 5.15.0* Been a devotee for years, always light-years ahead of Philips own Hue app. Cannot recommend it enough. ### 5/5 — Still my go to after 10 years *2026-05-25* I love this app and it’s one of the few that I happily choose to pay an annual subscription for (of course I pay for some subscriptions, just not very happily). I probably don’t use more than a quarter of its features, but I want to support them and make sure they continue to operate and keep making this app better and better. I have used it absolutely daily since 2015, as my stock of hue lights went from three to more than 30. It’s simply the best and most intuitive one I’ve used. Plus they are a great little company that never stops innovating, and in my direct experience is 100% responsive to customer inquiries and issues. You just can’t beat that, and you just can’t expect every part of what they do for a living to be offered for free. So I pay for it, and every year or two when they drop a major release, I update my review. I do that for exactly 2 apps on the well over 200 apps on my iPhone. So make of that what you will. **Developer response:** Hello janiemac13, thank you for your support over more than ten years! We are happy to hear that iConnectHue has been part of your daily life since 2015! Long-term users like you are a huge reason why we continue investing so much work and passion into improving iConnectHue year after year. We especially appreciate your kind words about our continuous development, new features, and customer support. Support via Memberships like yours directly helps us continue building new functionality, adapting to new Hue products and iOS changes, and making sure iConnectHue stays reliable and actively developed instead of standing still. Thank you for your trust! We hope you continue to enjoy using iConnectHue for many years to come. If you ever feel like there's an open question - you know where to reach us! Your iConnectHue Team ### 5/5 — Das ist wirklich die beste App für Philips Hue *2026-05-25* Also ich nutze die App jahrelang, mittlerweile habe ich auch das Abo, früher habe ich die kostenfreie Version genutzt. Die kostenfreie Version ist schon super klasse. Aber der Komfort, den man mit der Abo Version hat, ist hier und da wirklich unschlagbar und der Preis ist der Sache auch wirklich angemessen. Die App wird permanent weiter entwickelt, Neuerungen am Markt werden sofort eingebaut, es gibt jedes Jahr gleich mehrere größere Updates zu Funktionen und Produkten. Klar, man hat nicht alle Produkte und nutzt nicht alle Funktionen, aber die Arbeit wird sich beim Entwickler tatsächlich gemacht. Es ist halt nicht so eine tote App, die einmal 1996 sehr gut funktioniert hat, und seitdem nicht mehr weiter entwickelt wird und trotzdem möchte man Geld dafür haben. Nein, es ist tatsächlich so, permanente Weiterentwicklung, sehr gute Verbesserungen, top, weiter so. **Developer response:** Hallo DearMarc, vielen Dank für deine ausführliche Bewertung und den Support! Es freut uns wirklich sehr zu lesen, dass du iConnectHue schon seit vielen Jahren nutzt und sowohl mit der App als auch mit der Mitgliedschaft so zufrieden bist. Besonders freuen wir uns dein Feedback zur kontinuierlichen Weiterentwicklung der App - genau das ist unser Anspruch: neue Möglichkeiten rund um Philips Hue schnell zu integrieren und iConnectHue stetig zu verbessern. Natürlich nutzt nicht jeder jede Funktion oder jedes unterstützte Produkt, deshalb bedeutet es uns umso mehr, dass du die Arbeit und Liebe zum Detail hinter der App wahrnimmst und wertschätzt. Vielen Dank auch für deine langjährige Unterstützung und dein Vertrauen. Solches Feedback motiviert uns, weiterhin mit voller Leidenschaft an iConnectHue zu arbeiten. Wir wünschen dir weiterhin viel Freude mit iConnectHue! Dein iConnectHue-Team --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*