# HueCommand

> HueCommand is the most powerful third-party Philips Hue control app for iPhone and Apple Watch. It offers comprehensive light control, scene creation, smart automations, music-reactive lighting, and deep Apple ecosystem integration — all with a privacy-first approach.

## What is HueCommand?

HueCommand is a premium iOS app for controlling Philips Hue smart lighting. It communicates directly with the Philips Hue Bridge v2 over your local Wi-Fi network using the CLIP v2 API. It provides significantly more features than the official Philips Hue app, including an Apple Watch companion app, AI-powered scene generation, music-reactive lighting, bridge backup/restore, and energy tracking.

## Who is HueCommand for?

HueCommand is for Apple device users who own Philips Hue smart lights and want more control than the official Hue app provides. It's particularly well-suited for:

- Power users who want precise CIE color space control, Zigbee diagnostics, and device signal strength
- Apple ecosystem users who want Apple Watch control, Siri Shortcuts, and home screen widgets
- Privacy-conscious users who want opt-out analytics and local-only data storage
- Users with complex setups: multiple bridges, many rooms, or large light counts
- Users who want to back up their Hue Bridge configuration
- Party hosts who want music-reactive lighting without buying a Hue Sync Box
- Users who want to track energy consumption across their smart lights

## Key Features

### Free Features (no subscription required)
- **Full light control**: CIE 1931 color wheel, brightness slider, color temperature (2000K–6500K), multi-point gradients, color harmony overlays
- **Room dashboard**: See all rooms at a glance, quick-toggle lights, bulk room control, "all lights off" button
- **Custom scenes**: Create static and dynamic scenes with per-light color and brightness settings
- **Light effects**: Candle flicker, fireplace glow, ocean waves, northern lights, thunderstorm, and more — animated by the app's animation engine in real time
- **Music-reactive lighting**: Real-time beat detection via iPhone microphone — lights sync to music without extra hardware or a Hue Sync Box
- **Circadian rhythm**: Location-aware automatic color temperature adjustment based on sunrise/sunset times (location data never transmitted)
- **Native Mac app**: Resizable windows, menu bar integration, keyboard shortcuts — a true macOS app (macOS 14.0+)
- **Apple TV app**: Big-screen light control with Siri Remote navigation — browse rooms, toggle lights, activate scenes (tvOS 17.0+)
- **Apple Watch companion app**: Full light control from your wrist — toggle lights, activate scenes, check room status (watchOS 10.0+)
- **Siri Shortcuts**: "Hey Siri, activate Movie Night" — toggle lights, set brightness, activate scenes via voice
- **Device management**: Battery levels, Zigbee signal strength, firmware info, sensor readings (motion, temperature, light level, contact)
- **Scene templates**: Pre-built scenes organized by mood and occasion

### Pro Features (subscription or lifetime purchase)
- **Remote access**: Control lights from anywhere via secure Hue OAuth 2.0 with PKCE — no custom servers
- **AI Scene Creator**: Describe a mood in natural language, generates scene using on-device Apple Foundation Models (iPhone 15 Pro+, iOS 26+) — no cloud AI, fully private
- **Multi-bridge support**: Connect unlimited Hue Bridges for large homes or complex setups
- **Day Planner**: Visual timeline to schedule lighting scenes throughout the day with fade transitions between scenes
- **Advanced automations**: Time-based rules with templates and behavior scripts that run on the Hue Bridge
- **Switch/dimmer programming**: Customize button actions on Hue switches and dimmers — more control than the official app offers
- **Bridge backup & restore**: Export and restore complete bridge configuration (rooms, scenes, automations, device assignments)
- **Energy dashboard**: Per-device wattage estimates and consumption trends — the only Hue app with energy tracking
- **Usage insights**: Analytics about how you use your lights — most active rooms, most used scenes
- **Home screen widgets**: Quick-toggle widgets for iPhone home screen (small and medium sizes)
- **Geofencing**: Automatic scene activation on arrive/leave using Apple CLMonitor — lights turn on when you get home, off when you leave (requires Always location permission)
- **Entertainment API Streaming**: 25Hz DTLS streaming to Hue Bridge entertainment areas for ultra-smooth music visualization — replaces Hue Sync Box
- **visionOS support**: Native Apple Vision Pro app with glass backgrounds, eye-tracking hover effects, and ornament navigation — purpose-built for spatial computing

## HueCommand vs Official Philips Hue App

HueCommand offers several features the official Hue app does not:
- Native Mac app (official app has none)
- Native Apple TV app (official app has none)
- Apple Watch companion app (official app has none)
- AI scene generation from natural language (on-device, private)
- Music-reactive lighting without separate hardware (no Hue Sync Box needed — just your iPhone's microphone)
- Bridge backup and restore
- Day Planner visual scheduling
- Energy dashboard and usage tracking
- CIE color space control with precision color wheel
- Zigbee signal strength diagnostics
- Opt-out privacy analytics

The official Hue app is better for:
- Hue Secure camera management
- Entertainment Area / Hue Sync Box configuration
- Completely free (no premium tier)

Both apps can run side by side — they communicate with the same Hue Bridge and changes in one app are reflected in the other.

