ColorPicker4Hue vs Hue Essentials
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ColorPicker4Hue
Capture colors from your surroundings using your iPhone camera and instantly match your smart lights to those shades. Adjust brightness and saturation directly on the camera screen for precise control. Easily select which lights to control and switch between camera and light lists.
- Camera color capture
- Match lights to captured colors
- Brightness and saturation sliders
- Select specific lights
- Swipe between camera and light list
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You want to match the color of your hue lights to the color of your curtains, your carpet, or even your coffee cups? This app will let you do that. Just use your iPhone camera to point at ordinary objects and 'click': your lights will be set to the captured color. It's that easy! With the lights set to a certain color, the brightness- and saturation sliders on the camera screen can be used to tweak your light settings to get them just right. Of course, you can decide for yourself exactly which lights will be used. And you can easily swipe between the camera screen and the lights list if you want to make changes.
Hue Essentials
Unlock the full potential of your smart lighting system. Create custom scenes, dynamic effects, and automate your lights with schedules and triggers. Control multiple smart home bridges and devices seamlessly for a personalized ambiance.
- Custom scenes and effects
- Music and entertainment sync
- Sunrise/sunset automation
- Multi-bridge control
- Device discovery and setup
- Button and sensor automation
- Away from home control
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Imagine unlimited possibilities in your smart home. Set scenes and fast effects to your mood. Experience Dance Sensation in your entertainment area with Philips Hue Entertainment. Feel more in control with schedules and automation from sunrise to sunset. Control multiple bridges simultaneously without switching between them. Supported devices • Philips Hue bridge • Philips Hue Bluetooth lights • deCONZ (ConBee) • diyHue • LIFX Scenes & effects Create the perfect ambiance from your photos or the included photo library. Experience special animations like lava, fireplace, fireworks, or lightning. Wake up at sunrise and go to sleep at sunset with fading lights. Get into the party on the beats of your music. Sync your lights for a night of disco with strobe effects (updates 25 times/sec). Quick access Create rooms and groups to organize your lights. You can even put a light in several groups. Smart lights & controls The unique ‘Touchlink’ search allows you to find new (3rd party, Zigbee) lights. Use included wizards for easy setup of your devices. You can set scenes, actions, or even multiple scenes on a button to make your switch a real investment. Experience the right ambiance during different times of your day with your motion sensor. All of your creations are stored on the bridge. Easy for you and your family. Advanced Automation allows you to have greater control of your smart home. Turn on your lights when the door opens. Adjust your ventilation when the humidity gets too high. Open or close blinds and curtains based on temperature or sunshine. Make it look like you are at home using 'Away from Home' (out of home control). Communicate directly with your Hue bridge using the API debugger. View technical details of your Hue bridge and update its resources like lights and sensors. You want it all? Fast performance with ad-free experience. Purchase the premium version to unlock full content.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ColorPicker4Hue at 5.0 against Hue Essentials's 4.2. ColorPicker4Hue also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 8) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Hue Essentials's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (138 vs 1). On price and ads 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
Both are free to download. Hue Essentials sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. ColorPicker4Hue asks for nothing beyond the download.
ColorPicker4Hue holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hue Essentials has 138 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
ColorPicker4Hue ships an update every 7 months, Hue Essentials every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ColorPicker4Hue | Hue Essentials |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.2 (138 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 37.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 138 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 271 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gerard Broeksteeg | Thomas Vos |
Customer experience
ColorPicker4Hue
Hue Essentials
Bugs and requests
ColorPicker4Hue
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Hue Essentials
Reported bugs
4 issues- Fade feature not working
- Saving automations not working
- Crashes when checking 'About' section
- Widgets and Apple Watch app issues
Requested features
4 requests- Repeat/loop function for automations
- Strobing/flashing effects
- Dark mode
- Alexa integration
In-app purchases
ColorPicker4Hue
No in-app purchases
Hue Essentials
- Effects: Christmas$0.99
- Effects: Universe$0.99
- Effects: Wonders of nature$0.99
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- Effects: Romantic$0.99
- Effects: Floral fantasy$0.99
- Effects: Spooky$0.99
- Multiple bridges$4.99
- Premium$7.99
Questions
Is ColorPicker4Hue free?
Is Hue Essentials free?
Which has better reviews, ColorPicker4Hue or Hue Essentials?
Do ColorPicker4Hue or Hue Essentials have ads?
Which is updated more often, ColorPicker4Hue or Hue Essentials?
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