Philips Hue App Updated With Redesign, New Sidebar Interface

MacRumors · Dec 16, 2013

Philips today updated its Philips Hue app to version 1.2, adding a much needed iOS 7-style redesign to the app. Along with a new look, the Philips Hue app has gained a new sidebar that allows users to quickly select various in-app options like Light Control.

Previously, Light Control, which allows users to change the colors of lights individually, was accessed by swiping upwards on the screen to access the Light Overview and then turning the iPhone to landscape mode for a control view. The new sidebar simplifies the light manipulating process with easy access menus.

The app now lets users save the current status of lights as a scene directly from the Light Control menu with the "save" button and lights can also be reordered from within the app settings. Sidebar notifications have been added as well, to let users know when an update is available.

What's New in Version 1.2.0
Introducing the new look hue app:

- New iOS 7 style design
- Added sidebar navigation to make functionality easier to find
- Added introduction demo
- Lights can now be reordered from the app settings
- Save current status of lights as a scene from light control
- Added sidebar notifications

First introduced in late 2012, Philips' Hue lighting system provides users with wireless-enabled LED lightbulbs that can be controlled remotely via an iPhone app. The lights have several variations of white and can also be changed into a rainbow of colors, also supporting themes, scheduling, and dimming.

The Philips Hue starter set can be purchased from Apple for $199.95. The accompanying Philips Hue app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Philips Hue App Updated With Redesign, New Sidebar Interface

Sky Blue · Dec 16, 2013

I like the look of these, but they certainly ain't cheap!

XboxMySocks · Dec 16, 2013

I woke up to this update today! Much needed!

What wasn't needed, was deleting all of my created scenes

ayale99 · Dec 16, 2013

Woohoo! It's about time Philips! ...except all of my remote settings are gone after updating

Now if you could unlock the Disney storybook app to work with the regular lights and not the proprietary Disney Hue light that costs twice as much, that would be great.

Hes Nikke · Dec 16, 2013

Wonderful! To control the color of individual bulbs on a simple spectrum now takes 3 taps where it used to take 2! Progress in Action!

XboxMySocks · Dec 16, 2013

Sky Blue said:
I like the look of these, but they certainly ain't cheap!

Would highly recommend it. Thought $200 was steep but I've gotten that much money back just in entertainment & practicality use, minus the savings.

mdelvecchio · Dec 16, 2013

good, the app needed clarity and use improvements. hopefully this delivers them and indicates they'll keep on it.

love our hue lighting. three bulbs in our living room, two strips under kitchen cabinets, two strips over bookcases. we love them, the value they offer is worth the price for us.

Rufuss Sewell · Dec 16, 2013

I need some way to use my Hue system in my tour bus.

We use mobile wifi which doesn't have an ethernet port. I've tried creating a network with my mbp and using it's port but it doesn't work.

Any ideas on an att or verizon router with ethernet that Hue would work with?

colinharbour · Dec 16, 2013

I was too keen to update

Updated the Hue app on two devices. Won't connect on either

Looks like I'm not alone as there is already one review for the new version of the app on the App Store - exactly the same experience as me.

Now I can't use my very expensive lights.

PsychoLogicXen · Dec 16, 2013

So glad they replaced that awful handwritten font for the scene names.

Still kind of an awkward UI, but an overall improvement in my opinion.

XboxMySocks · Dec 16, 2013

Rufuss Sewell said:
I need some way to use my Hue system in my tour bus.

We use mobile wifi which doesn't have an ethernet port. I've tried creating a network with my mbp and using it's port but it doesn't work.

Any ideas on an att or verizon router with ethernet that Hue would work with?

You just need any actual router. It doesn't have to be connected to jack except the Hue.

Bistroengine · Dec 16, 2013

Hes Nikke said:
Wonderful! To control the color of individual bulbs on a simple spectrum now takes 3 taps where it used to take 2! Progress in Action!

Yes, 1 more tap, but I honestly hated having to rotate my phone to change the color of a light. Now you can adjust the color and brightness from the same screen. In my opinion, that's an improvement.

zosobao5150 · Dec 16, 2013

Thanks Philips...now please lower the price and make the lights a bit more powerful and I will purchase.

mdelvecchio · Dec 16, 2013

zosobao5150 said:
Thanks Philips...now please lower the price and make the lights a bit more powerful and I will purchase.

lowered prices come with increased volume.

brighter LED solutions come with improved technology. wont be overnight.

AluminumQ45 · Dec 16, 2013

OK. First off, I love these lights. They are awesome. The IFTTT integration, the party apps, etc. Awesome. I've got 15 lights across 6 rooms. LOVE EM.

The Philips application is a JOKE. It has big promises. Sync, Scenes, etc. I set up my app with one page of scenes per room. highlight colors, all the philips whitelight modes, etc. Every time the app updates, i have to re-do pages and pages of scenes. Re-login to the site? Yup. It tries to sync. It brings back test scenes from a year ago. It deletes scenes that i use daily. I get it sync is hard. I have 5 iOS devices connecting. It is complex to sync them in race conditions. But I upgraded one device and re-logged in to scene sharing, and it drops a nuke on my setup. Every. Single. Time. Whoever wrote the sync code should be taken and forced to read about how to resolve shared resource conflicts. Or held underwater. I'm not sure which would be better.

