# Hue Essentials vs Poet3

The clearest difference is update cadence: Poet3 at every 5 days against Hue Essentials's every 2 weeks. Hue Essentials's advantage is device support (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hue Essentials sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Poet3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, Poet3 every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hue Essentials | Poet3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hue-essentials/id1462943921/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **141** | — |
| Positive reviews | 37.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 271 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Thomas Vos](https://appshunter.io/developer/1462943920) | [Peter Elst](https://appshunter.io/developer/1817011841) |

## 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


### Poet3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poet3/id6751746017)

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Poet3 Premium | $3.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hue Essentials free?

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

### Is Poet3 free?

Poet3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Hue Essentials or Poet3 have ads?

Neither Hue Essentials nor Poet3 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hue Essentials or Poet3?

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, and Poet3 every 5 days. Most recently, Hue Essentials was updated on October 26, 2026 and Poet3 on October 9, 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.*