FabianEven though I personally find the foundation that Philips Hue has laid with the new app quite appealing, overall I still find a lot missing in the current version. In particular, I think the tile view and the constant switching from one bridge to another are extremely annoying.
Of course, there are some apps that offer multi-bridge functionality, especially iConnectHue or Hue Essentials. However, I see both apps more as configurator apps and not as controller apps. I don't really find either design to be outstanding enough for me to rely on these apps for everyday control.
This is what I would like from such an app
I would like an app where I can see all my rooms and zones on the start page – in the order of my choice and across multiple bridges. The app should look modern and appealing and simply be fun to use.
In the room view, in addition to a list with the individual light sources, as we know it from the old Hue app, there is also access to all scenes that have been created in the official Hue app. In addition, a colour picker should be integrated in order to be able to control individual lamps manually.
Such an app could happily do without all the other stuff, such as automations or the configuration of switches. Because you don't access them every day anyway – and there are already apps that can do that excellently. There's really no need to reinvent the wheel here.
What do you think of this idea?
What do you say? Would you like an app that can do everything, but maybe doesn't look quite so fancy? Or would you also like an app that specialises in controlling the Hue lamps and looks good, but prefers to leave the configuration to the top dogs? I'm really looking forward to your feedback!
I'd be up for tackling this. A certain budget is available, a design could be created together with the community. The only thing missing is someone who has the technical knowledge to be able to develop such an app based on the Hue API.
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I don’t understand why, as an enthusiast, you’d want to live in the Hue ecosystem. I use HomeKit and have products from many different manufacturers in one app. I can create scenes and automations that integrate everything in my home… as long as it’s HomeKit compatible or someone wrote a Homebridge plugin for the hardware. By using the Hue app (or any other Hue-only app) you’re severely limiting the “smart” part of your smart home. The only thing I use the Hue app for is adding new bulbs and firmware updates.
A problem with 3rd party apps, is that Philips seems to be closing its API to 3rd party developers more and more, instead of making it easer to develop for the Hue eco system.
For example, these where changes from the last API update (source: developers.meethue.com/)
– Routines created by 3rd party applications will not anymore be visible in the Philips Hue app
– Automations created by the Philips Hue app will not anymore be visible on the API through the rule engine