We’re used to Philips Hue products with lofty price tags, but $130 for an app that syncs your Hue lights with a Samsung TV? That’s a big ask, even for Hue aficionados.
Perhaps that’s why Signify-owned Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings, the two brands behind the Philips Hue Sync TV app, are teeing up a new way to pay for the service: a monthly fee.
Starting this spring, you’ll be able to pay $2.99 a month to access the Philips Hue Sync TV app, which will work its light-syncing magic on up to three Samsung TVs in your home.
For those who’d rather avoid yet another subscription fee, the Philips Hue Sync TV app will remain available as a $129.99 one-time purchase, albeit for just a single Samsung TV.
Available since January 2023 on the Samsung TV app store, the Philips Hue Sync TV app works with 2022 or newer Samsung TVs in the QR60 or better range, and it syncs your Hue lights with any content on your Samsung TV screen, including videos on Disney+, Netflix, and other streaming services.
The Philips Hue Sync TV app is an alternative to the $230 Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, a piece of hardware that will sync your Hue lights with any HDMI-equipped TV, not just Samsung sets.
Besides the subscription plan, Philips Hue and Samsung are announcing a new integration between the Philips Hue Sync TV app and the mobile Samsung SmartThings app.
Slated to arrive this spring, the integration will allow Philips Hue Sync TV users to change syncing modes and turn syncing on or off using the SmartThings app on their phones, rather than having to summon the smart TV app and potentially interrupting a binge-watching session.
Another new feature for the Philips Hue Sync TV app is a Music mode that will sync your Hue lights with the audio on a Samsung TV rather than the video.
Initially, Music mode will only work on select 2024 Samsung TVs, with support for 2022 and 2023 Samsung TV sets coming “later this year,” Samsung says.
Finally, the Philips Hue Sync TV app is coming to more countries, including Brazil, Hong Kong, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.