Yeelight brings Ambilight to Samsung TVs with new light syncing app

Yeelight announced a new partnership with Samsung at IFA 2025, which saw the smart lighting company roll out the Yeelight TV Universe app to Samsung TVs. The app enables Ambilight-style effects without using a camera or sync box, unlike competing solutions from Govee or Philips Hue.

Normally, most synced TV lights kits use either a camera perched on top of the TV or an HDMI sync box to match the colors of smart lights to on-screen content. Camera-based kits like the Govee Envisual TV Backlight T2 (curr: $139.99 on Amazon) work with any TV content but can introduce slight delays, especially in fast-paced games or action movies. On the other hand, HDMI sync boxes reduce latency but only work with content from external devices such as a PS5 or cable box, not built-in TV apps.

Powered by the company’s LightEcho technology, Yeelight says its app can sync colors with any content shown on the TV regardless of the source, addressing the main limitation of HDMI sync boxes. And since it avoids cameras, it should also react to changing scenes with greater accuracy.

As far as we know, it works much like the Hue Sync TV app, but the main advantage here is cost. The Philips Hue app requires either a $2.99 monthly subscription or a $129.99 one-time purchase, not including the Hue Bridge hub. By contrast, the Yeelight TV Universe app is expected to be free for Samsung users, similar to the company’s Yeelight TV Orchestra app released in Russia for Xiaomi Mi TVs.

Yeelight has confirmed the app will work with its existing Cube Kit, Beam Light Bar, Obsid Light Strip, and Cube Lite. If you already own these lights and a supported Samsung TV, you simply need to download the app from the Smart Hub. The Yeelight TV Universe app is available on 2025 Neo QLED, Micro LED, OLED, and most QLED TVs (excluding the Q6F). Users can verify their TV model on the Yeelight website.

The company is also running limited launch promotions via its official store during IFA.