When I bought my no-brand coloured smartlight a few years ago I explicitly passed up on Philips Hue because it now seemed to require some smartphone app, and I just wanted to use a remote control. It's simpler to use, faster to use, has a lot less moving parts, and generally "always works". While there are some use cases where an app might be a bit more convenient, I'm willing to bet that if you asked people on the street that the majority would prefer to use just a remote (I admit I have no data to back this up).
Security and privacy concerns don't even come in to play (although these do make the apps even worse)
This is a shame, because I had good experiences with my old Hue, when they still did remotes.
Security and privacy concerns don't even come in to play (although these do make the apps even worse)
This is a shame, because I had good experiences with my old Hue, when they still did remotes.