Philips Hue vs Open-Hue

Struggling to choose between Philips Hue and Open-Hue? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Philips Hue is a Home & Family solution with tags like lighting, automation, led, wireless, app-control.

It boasts features such as Voice control - Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Automation - Set schedules, timers, alarms, Sync with entertainment - Sync lights with music, movies, games, Away from home control - Control lights when away, Millions of color options - Pick any color and pros including Easy to set up and use, Energy efficient LED bulbs, Control lights remotely, Integrates with other smart home devices, Lots of automation options.

On the other hand, Open-Hue is a Home & Family product tagged with philips-hue, smart-lights, home-automation, open-source.

Its standout features include Discover and connect to Philips Hue bridges on the local network, Manage lights - get info, set state, rename, etc., Manage groups - create, delete, rename, etc., Manage schedules - create, delete, get schedule info, Uses asynchronous API for non-blocking calls, Built on top of the native Philips Hue API, and it shines with pros like Open source and free to use, Actively maintained, Good documentation, Simple and easy to use API, Support for latest Philips Hue features, Works with multiple programming languages.

Feature	Philips Hue	Open-Hue
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Home & Family	Home & Family

Product Overview

Philips Hue

Description: Philips Hue is a smart lighting system that allows users to control and automate their home lighting. It uses LED light bulbs that connect to a wireless network, allowing control via smartphone apps or voice assistants.

Open-Hue

Description: Open-Hue is an open source Philips Hue API library that allows developers to easily integrate with Philips Hue smart lights. It provides basic functionality for discovering bridges, managing lights, groups and schedules.

Key Features Comparison

Philips Hue Features

• Voice control - Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri
• Automation - Set schedules, timers, alarms
• Sync with entertainment - Sync lights with music, movies, games
• Away from home control - Control lights when away
• Millions of color options - Pick any color

Open-Hue Features

• Discover and connect to Philips Hue bridges on the local network
• Manage lights - get info, set state, rename, etc.
• Manage groups - create, delete, rename, etc.
• Manage schedules - create, delete, get schedule info
• Uses asynchronous API for non-blocking calls
• Built on top of the native Philips Hue API

Pros & Cons Analysis

Philips Hue

Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• Energy efficient LED bulbs
• Control lights remotely
• Integrates with other smart home devices
• Lots of automation options

Cons

• Expensive compared to normal bulbs
• Requires hub for most features
• Some features require subscription
• Connected bulbs vulnerable to hacking
• Ecosystem lock-in

Open-Hue

Pros

• Open source and free to use
• Actively maintained
• Good documentation
• Simple and easy to use API
• Support for latest Philips Hue features
• Works with multiple programming languages

Cons

• Limited to basic Philips Hue functionality
• No advanced or custom features
• Dependent on Philips Hue bridge and API
• Requires Philips Hue hardware to use

Pricing Comparison

Philips Hue

• Free - Basic app features
• Subscription - For automation, away control, entertainment sync
• Hardware - Bulbs, bridges, accessories

Open-Hue

• Open Source