Comparison

Hue Essentials vs Soltaro

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Soltaro

Manage your solar power plants with this app. It connects to cloud servers for real-time monitoring and displays all data and history in clear graphs.

Highlights
  • Cloud server integration
  • Real-time solar power plant management
  • Quick and easy monitoring
  • Data and history visualization
  • Graph-based data display
Features
Read full description

「Soltaro」はクラウドサーバーと連携し太陽光発電所を管理するアプリケーションです。 手軽で素早く太陽光発電所をリアルタイムで管理することが実現可能で、全てのデータと履歴は一目瞭然にグラフ化されます。

Screenshots

Hue Essentials4 screens
Soltaro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Hue Essentials at 38% against Soltaro's 0%. Hue Essentials also leads on device support (5 vs 3). Soltaro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Hue Essentials sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Soltaro asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hue Essentials versus Soltaro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHue EssentialsSoltaro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (141 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings141 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size271 MB27 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperThomas VosSI SOLAR, K.K.

Customer experience

Hue Essentials

All ratings138 ratings
Positive77.5%
Neutral7.2%
Negative15.2%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral8.3%
Negative53.9%

Soltaro

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and 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

Soltaro

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Hue Essentials

One-time8
  • Effects: Christmas$0.99
  • Effects: Universe$0.99
  • Effects: Wonders of nature$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Effects: Romantic$0.99
  • Effects: Floral fantasy$0.99
  • Effects: Spooky$0.99
  • Multiple bridges$4.99
  • Premium$7.99
None

Soltaro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hue Essentials free?
Hue Essentials is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Soltaro free?
Soltaro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hue Essentials or Soltaro have ads?
Neither Hue Essentials nor Soltaro shows ads.

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