iConnectHue for Philips Hue Reviews

by MegaGamerr

iConnectHue is still super underrated and I can’t believe it doesn’t even have 1k reviews yet. I’m a pro member and have about 30 lights throughout my apartment. I reached out to the company at one point recommending something and they responded probably within the same day teaching me how to do exactly what I was recommending but didn’t know was already a capability. iConnectHue does take some playing around and figuring out at first, but it has endless capabilities with being able to create all your own content! I just had the new update installed and saw this new AI feature which I had my doubts about. I tried it 1 time and it created exactly what I’ve been looking for and trying to create on my own for a few weeks. I just wasn’t getting it perfect yet, but the AI got it done and I created a magic scene from that one AI creation. I love this feature!! Thank you guys for continuing to improve and develop this amazing app. I will be a pro member for life❤️💛💙💜💚🧡

by ERS.Terry

This used to be my fav app on iPhone. I have used iConnectHue for 4 years All of a sudden, without warning, most of the functionality is gone. I would have to pay a couple dollars a month to get that functionality back. I will never use an app that requires (essentially) a ransom payment for it to continue working. My biggest beef is the timer control (i.e; turn on and off at dawn and sunrise, respectively) is gone, just disappeared, kaput! No warning at all…way to go guys (NOT). Now I am off to find and learn an app that is as operational and intuitive as this once was.

My review from about 4 years ago: The best out there and it keeps getting better. When I first got iConnectHue a couple of years ago, it was only slightly better than the Phillips version. Now, in June 22, 2021 I am ready. Although iConnectHue has a couple of minor idiosyncrasies, they are easily overcome. The developer of iConnectHue is constantly updating what appears to be his pride and joy. For the most part, iConnectHue is 99% intuitive. I have about 9 Phillips bulbs and about 5 more to go before I am complete. Get iConnectHue, it is far better than the Phillips version.

by Xielvas

This review doesn’t add anything new regarding the overcharging of the application and all functions of it. I myself purchased almost everything which will run you over $40 (regardless the 30% apple takes) it is still very expensive. I only mention that because there is a lot of justification for the overcharging. You will find out later (if you own an iPad also) that you have to pay for a new this app for HD as well. I have 15 lights, three motion sensors and three dimmer switches. This is the better application for doing animations (if I used them). It is also nice for setting up dimmer switches. I ran out of memory on the bridge so I cannot customize my dimmers or anything else. 100 rules maxes out the Hue bridge. Make sure that if you have homepods to set the SIRI commands for this app on the same device you setup the homepod(s) with. I now create automations in HomeKit and only use timers (when memory allows) with this application.

by J2daON

*DO NOT BUY iConnectHue!*
I bought iConnectHue because it said it would let me play my music and have Discotainment. It also said I could make my own animation. Well yes you have to buy iConnectHue for $5 and then another $2.99 charge to unlock the music and $1.99 for EACH CUSTOM COLOR ANIMATION. Don’t buy unless they make it a subscription model or make it free with just in-app purchases. To have both is just a money hungry app where they purposely put limitations on it so you can buy EVERY SINGLE THING if you want iConnectHue to do what it says it “can” do.

If the developer believed in itself they would set the price of iConnectHue higher if they can’t cover the costs. You get functionality of a free app for $4.99 that you spend on this one. Not worth the headache, but apparently the developer has plenty of time to get on here and write novels in response to other people complaining of the same thing! Don’t argue with customers, that’s never a way to do business.

by __<MIKE>___

I feel like whoever designed this just said, “you know what? I’m gonna to just put these buttons everywhere. Then I’ll assign cryptic icons to them with little to no explanation”. At least they don’t refer to it as intuitive. And good, cause it’s not. At all. You’ll have to spend a good long while just farting around with what each section does, then more time trying to figure out how to apply it to one or more areas, then more time if you want to learn how to do any “animations”. Then more money of course if you want to use any of those. Oh, then more time trying to figure out how to organize your “custom” “animations”. I bet you could take a room full of 10 adults and spend more than 4 hours teaching them how to use iConnectHue, and they’d come out of there still not being a “pro level user”. It’s just so tedious. The good news is, when you do get it down, it does do the most things with your lights and switches. Though I still find myself using the Hue app just because it’s faster, easier, and I can hand it to a visitor and they can use it without a 2 hour tutorial.

by IAppleAppReviewer

This is the best app for Hue lights. I’ve bought them all. So get this one.

Now just some critique to help the developer:
- Setting switch behavior is amazing, and the best feature probably. Only thing is it feels tedious setting them up. Maybe just cause I just reprogrammed two switches, similarly (for each nightstand), and took forever. Maybe a copy function where you could sub out the bulbs?

