LIFX vs CentroControl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LIFX
Control your smart lights with this app. Easily adjust brightness, color, and temperature. Automate schedules, create custom scenes, and explore fun lighting effects. Integrates with voice assistants and HomeKit for seamless control.
- Basic light control (on/off, dim, color, temperature)
- Group lights for easy management
- Automated schedules and scenes
- Special lighting effects (music visualizer, fire, etc.)
- Live color painting on compatible lights
- Custom color palettes
- HomeKit integration
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Like you, LIFX wants smarter light. This means we care about the way you control your smart lights, as much as we do about the lights themselves. We make it easy to get started with WiFi-enabled, bright, colorful smart lights that need no hub. Yep, you can start with just one device. LIFX App 4 can not only help give you the best start, but will turn your experience “up to 11”. Automate your wake up Schedule, or set up your movie-watching Scene (then set up voice control so you don’t even have to leave the sofa), or play with Effects next time you’re entertaining. Features. The LIFX app is packed full of features like: - The Basics: on/off, dim, change color, change white temperature. - Groups: control all lights in a group easily, including on/off and dimming with one touch from the Home Dashboard. - Group personalization: choose a LIFX illustration to suit or personalize Group cards with your own pictures. - Schedules: automate your lights to fade, change color, and turn on/off, all visible in an easy calendar-style view. - Effects: play with special effects like the music visualizer, fire, move, candle flicker, strobe, color cycle & more, all in one place. - Scenes: set your lighting just the way you like it and save it for later. - Themes: a library of one click color combinations for a Group, from ‘Proud’ to ‘Soothing’. - Paint: with your finger in the app, paint color live onto your LIFX Z, Beam, Tile and Candle. - Custom color palettes: add your favorite colors to a custom color palette. - Discover Tab: find How To guides, learn about integration partners, or shop for LIFX - and much more. Example uses from our customers: - Ambiance: schedule warmer light in the evening - to calm - and whiter light in the morning - to energize. - “Moccupancy”: set irregular schedules to make it seem like you’re home when you’re not. - Sleep: set your bedroom lights to deep red just before bed to produce more melatonin which helps you get better quality sleep. - Stay put: you’ve settled into the sofa for a streaming binge but left the lights on. No need to jump up to the switch, just ask your voice assistant. - Pet owners: if you're unexpectedly late home from work, turn the lights on for your dog from wherever you are. - Silent notifications: use partner apps to give you a light flash if… your car is arriving, or the forecast says it will rain, or you are mentioned on social media, and much more. HomeKit Best color-changing smart bulb for HomeKit cnet Pairing LIFX with Apple HomeKit is easy using the HomeKit onboarding QR code available in the product packaging. Stay in touch. Need a helping hand, or want to offer us some advice? We would love to hear from you about your LIFX experience. You can reach us at support@lifx.com. LIFX lights are available at lifx.com
CentroControl
This app allows you to control various IP-enabled home devices, from lighting and heating to AV systems and cameras. It requires some technical setup using PC software or a pre-defined project. Customize your interface and create custom menus for commands.
- Control IP-enabled devices
- Customizable user interface
- Apple Watch menu structure
- Supports HDMI matrices, AV receivers, lighting systems, and IP cameras
- Two-way feedback for devices
- Requires PC software for setup
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Home Automation / Control System app. ** Please Note - some technical 'know how' is required to set this app up correctly using our Windows-only PC software or using a pre-defined project created by a DemoPad installer - please see www.demopad.com or contact your DemoPad installer before downloading ** This app is free if controlling a single generic 3rd party IP device, and/or if your system includes at least one DemoPad Centro hardware device. Otherwise an In App Purchase is required to unlock the app for use with 3rd party devices. CentroControl is a powerful home automation & control app which enables communication with various IP enabled devices. Our DemoDesigner PC software is used by installers to configure user interface screens & set up commands to be sent to external equipment. There is complete flexibility with the user interface. It is also possible to create a custom menu structure for commands using Apple Watch. You can communicate with almost any IP device, including the following: HDMI Matrices AVoIP systems AV Receivers HDL Lighting / Heating Systems Lutron Homeworks / GrafikEye Systems Rako Lighting Systems Crestron systems Global Cache units - infra-red, RS232, contact closure interfaces Keene Electronics IR units Insteon Fibaro IP camera servers - for displaying live camera feeds Legrand MyHome / Arteor control systems Clipsal CBus Lighting systems Lightwave RF iLight / iLumin Lighting Systems RTSP video feeds and many other IP devices...with custom 2-way feedback
Screenshots
Verdict
LIFX and CentroControl both sit at 3.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 67% of CentroControl's written reviews are positive against 19% of LIFX's. CentroControl also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.0). LIFX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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. CentroControl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. LIFX asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.7 for LIFX against 3.8 for CentroControl. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LIFX has 7.1K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 19% of LIFX's written reviews are positive against 67% of CentroControl's.
LIFX ships an update fortnightly, CentroControl every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LIFX | CentroControl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (7.1K ratings) | 3.8 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.5% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7.1K — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 313 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | LIFX | Demopad Software Ltd |
Customer experience
LIFX
CentroControl
Bugs and requests
LIFX
Reported bugs
5 issues- Lights randomly disconnecting from app
- Scenes and effects not working as expected
- Scheduling issues and lights not responding to timers
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- Frequent app crashes and freezes
Requested features
5 requests- More granular control over individual lights
- Improved scene and effect customization
- Better scheduling and automation options
- Seamless integration with smart home platforms
- Simplified onboarding and setup process
CentroControl
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LIFX
No in-app purchases
CentroControl
- Allow Multiple 3rd Party Devices$149.99









