Comparison

Philips Hue vs iLUX Mesh

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Philips Hue

Control and customize your smart lights and accessories from anywhere. Organize lights into rooms, set moods with pre-designed or custom scenes, and automate your lighting to fit your daily routine. Enhance home security with motion detection and real-time monitoring.

Highlights
  • Organize lights by rooms/zones
  • Remote light control
  • Hue scene gallery
  • Home security features
  • Natural light automation
  • Sync lights with media
  • Voice control integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The official Philips Hue app is the most comprehensive way to organize, control, and customize your Philips Hue smart lights and accessories. Organize your smart lights Group your lights into Rooms or Zones — your entire downstairs floor or all the lights in the living room, for example — that mirror the physical rooms in your home. Easily control your lights — from anywhere Use the app to control your lights anywhere you have an internet connection. Explore the Hue scene gallery Created by professional lighting designers, the scenes in the scene gallery can help you set the mood for any occasion. You can even create your own scenes based on a photo or your favorite colors. Set up bright home security  Make your home feel safer, no matter where you are. The Security Center lets you program your Secure cameras, Secure contact sensors, and indoor motion sensors to send you alerts when they detect activity. Trigger light and sound alarms, call the authorities or a trusted contact, and monitor your home in real-time. Get the best light for any moment of the day Let your lights change automatically throughout the day with the Natural light scene — so you feel more energized, focused, relaxed, or rested at the right times. Just set the scene to watch your lights change with the sun’s movement, transitioning from cool blue tones in the morning to warmer, relaxing hues for sunset. Automate your lights Make your smart lights work around your daily routine. Whether you want your lights to gently wake you up in the morning or greet you when you get home, setting up customizable automations in the Philips Hue app is effortless. Sync your lights to TV, music, and games Make your lights flash, dance, dim, brighten, and change color in sync with your screen or sound! With the Philips Hue Play HDMI sync box, the Philips Hue Sync for TV or desktop apps, or Spotify, you can create totally immersive experiences. Set up voice control Use Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant to control your smart lights with voice commands. Turn lights on and off, dim and brighten, or even change colors — completely hands-free. Use Siri Shortcuts for quick control Use the Shortcuts app to create shortcuts that you can place into widgets on your Home Screen for even faster control of your lights. Turn lights on or off, adjust their brightness and temperature, or set scenes — all without even opening the app. Learn more about the official Philips Hue app: www.philips-hue.com/app. Read the Philips Hue Privacy Notice at www.philips-hue.com/privacy. Note: Some features in this app require a Philips Hue Bridge.

About

iLUX Mesh

Control your smart lighting with your smartphone via Bluetooth. Manage up to 50 smart lamps, create groups, and set custom scenes for various scenarios. Adjust colors, lighting modes, and set timers for a personalized lighting experience.

Highlights
  • Smartphone Bluetooth control
  • Manage up to 50 smart lamps
  • Create lamp groups
  • Setup custom lighting scenes
  • Change colors and lighting modes
  • Time-delayed switching off
  • Control within 15 meters
Features
Read full description

Give your light intelligence. With the iLUX Mesh APP you will reach a new level of intelligent lighting control using your Smartphone via Bluetooth. Have the power to manage up to 50 iLUX Mesh Smart Lamps, create lamp groups and setup different scenes for different scenarios using your lamps to full capacity whether it is changing colors, lighting modes or time-delayed switching off. Connect to and be in command of the lamps surrounded by you within 15 meters. Setup and use different kinds of additional remote controls to switch on/off and adjust lights more comfortable than ever before.

Screenshots

Philips Hue4 screens
iLUX Mesh4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Philips Hue at 85% against iLUX Mesh's 23%. Philips Hue also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (118K vs 50). iLUX Mesh's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Philips Hue sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. iLUX Mesh asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Philips Hue holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Philips Hue has 118K ratings behind it against 50, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Philips Hue's written reviews are positive against 23% of iLUX Mesh's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, iLUX Mesh every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Philips Hue versus iLUX Mesh: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhilips HueiLUX Mesh
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (118K ratings) — better2.3 (50 ratings)
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews — better22.9% of reviews
Number of ratings118K — better50
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#167 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size248 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSignify Netherlands B.V.Home EVER Inc.

Customer experience

Philips Hue

All ratings117,937 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews9,051 reviews
Positive85.3%
Neutral3.5%
Negative11.2%

iLUX Mesh

All ratings50 ratings
Positive16.0%
Neutral22.0%
Negative62.0%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive22.9%
Neutral22.9%
Negative54.2%

Bugs and requests

Philips Hue

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Lights not responding to app commands
  • Scenes and automations not working as expected
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Inability to log in or sync with account
  • Erratic behavior after software updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to control lights individually in a room
  • More dynamic and customizable lighting scenes
  • Seamless integration between multiple Hue bridges
  • Improved automation and scheduling options
  • Restore removed timer and widget functionality

iLUX Mesh

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Philips Hue

Subscriptions9
  • Motion Aware Monthly Plan$0.991 Month
  • Sync TV-app for LG (1 Month)$2.991 Month
  • Secure Basic for 1 camera$3.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Secure Basic for 2 cameras$7.991 Month
  • Secure Plus$9.991 Month
  • Motion Aware Yearly Plan$9.991 Year
  • Secure Basic for 1 camera$39.991 Year
  • Secure Basic for 2 cameras$79.991 Year
  • Secure Plus$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • Sync TV-app for LG (Lifetime)$129.99
None

iLUX Mesh

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Philips Hue free?
Philips Hue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iLUX Mesh free?
iLUX Mesh is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Philips Hue or iLUX Mesh?
Philips Hue is rated higher. Philips Hue averages 4.7 out of 5 from 118K ratings, while iLUX Mesh averages 2.3 from 50 ratings.
Do Philips Hue or iLUX Mesh have ads?
Neither Philips Hue nor iLUX Mesh shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Philips Hue or iLUX Mesh?
Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, and iLUX Mesh every 3 weeks. Most recently, Philips Hue was updated on November 7, 2026 and iLUX Mesh on November 3, 2026.

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