I am sure I own every single app in the app store for Hue bulbs and none of them do exactly what I want.

Xerotech · Dec 16, 2013

It's a pretty neat idea, but I hate how long it takes to 'connect' to the app. It's rather tedious when I can just flip the light switch on.

proline · Dec 16, 2013

AluminumQ45 said:
OK. First off, I love these lights. They are awesome. The IFTTT integration, the party apps, etc. Awesome. I've got 15 lights across 6 rooms. LOVE EM.

The Philips application is a JOKE. It has big promises. Sync, Scenes, etc. I set up my app with one page of scenes per room. highlight colors, all the philips whitelight modes, etc. Every time the app updates, i have to re-do pages and pages of scenes. Re-login to the site? Yup. It tries to sync. It brings back test scenes from a year ago. It deletes scenes that i use daily. I get it sync is hard. I have 5 iOS devices connecting. It is complex to sync them in race conditions. But I upgraded one device and re-logged in to scene sharing, and it drops a nuke on my setup. Every. Single. Time. Whoever wrote the sync code should be taken and forced to read about how to resolve shared resource conflicts. Or held underwater. I'm not sure which would be better.

I am sure I own every single app in the app store for Hue bulbs and none of them do exactly what I want.

The lights have great potential, but the software is a real pain. Want to have them fade in over half an hour to simulate a sunrise? This should be one of the #1 features of the Hue. Nope, you can't set a fade longer than 9 minutes. And the whole paradigm of creating scenes using your favorite photos is a gimmick that seriously gets in the way. Just give me a color wheel and let me save the colors I pick.

ipedro · Dec 16, 2013

It's much better now. You can now rename each screen so you can create scenes for different rooms and easily swipe between them -- something that was sorely missing before.

What seems to be gone is the ability to change the wallpaper. I'd rather have it dark than the rainbow that is now permanent.

AluminumQ45 · Dec 16, 2013

ipedro said:
It's much better now. You can now rename each screen so you can create scenes for different rooms and easily swipe between them -- something that was sorely missing before.

that was present in earlier versions of the software, just not readily apparent on how to access it.

unplugme71 · Dec 16, 2013

I like the LED lights and the idea of what you can do. The app is a joke, very limiting functionality for being out this long. This app should be updated on a monthly basis with 1 or 2 new features.

proline · Dec 16, 2013

unplugme71 said:
I like the LED lights and the idea of what you can do. The app is a joke, very limiting functionality for being out this long. This app should be updated on a monthly basis with 1 or 2 new features.

I've actually heard from Philips about this. Their view is that they shouldn't have to make a good app, because there is an SDK and the lights are 'open' so anyone can make a better app. This may be true, but so far all we have to show for it is a bunch of half-baked disco apps. Their view that you can make great hardware and not really care about software is sort of a throwback to 50 years ago. 'Open' does not always mean that somebody else will do your work for free.

charlituna · Dec 16, 2013

Sky Blue said:
I like the look of these, but they certainly ain't cheap!

They are supposed to last 3-4 times the life of a standard bulb and need less power, thus saving money in the long run. If that is true then the higher price is worth it

----------

Rufuss Sewell said:
I need some way to use my Hue system in my tour bus.

We use mobile wifi which doesn't have an ethernet port. I've tried creating a network with my mbp and using it's port but it doesn't work.

Any ideas on an att or verizon router with ethernet that Hue would work with?

You don't need internet unless you want remote access. I had no issue running my lights when TWC borked my internet for five days. Just kept my airport up as an adhoc with no problems.

nuckinfutz · Dec 16, 2013

proline said:
I've actually heard from Philips about this. Their view is that they shouldn't have to make a good app, because there is an SDK and the lights are 'open' so anyone can make a better app. This may be true, but so far all we have to show for it is a bunch of half-baked disco apps. Their view that you can make great hardware and not really care about software is sort of a throwback to 50 years ago. 'Open' does not always mean that somebody else will do your work for free.

Lightbow & Goldee are testaments to Philip's position though. As long as they keep the SDK flexible and extensive the apps will get better and better

proline · Dec 16, 2013

nuckinfutz said:
Lightbow & Goldee are testaments to Philip's position though. As long as they keep the SDK flexible and extensive the apps will get better and better

Can any of these do a simple fade out that lasts longer than 9 minutes?

BrentD · Dec 16, 2013

proline said:
The lights have great potential, but the software is a real pain. Want to have them fade in over half an hour to simulate a sunrise? This should be one of the #1 features of the Hue. Nope, you can't set a fade longer than 9 minutes. And the whole paradigm of creating scenes using your favorite photos is a gimmick that seriously gets in the way. Just give me a color wheel and let me save the colors I pick.

Even with the 9 minute fade (or ANY length fade), have you noticed how bright the "lowest" setting still is? When I get ready for bed at night I have my nightstand lights turn to a deep blue for a few minutes and fade out slowly. The lowest setting on the blue isn't bad. But I have my lights set to fade in for 3 minutes when I wake up, and the lowest setting on any of the different whites is way too bright still. Ridiculous.

I'm also with you on the photo gimmick. That's the most ridiculous way to set a light scene. Just a color wheel is all I need. Even RGBW sliders would work, since that's what it's using for color anyway.

Philips Hue App Updated With Redesign, New Sidebar Interface

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