- Just too many separate in-app purchases. I can’t think of another app that has this many, many for similar things. It’s not even the amount of money. I’m happy to pay for it. Just annoying to get prompted to upgrade for every single feature.
- I just want iConnectHue to cost money upfront. Or have one in-app pro purchase if necessary. Don’t split it into 20 paper cuts.
- Rather see you charge for features or theme packs. Not both. Pick one to make money. The other should be free to sell the other.
- This really needs family sharing, which I get isn’t possible with in-app purchasing. But it’s crazy everyone in my family needs to pay for all the in-app purchases.

by Andy23511

App runs smoothly, all add ons work as expected, dev FREQUENTLY updates with new features that make the hue experience better. The dimmer programmability alone makes iConnectHue worth the full price, but every feature included with iConnectHue is centered around effortless usability in real day to day situations. For instance, my bedside dimmer is programmed to switch certain lights off, my bedroom to a specific night scene and a timer for the bedroom to go off 3 mins after, all with one press of one button, and only past a certain time in the evening. Timers can be based on your location- I have "all off if I'm away" timers set to run every few hours when I'm away from home. iConnectHue gets you pretty close to running a full blown home automation server, and it does this pretty much independent of the phone!

by Stinaxo

I have had iConnectHue for several years now and it is the one I use most consistently to control all the lights in my room. The user interface is designed well and everything flows smoothly. Compared to the regular Phillips hues app- this one is very easy to navigate to any setting I am looking for. I have happily paid for a few updates/extras and I see myself continuing to support these developers as they do release updates at a steady pace. I enjoy being able to control my lights from my Apple Watch and phone screen widget. There is one little complaint (more like suggestion) I have - but I’m going to wait and see if there may be an update for it in the near future or if the option I’m looking for is already available and I’m overlooking it somehow… either way, just download iConnectHue!! You won’t regret it :)

by Mssg Overloaded

This it the one and only app you need to make the most out of using your complete Hue system. I entered the world of Philips Hue lighting only recently, and tried a few other apps as I was ramping up the user learning curve. In the process I discovered that this is the one that puts all others to shame. Even Philips' own app. this app puts your whole Hue Ecosystem on steroids, and will give you super powers to make your place your own Light-Wonderland. iConnectHue's UX and UI is so intelligently designed, it puts the "smart" in your "-phone" when it comes to managing and controlling your Hue setup. And the in-app purchases are all so worth it, too! (even the add-on to use iConnectHue from Apple Watch). App runs smoothly and feels flawless. And on top, support is prompt and they answer fast to any question. Go confidently with this one and look no further when it comes for a #1 main go-to app for your Hue system.

by Lol Pic Lover69

I checked iConnectHue out because it was iOS 10 and later. My phone is a 6s+ and updating anymore would slow my phone down. At first I thought my only options were to spend a grand on a new phone or buy a smart hub and have everything I say be recorded. Both options were way more expensive than iConnectHue. I can't speak for it in comparison to the Hue app...because I couldn't even download it. I needed iOS 11 to turn my lights on. The user interface is straight to the point but gives tips to ensure you figure it out. Love it, you saved me the disappointment of returning my bulbs and saved me the frustration of buying more products.

by Anweshms

I’ve been using iConnectHue for many years to control over 50 lights and devices and never had any issues. I started using iConnectHue when I had 5-6 lights but over the last few years as my lights have grown iConnectHue has still been able to control everything as I want to. It does take a little practice to get use to it but once you know what to do its a breeze.

It is much better than the Philips app and the developers respond really fast to any queries you have. I used to purchase certain features every year but now as with many other apps ConnectHue has a yearly subscription. I was more than happy to support the developers by getting the annual subscription (for a very reasonable price btw) for an app that I use really often. Great work team!

by Bakes42

I’ve had the this app app since I got the first bulbs. I also purchased a handful of other apps.

this app looks good, runs quickly and has a great flow that makes a lot of sense to me. But, there’s one advantage of iConnectHue that is SO huge that I’m almost reluctant to say it because I feel the gang there at this app deserve all good things for this one and the competition will try to take it. So simple but so powerful is the fact that lights can exist in more than one group. It’s major. When you start making scenes soon you see that without this feature you can’t do anything good and iConnectHue would be like the rest of the apps (save for running great and looking even better).

by Gopy

iConnectHue is fantastic. Up front I want to say the support team helped me out over the holidays, which I didn't at all expect, and were extremely helpful and patient. iConnectHue is the best iOS citizen Hue app I've found — far nicer than the official Hue app, which feels like an alien transplant.

The Siri Shortcut support is really great for integrating into other automations, and the customizable Today widget is really nice for having just what you need where you want it.

The standout feature to me is the Watch app. It has dimmer buttons instead of Apple's fiddly scrolling brightness control, and your scenes/animations/colors. iConnectHue is really well done, very quick and responsive, and to me, faster to use than the endless scrolling of Apple's Home app (and more feature rich).

