Comparison

Philips Hue vs B1W

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

B1W

Control your CDV04 video recorder remotely using your smart device. Access features like live preview, photo album viewing, setup adjustments, and file management.

Highlights
  • Remote viewfinder/preview
  • View photo album
  • Setup adjustments
  • Take photos
  • Record video
  • File delete/download
  • Playback recordings
Features
Read full description

With B1W-CARDVR , you could now control your CDV04 based video recorder by using your smart devices. Like remote viewfinder/preview, view photo Album,Setup,Taking photo ,Recording,File delete/download,Playback.

Screenshots

Philips Hue4 screens
B1W4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Philips Hue at 85% against B1W's 13%. Philips Hue also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.1) and ratings volume (118K vs 44). B1W's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (12.0 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. B1W asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Philips Hue holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Philips Hue has 118K ratings behind it against 44, 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 13% of B1W's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, B1W monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Philips Hue versus B1W: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhilips HueB1W
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (118K ratings) — better2.1 (44 ratings)
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews — better12.6% of reviews
Number of ratings118K — better44
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#191 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size248 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSignify Netherlands B.V.树 贝

Customer experience

Philips Hue

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

B1W

All ratings43 ratings
Positive23.3%
Neutral4.7%
Negative72.1%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive12.6%
Neutral11.5%
Negative75.9%

User reviews

Philips Hue

From 118K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable and stable
  • 💡 Flexible lighting control
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly
  • 🎨 Vibrant and customizable colors
  • 🔒 Secure remote access

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues after updates
  • 🔀 Confusing navigation and UI changes
  • ⏱️ Slow performance and lag
  • 🤯 Frustrating loss of key features
  • 🤖 Incompatible with older devices

B1W

From 44 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Dashcam works well
  • 👍 Simple setup (sometimes)
  • 👍 Good clarity
  • 👍 Discreet design
  • 👍 Wide angle capture

Room to improve

  • ❌ Does not connect to dash cam
  • ❌ App no longer works
  • ❌ Does not work with iOS 18
  • ❌ Internet not available error
  • ❌ WiFi goes away

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

B1W

Reported bugs

36 issues
  • App won't connect to dash cam
  • App no longer works
  • Incompatible with iOS 18
  • Shows 'internet not available'
  • WiFi connection drops
Show 31 more
  • Cannot get device information
  • Cannot pair device
  • Wi-Fi not working
  • App crashes
  • Videos don't play smoothly
  • Downloaded videos are choppy
  • Playback is jumpy and freezes
  • Video quality downgraded
  • Cannot share downloaded videos
  • App buttons not functioning
  • App not connecting to dashcam
  • App not connecting to WiFi
  • App not connecting to camera
  • App not connecting to device
  • Lag in video playback
  • Choppy video playback
  • Video plays in jittery frame by frame mode
  • App not optimized for newer iPhones
  • GUI is slow and outdated
  • Downloading videos is slow
  • App crashes during download
  • Cannot download files again
  • Cannot delete files from camera
  • GPS coordinates not showing
  • Minimizing app stops camera
  • No frame by frame stepping
  • Incorrect time and date stamp on video
  • Unreasonably large file sizes
  • Poor bandwidth for video detail
  • Video files not accessible by other apps
  • Setup is tricky

Requested features

11 requests
  • Software update for connectivity
  • Add dark mode
  • Add multi-download for videos
  • Improve app interface
  • Add English menu
Show 6 more
  • Update for newer iPhones
  • Improve video playback smoothness
  • Fix choppy video playback
  • Add pause or rewind functionality
  • Allow deleting files from camera
  • Dedicated app for iPad

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

B1W

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Philips Hue free?
Philips Hue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is B1W free?
B1W is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Philips Hue or B1W?
Philips Hue is rated higher. Philips Hue averages 4.7 out of 5 from 118K ratings, while B1W averages 2.1 from 44 ratings.
Do Philips Hue or B1W have ads?
Neither Philips Hue nor B1W shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Philips Hue or B1W?
Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, and B1W monthly. Most recently, Philips Hue was updated on November 10, 2026 and B1W on November 6, 2026.

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