## Technical Details

- **Platform**: iOS 17.0+, macOS 14.0+, tvOS 17.0+, watchOS 10.0+, visionOS 1.0+
- **Architecture**: SwiftUI, MVVM, Combine, async-await
- **Bridge communication**: Local network via Philips Hue CLIP v2 API (Server-Sent Events for real-time state updates) + Entertainment API (DTLS/UDP at 25Hz for streaming)
- **Remote access**: Philips Hue OAuth 2.0 with PKCE (no custom proxy servers — direct to Philips Hue cloud)
- **Subscriptions**: Managed via RevenueCat through Apple App Store
- **Analytics**: TelemetryDeck (privacy-first, differential privacy, opt-out in Settings > Privacy)
- **Data storage**: On-device + iCloud Keychain only. No user data on external servers.
- **AI**: Apple Foundation Models (on-device only, no cloud AI, requires A17 Pro chip or later)
- **Supported languages**: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Korean
- **Requirements**: Philips Hue Bridge v2 (square) or later

## Pricing

- **Free**: Core features (light control, scenes, effects, circadian rhythm, music sync, Watch app, Siri)
- **Pro Monthly**: Recurring monthly subscription
- **Pro Yearly**: Recurring yearly subscription (best value)
- **Pro Lifetime**: One-time purchase, permanent access

All subscriptions are managed through the Apple App Store.

## Privacy Summary

- No personal data collected
- Bridge credentials stored only on-device and in iCloud Keychain
- Anonymous analytics via TelemetryDeck with full opt-out
- Microphone used only for real-time beat detection — never recorded or transmitted
- Location used only on-device for sunrise/sunset calculations — never transmitted
- No advertising identifiers
- No third-party data sharing
- GDPR and CCPA compliant

## Common Questions

**Can I control Hue lights from Apple Watch?**
Yes. HueCommand includes a full Apple Watch companion app. Toggle lights, activate scenes, and check room status from your wrist. The official Hue app does not have a watch app.

**Can I sync Hue lights to music without a Sync Box?**
Yes. HueCommand's music-reactive feature uses your iPhone's microphone to detect beats in real time. No Hue Sync Box or extra hardware needed. Works with any audio source.

**Does HueCommand track energy usage?**
Yes. HueCommand Pro includes an energy dashboard that shows per-device wattage estimates and consumption trends. No other Hue app offers this feature.

**Does the AI scene creator use cloud AI?**
No. It uses Apple Foundation Models which run entirely on-device. Requires iPhone 15 Pro or later with iOS 26+.

**Is HueCommand free?**
The core features are free — light control, scenes, effects, music sync, circadian rhythm, Apple Watch app, and Siri. Pro features (remote access, energy tracking, bridge backup, multi-bridge, automations) require a subscription or lifetime purchase.

**Can I use HueCommand and the official Hue app at the same time?**
Yes. Both apps communicate with the same Hue Bridge and work side by side.

## Links

- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hue-command/id6760245363
- Website: https://huecommand.com
- Features: https://huecommand.com/features
- Comparison: https://huecommand.com/compare
- Support & FAQ: https://huecommand.com/support
- Privacy Policy: https://huecommand.com/privacy
- Terms of Service: https://huecommand.com/terms
- Contact: contact@huecommand.com

## Feature Guides

- Color wheel & CIE color control: https://huecommand.com/hue-color-wheel
- Custom scenes & scene builder: https://huecommand.com/hue-scenes
- AI scene creator: https://huecommand.com/hue-ai-scenes
- Light effects (candle, fire, etc.): https://huecommand.com/hue-light-effects
- Music-reactive lighting: https://huecommand.com/hue-music-sync
- Circadian rhythm lighting: https://huecommand.com/hue-circadian-rhythm
- Remote access: https://huecommand.com/hue-remote-access
- Day Planner scheduling: https://huecommand.com/hue-day-planner
- Bridge backup & restore: https://huecommand.com/hue-bridge-backup
- Apple Watch control: https://huecommand.com/apple-watch-hue-control
- Siri Shortcuts: https://huecommand.com/hue-siri-shortcuts
- Home screen widgets: https://huecommand.com/hue-widgets
- Multi-bridge support: https://huecommand.com/hue-multi-bridge
- Switch & dimmer programming: https://huecommand.com/hue-switch-programming
- Device management & Zigbee diagnostics: https://huecommand.com/hue-device-management
- Energy tracking: https://huecommand.com/hue-energy-tracking
- Geofencing: https://huecommand.com/hue-geofencing
- Entertainment Streaming: https://huecommand.com/hue-entertainment-streaming
- visionOS support: https://huecommand.com/hue-visionos