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.
Maybe I missed it, but from the material that was available to me without actually buying one of these things, this seemed impossible: the boxes and stores didn't have any remotes, and I couldn't find anything on the website. If it is possible, then it's hidden pretty well and people are steered towards that app pretty strongly.
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.