The only feature I wish iConnectHue had is the ability to add a fade in/out timer to scenes and colors, so I could cross-fade from the Watch app. However, what I most wanted was the ability to fade on and off my lights on command instead of only sunrise/sunset, from my Watch, and I got that using animations.

Extremely pleased, except for the money I spent before finding iConnectHue.

by Revan415

We smart light people spend too much time trying to make our lights do what normal lights do... this fixes that 100%. The hue app doesn’t let you do much with the add on devices and the routines are not intuitive.

iConnectHue makes routines super functional, and turns switches into actual useful things that do what you want, when you want. Completely replaces an actual dimmer switch 100%. Beautiful. Makes it easy for other people in the home to use the home automation and smart lights because now the switches just do everything they need to do and the routines (timers) allow perfect customization.

Throw in all the other cool stuff this thing can do and holy crap. I need more smart lights, because this is amazing.

Honestly I don’t write reviews hardly ever, but everyone should know this thing exists and is well worth every penny. You spent hundreds on hue lights, spend $6-10 more and make the most of it. So glad some one built this to take full advantage of what Philips should have done.

by Suavehowse

Anyone invested in the Philips Hue ecosystem for as long as I have has probably spent hours on end looking for the best application that just “works”. I have been a Phillips Hue user now for over 3 years (which is an eternity in the IOT world) and have tried at least 20 different apps and have spent a lot of money on some of those apps only to be disappointed. I’ve been using this app for well over a year now and it continues to get better and better and handle my crazy smart home with ease. I have an assortment of 45 smart Phillips Hue bulbs, 6 Hue Dimmers, 4 Hue Taps, 3 Hue Motion Detectors and use iConnectHue daily (even when deployed overseas I would check in on the House). I think I’ve used the native Phillips app only twice in the last year. Learn from my mistake, don’t waste hours scavenging iConnectHue Store and loads of money experimenting on other apps. Get this app now and use that time and money on something that works!

by Ack

iConnectHue is much better than the application provided by Philips, which has enhanced my user experience many times
over. There are some cool scenes provided at no cost and others you can purchase. You can control multiple Philips Bridges through a single interface which in my case makes things much easier to operate since I have a Philips Bridge on each floor of my home. The application provides notifications when there are firmware updates for Bridges, Devices and Bulbs. Last but not least the UI(User Interface) on this app is laid out in a much more user friendly way than the default Philips Hue app.

by Kathrynelise.art

I really like iConnectHue, and the discotainment I think is worth the few extra bucks. But I would ask the developers if they could add in the ability to set up Siri commands.
For the most part you can use Siri suggestions to do automations in the shortcuts app... But specifically what I'm trying to do is have it set up so I can use Siri to turn on and off the discotainment and automatically play music.
And I can for the most part, but I can't select any specific lighting preset for the discotainment. It will just turn it on with whatever lighting set up you had it on last.
It would be more fun if there was a way for me to say something like "hey Siri, let's have a christmas party" and in shortcuts it opens the discotainment feature, select the Christmas themed lighting setting, turns it on, then plays my christmas playlist.
For now, I just can't be that specific.

by Whatknows101

This is easily the best app for controlling your Philips Hue lights! FAR better, even, than iConnectHue from Philips Hue! The ability to create scenes, animations, etc., makes it one or two touches to have your lights do exactly what you want them to do! The apartment I built doesn’t have windows, so I was looking to build a lighting system that could follow the sun in both brightness and color temperature in the built-in “windows” I created to emulate sunrise and sunset and all the stages of lighting throughout the day. The systems I was looking at were going to cost $2,000-$5,000! Then I found Philips Hue and iConnectHue. It allows me to do all of that and so much more. I now have my entire house automated with the Hue lights and accessories through iConnectHue. The addition of motion detectors and programming to control exactly what I want to happen is incredible. And when I want them to change to something different, one touch of the button is all it takes. Create zones, rooms......whatever you want and have it do whatever you want! Just a great app!!

by Jeff51993

this app has completely transformed my Philips Hue lighting experience. Before using iConnectHue, I was content with the basic functionalities of the Hue system, but this app has unlocked a whole new world of possibilities. The ease of creating and controlling light groups has made managing my home’s lighting setup a breeze. The animations are a game changer – they bring life to every corner of my house with mesmerizing effects that are perfect for any mood or occasion.

What truly sets this app apart is its unparalleled customization. The gradient color picker and the Magic Scenes feature have allowed me to personalize my lighting like never before, creating atmospheres that are uniquely mine. The flexibility in controlling devices, especially the enhanced options for switches and sensors, shows the depth of thought put into iConnectHue.

