# Hue Essentials vs Patricia Shepherd

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Patricia Shepherd at none against Hue Essentials's 8. Hue Essentials's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 12 months) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, Patricia Shepherd every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hue Essentials | Patricia Shepherd |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (144 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hue-essentials/id1462943921/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **144** | — |
| Positive reviews | 37.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 12 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 271 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Thomas Vos](https://appshunter.io/developer/1462943920) | [Global NoticeBoard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1163498664) |

## What reviewers say

### Hue Essentials

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hue-essentials/id1462943921)

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:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Effects: Christmas | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Universe | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Wonders of nature | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Romantic | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Floral fantasy | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Spooky | $0.99 | one-time |
| Multiple bridges | $4.99 | one-time |
| Premium | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent Hue lighting control
- 👍 Works well with multiple bridges
- 💡 Customizable remote controls
- 🚀 Faster than official Hue app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🔒 In-app purchases required for key features
- 👎 Poor execution and user experience
- 🔋 Widgets and Apple Watch app not working

**Reported bugs**

- Fade feature not working
- Saving automations not working
- Crashes when checking 'About' section
- Widgets and Apple Watch app issues

**Requested features**

- Repeat/loop function for automations
- Strobing/flashing effects
- Dark mode
- Alexa integration


### Patricia Shepherd

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patricia-shepherd/id6749370246)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hue Essentials free?

Hue Essentials is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Patricia Shepherd free?

Patricia Shepherd is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Hue Essentials or Patricia Shepherd have ads?

Neither Hue Essentials nor Patricia Shepherd shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hue Essentials or Patricia Shepherd?

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, and Patricia Shepherd every 12 months. Most recently, Hue Essentials was updated on November 6, 2026 and Patricia Shepherd on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*