Comparison

Philips Hue vs ABUS SmartX

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 lighting system from anywhere. Organize lights by room, create custom scenes, and automate your lighting to match your daily routine or enhance security. Sync lights with media for immersive experiences.

Highlights
  • Organize lights into rooms and zones
  • Remote control from anywhere
  • Explore and create custom lighting scenes
  • Home security features with sensors
  • Automate lighting schedules
  • Sync lights with TV, music, and games
  • 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

ABUS SmartX

Transform your smartphone into a digital key for mechatronic alarm locks. Enjoy convenient unlocking and closing via secure Bluetooth, and manage access for up to eight additional users. Ideal for groups and families needing to manage multiple locks.

Highlights
  • Smartphone as digital key
  • Secure Bluetooth unlocking
  • Access authorization sharing
  • Manage multiple locks
  • Temporary access grants
  • Group and family management
Features
Read full description

The app of the ABUS SmartX™ product series Some of our classics are now mechatronic. With our alarm locks, in addition to the high mechanical safety, we set an alarm of up to 100 dB, which has already proven itself in motorcycle safety. The lock turns your smartphone into a digital key with the help of the app. This enables your smartphone and the lock to interact and allows for convenient opening and closing of the lock without the need to have your smartphone in your hand. The lock communicates with your smartphone via a secure Bluetooth connection. As soon as you are within a 2-m radius of the lock it can be unlocked. Another useful function is access authorisation. Access authorisations can be sent to other people via SMS message. These can be managed in the app. Access rights can be granted on a permanent basis or for limited periods. Up to eight additional people can be taught in via the app. The fact that you can manage multiple locks via the app makes it ideal for groups and families. It is also possible to operate several ABUS locks at the same time from one mobile.

Screenshots

Philips Hue4 screens
ABUS SmartX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Philips Hue at 85% against ABUS SmartX's 20%. Philips Hue also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). ABUS SmartX'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. ABUS SmartX asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Philips Hue holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Philips Hue has 118K ratings behind it against 7, 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 20% of ABUS SmartX's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, ABUS SmartX every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Philips Hue versus ABUS SmartX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhilips HueABUS SmartX
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (118K ratings) — better3.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews — better19.5% of reviews
Number of ratings118K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#171 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size248 MB105 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSignify Netherlands B.V.ABUS August Bremicker Söhne KG

Customer experience

Philips Hue

All ratings117,436 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews9,021 reviews
Positive85.3%
Neutral3.5%
Negative11.3%

ABUS SmartX

All ratings7 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral28.6%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive19.5%
Neutral19.5%
Negative61.0%

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

ABUS SmartX

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

ABUS SmartX

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Philips Hue free?
Philips Hue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ABUS SmartX free?
ABUS SmartX is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Philips Hue or ABUS SmartX?
Philips Hue is rated higher. Philips Hue averages 4.7 out of 5 from 118K ratings, while ABUS SmartX averages 3.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Philips Hue or ABUS SmartX have ads?
Neither Philips Hue nor ABUS SmartX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Philips Hue or ABUS SmartX?
Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, and ABUS SmartX every 5 months. Most recently, Philips Hue was updated on October 30, 2026 and ABUS SmartX on October 22, 2026.

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