Hue Lights vs Philips PCA
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hue Lights
Unlock advanced control for your smart lights. Create custom scenes, schedules, and dynamic lighting effects. Enhance your home ambiance with unique features like simulated weather and fire.
- Precise lighting control
- Multi-room scenes
- Customizable schedules
- Dynamic lighting effects
- Hue sensor and switch configuration
- Apple Watch integration
- In-app purchase for special effects
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Hue Lights offers full feature support for all of your smart lighting needs: Precise control, multi-room scenes, schedules, sequences, dynamic lighting, and special effects. Create advanced configurations for your Hue motion sensor, Hue dimmer switch or Hue Tap. Check out our sample videos and FAQ at https://huelights.com. Teach your lights new tricks with Hue Lights! Completely customize each button on your Hue dimmer switch or Hue Tap. Control 8 scenes from a single Hue dimmer switch, change brightness speeds, or select groups based on duration of button press. Hue Lights leverages the latest firmware to store scene details directly on the bridge. You can view and edit shared scenes from any device on your network. The UI offers improved visual feedback and easier on/off/brightness controls directly from the home screen. Try the sequences feature to see amazing possibilities at your fingertips. Use your Apple Watch to activate scenes, adjust group brightness and trigger alerts. Escape to the beach with soothing ocean, lake, or creek sounds while your lights gently change and dim (Water In-App purchase). Experience amazing thunderstorms (In-App purchase) with customized controls for lightning strikes, rain density, bird songs, wind speed, sleep timer, brightness and sky color! Simulate realistic fires (In-App purchase) with dedicated controls for fire type, fire size, flare-ups and brightness. If you have any problems with previous In-App purchases, tap "Restore." Please see the comprehensive FAQ and documentation at https://huelights.com for App help. The free version allows control of lights 1 and 2. In-App purchases can unlock all lights and special effects. Hue Lights brings you shared scenes and groups, comprehensive scheduling, sequences and powerful light controls. Create multiple "On" and "Off" schedules per scene. Tap a row to select a light, group, or scene. Use quick controls at the bottom of the screen. Long press a row for quick actions (on, choose color, edit, off). Save scenes from any third-party app and use Hue Lights to activate these on your Apple Watch. Dynamically animate or schedule any scene from third-party apps. All screens are optimized for your favorite iOS devices in portrait and landscape mode. Hue Lights works well with any third-party app that saves scenes or schedules on the bridge. Do you have a favorite scene from another app that you use frequently? With Hue Lights you can turn this scene on or off with one tap! Hue Lights will show every schedule saved on your bridge from any app and give you the option to disable or remove unwanted schedules. Features: • Interactive widgets • Fire and candle effects • Light and group timers • Remote control • Hue motion sensor support • Hue dimmer switch/Hue Tap support • Sunrise/sunset actions • View/edit scenes and schedules on bridge • View/delete rules and sensors • See exact watts used on supported lights • 3D Touch on app icon • TouchLink for finding lost bulbs • Sequences • Apple Watch support • Dynamic animations • Scene themes • Supports multiple third-party ZigBee lights • Light, group and scene schedules • Tap bulb image to apply a favorite color • Localized VoiceOver support • Heuristics for working around common errors • Create transition times up to 90 minutes • Designed to work well with 50+ light deployments Experience multi-track, synchronized and visually appealing light animations and sequences. Requires "Hue Personal Wireless Lighting Starter Set" to operate. "Hue Personal Wireless Lighting" is a trademark owned by Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., see www.meethue.com for more information. LapApps, LLC is in no way affiliated with the Philips organization. Follow @HueLights on X and like our Facebook page for the latest news and updates. See https://huelights.com for more documentation and supported hardware.
Philips PCA
This application allows for the control of lighting and HVAC systems from a single point. It utilizes visible light communication or QR code input to manage pre-commissioned connected lighting systems. A professionally installed Philips Connected Lighting system is required for operation.
- Lighting control
- HVAC control
- Visible light communication
- QR code input
- Self-configuring
- Location-based control
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PCA is the latest control application from Signify. It is a self-configuring application that provides control options for lighting, HVAC from a single point. Using visible light communication or QR code input it can control the pre-commissioned Connected Lighting system. A professionally installed Philips Connected Lighting system is a pre-requisite for use of this app. iOS11 onwards is a requirement for PCA and is compatible with iPhone 6 Plus, 6, 5s and 5c. The PCA App will collect your location data provided by the location services offered on the phone platform to control the lighting and/or temperature at your current location. If you do not consent to the tracking of your location, certain functionality within the App may be limited. You can turn-off the location tracking functionality through the settings of your device, also temporarily. The PCA App needs to access your Camera and GPS receiver for delivering the functionalities and services of the App itself. If you do not consent to the use of these functionality within the App will be limited. Read our App Privacy Notice https://www.signify.com/global/privacy/legal-information/privacy-notice for more information
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Philips PCA at 100% against Hue Lights's 46%. Philips PCA also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 9). Hue Lights's advantage is ratings volume (393 vs 1) and device support (4 vs 1). On price, update cadence 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 Lights sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Philips PCA asks for nothing beyond the download.
Philips PCA holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hue Lights has 393 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Hue Lights's written reviews are positive against 100% of Philips PCA's.
Hue Lights ships an update every 5 months, Philips PCA every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hue Lights | Philips PCA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (393 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 393 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LapApps, LLC | Signify Netherlands B.V. |
Customer experience
Hue Lights
Philips PCA
Bugs and requests
Hue Lights
Reported bugs
4 issues- Lights not responding to commands
- Scenes not loading or activating properly
- Frequent crashes and connection issues
- Unexpected changes to light groups and settings
Requested features
4 requests- Alexa/Siri integration and voice control
- Ability to run effects/animations in the background
- More customization options for sunrise/sunset scenes
- Better widget and Apple Watch support
Philips PCA
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Hue Lights
- Unlock 100 ScenesFree
- Thunderstorm$1.99
- Fire$1.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Water$1.99
- Perfect Sunrise$1.99
- Richer Colors and Scenes$1.99
- Premium Actions$1.99
- Premium Sequences$1.99
- Unlock 48 Lights$4.99
Philips PCA
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hue Lights free?
Is Philips PCA free?
Which has better reviews, Hue Lights or Philips PCA?
Do Hue Lights or Philips PCA have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hue Lights or Philips PCA?
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