FabianThe Philips Hue app has received another update and this is particularly interesting for users of an iPhone or iPad. After a long, long time, there are finally widgets for Philips Hue again. I'll explain exactly what you can expect in this article.
Several years ago, the widgets in iOS could still be found in the Today view, and Philips Hue widgets were already available back then. With iOS 14, Apple brought the widgets to the home screen, but with one major restriction: they could only display data, but were not allowed to perform any actions without having to open the corresponding app. For this reason, Philips Hue has not used widgets in the Apple world in recent years.
The new widgets in the Philips Hue app
With iOS 17, Apple has introduced interactive widgets that enable actions to be carried out without having to open an app. And it is precisely these possibilities that Philips Hue is utilising with the update to version 5.14 of the Hue app.
To add a widget to the home screen, you need to long press on it and then add a new widget using the plus symbol. You can already choose between different widget sizes there. If the widgets are not immediately visible after the update, restart the device once.
You can specify exactly what the widget should control by long pressing on the widget and then selecting “Edit”. This allows you to select the desired rooms or zones and, of course, the scenes that should appear in the widget. You can also add a switch for switching on or off to the widget.
In addition to the widgets on the home screen, the same widgets can also be integrated into the Today view. Philips Hue also provides widgets in various sizes for the lock screen with the latest update.
Hue widgets currently have this limitation
There are still a few limitations to the widgets, although this is partly due to Apple. For example, there is no single button for switching the light on and off in a room or zone. This is probably due to the fact that Apple only updates the widgets irregularly and it is therefore not always possible to ensure that the Hue widget displays the current status of the light.
In any case, the first step has been taken – the widgets are finally back. And who knows: perhaps Apple will offer even more options with the upcoming iOS 18? The new operating systems for iPhone and iPad will be presented at WWDC on 10 June and are usually released in autumn.
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