The short version
- Bring your lights. Add the Philips Hue, Govee and WLED lights you already own over Wi-Fi, or pair an Aura light over Bluetooth. No hub to buy.
- Pick a song. Choose any track from Apple Music. Stadium Room lays it out on a timeline with bars and beats so every effect lands where the music does.
- Paint the show. Drop gradients, sweeps, strobes and sparkles onto the timeline, one lane per group of lights. Scrub and preview before a single bulb turns on.
- Press play. The song plays and every light in the room follows it in sync. Save the show and it's ready the next time that song comes on.
Why a show beats a music mode
Built-in music modes in smart-light apps listen through a microphone and react to volume. They can't know a chorus is coming, so they flash at whatever is loud. A Stadium Room show is designed for one specific song and plays against that song's clock from Apple Music, so a sweep lands on the downbeat and the room goes dark exactly when the track does.
How the lights stay in time
A show is a list of effects placed on the song's timeline. While the song plays, the app follows Apple Music's playback position and renders each moment for every light. Wi-Fi lights (Hue, Govee, WLED) are streamed frame by frame; Aura lights receive the whole show once and play it from a once-a-second clock sync. Because each brand has a different network delay, a one-time sync calibration shifts each brand so they all flash together.
What you can do in the editor
- A real timeline, not a mic mode. Most music sync listens through a microphone and guesses. Stadium Room plays a show you designed against the song's clock, so the drop hits on the drop, every time.
- On the beat, across brands. Hue, Govee and WLED each add their own network delay. Calibrate once per brand and they flash together, on the same beat, in the same room.
- Effects that move across the room. Place your lights where they really are. Sweeps and chases travel left to right across the room instead of blinking at random.
- A look without a song. Not playing music? Put a calm gradient or a slow wave on every light from the Control tab, or toggle them from Control Center and the Lock Screen.
- Shows other people made. Search any song and see the light shows people have already made for it. Preview one, get it in a tap, and play it on your lights. Publish your own for everyone else.
- Design with no hardware at all. Virtual lights run the same engine as the real ones inside the app. Build a whole show on the couch and see exactly what the room will do.
Set up your lights
- Philips Hue: Hue Bridge, Entertainment streaming over Wi-Fi.
- Govee: Govee LAN Control over Wi-Fi.
- WLED: DDP over Wi-Fi.
- Aura lights: Bluetooth, show stored on the light.