Moreover, iConnectHue ’s design is intuitive and user-friendly. Whether on my iPhone or iPad, controlling my lights has never been more seamless or enjoyable. The regular updates, each bringing new features and improvements, show a commitment to excellence and user satisfaction.

by Banjor_

iConnectHue solves a lot of the problems that controlling Hue lights with the Philips Hue app or Home app have, and it integrates some third-party products too. The thing that makes it worth the Pro subscription for me is the amazing widget support and really handy Apple Watch app. There is a simple complication for the watch faces that leads you to iConnectHue where you can control lights by room or group. People are pretty impressed when I control the lights with a few taps on my wrist, and every time I do that I feel like I’m living in the future.

iConnect Hue makes some things possible that are either impossible or too hard to do with the Hue or Home apps. Animations, custom groupings that span rooms, “magic” scenes that let you change brightness or rearrange which lights get which color, third-party lights and switches in the same app, cleaning up old timers or phantom rooms/lights, entertainment scenes for parties, and more.

I’ve tried many other apps that make big promises, but I keep coming back to iConnect Hue. The only thing that it doesn’t seem to do is control my Nanoleaf devices, but that’s not enough of a downside to make me change my rating from five to four stars. iConnectHue just works, and the author is continually improving it and adding features. I wish all my paid apps provided this much value.

by ChuckDickens

Read the negative reviews. The complaints are about either iConnectHue costing money, or it being too complicated. If the 5-15 dollars a year price is outrageous, these complainers should probably also reconsider buying 50 dollar light bulbs. Too complex? It has a lot of awesome functionality other apps don’t have. It’s gonna be a little complex. You may have to read for 10-15 seconds to learn about a function, be ready for that. If you can spare 5-15 for a subscription, and are able to maintain focus for an entire paragraph, then iConnectHue is hands down the best.

by The Scott

I’ve been leaving a lot of negative reviews lately and was thinking I need to review an app that I DO like. So the other night as I was using iConnectHue, I realized that I don’t really like that a bulb flashes when you select it; I wonder if there’s a way to turn that off. Lo and behold, yes! Of course there is, because iConnectHue is built around functionality and the user experience to actually let you use your devices how YOU want to use them, unlike the Philips app. That app seems to be built around some weird, half-remembered nightmare the developer had one time, crossed with a ton of interference from a bunch of brain-dead executives…

Anyway, where the official app makes everything as hard as possible to do, in iConnectHue it’s easy to find and customize almost anything you need to. The wizards for accessories (like for the remote and tap) especially make that process super-easy, and it gives you a ton of customization options, too.

There are few of these subscription apps that are actually worth the cost, but you get more than your money’s worth with iConnectHue. If iConnectHue didn’t exist, I think I would have totally gotten rid of ALL my Hue equipment by this point. Philips should be PAYING this company, because their own sloppy, anti-user app makes it almost impossible to use their products. But with this app, it’s breeze.

by DarfNader

With the limitations of both the native Hue app, Apple HomeKit, and all of the other comprehensive controllers, this has by far the most features, the best interface, and makes the most out of your Hue and Friends of Hue devices. It also leverages newer iOS tools like Siri, Shortcuts, and Widgets nicely. Finally, it’s very well supported. The price is cheap for various functions that I found myself buying some of the silly prebuilt color scenes just because I wanted to give the creator the support to keep making a great product. Also, multiple hubs is supported better than Hue does it, though it requires multiple Hue accounts. (Not ICH’s fault.)

Sure, there is plenty more stuff that if could have like a way to create a mode to operate where controls were less “volatile” so guests don’t accidentally change your settings. Also, a comprehensive backup and restore functional would be terrific. Since iConnectHue can not control what other apps out in your Hue hub. Sometimes they can mess things up so it would be nice to wipe the hub and restore it from a point in time rather than try to manually “clean it”. Based in past experience, of other uses want this too, the developer will probably get on this because iConnectHue is constantly improving.

Worth every in-app purchase!

by Llevalo

Based on an impassioned response from the developer regarding my previous review, I’m changing to 5 stars because iConnectHue is very good *but* is still very expensive due to numerous in app purchases. Be prepared for various fees for new features and additional functionality, but the quality is high and the dev seems committed, so there’s a trade off.
I also recommend to the dev to sharpen their “soft skills” when responding to paying customers who’ve said something with which they disagree, as I took no offense, but I could imagine other people reacting differently. Cheers

by CoolMcLovin

I started using iConnectHue over a year ago because the original Phillips Hue app was so horrible. The support is terrific and you get regular updates. It’s the only app that I know you can easily configure the light switches with all sorts of push and/or hold combinations for each button. It’s well worth the money that you’ll pay for iConnectHue and probably does more than you will ever use it for. And if you are reading this and not sure about getting it, know that you are getting a complete replacement for the Hue app plus lots of extra config options too!!