Philips’ Hue app now lets you edit lighting effects

Philips is introducing four new lighting effects through its Hue app including an underwater option simulating the glimmer of light beneath the waves. The added effects are part of a new app update, spotted by Hueblog, that also introduces the ability to customize the lighting effects already available through the app, as well as any new effects Philips introduces in the future.

Existing lighting effects include options that can make Hue lamps and bulbs simulate the appearance of a candle with a soft flickering yellow glow, or a fireplace with more intense flashes of red and orange. Version 5.28 of the Hue app — which is now available for iOS, iPadOS, and Android — adds cosmos, underwater, enchant, and sunbeam effects, bringing the total to 10. The effects aren’t available for every Hue product, but Philips has shared an extensive list of exactly which lights do support the feature.

Although the effects are designed with specific colors and animations to simulate certain lighting experiences, the latest Hue app update now lets you change the base color of effects — so you can enjoy the glow of a pink candle, for example — and adjust the effects’ intensity by changing the brightness and speed of flickering or color transitions.

The Hue app has long been a polished and streamlined way to control Philips’ smart lighting products, but in recent years the app’s customizability options have lagged behind competitors like Govee and Nanoleaf. Being able to edit effects in the Hue app is a welcome upgrade, and another reminder of how competition can benefit consumers.

Other improvements in the latest version of the Philips Hue app include a lighting style called scattered — originally introduced on the Philips Hue Festavia string lights — now being made available on all gradient lights in the Hue line. The app’s icon and widgets now offer both dark and tinted styles if you’ve upgraded to iOS 18 or iPadOS18.

With spooky season well under way, Philips has also reintroduced Halloween scenes to the Hue app, which take control of all the lights in a room with different colors and transitions to change the mood. Although two new Halloween scenes were introduced last year, the same eight are available again this year including spellbound, glowing grins, and witching hour.