Philips on Monday morning confirmed that its series of connected smart light bulbs, Philips Hue, will begin supporting Apple HomeKit sometime in the Fall. First announced nearly a year ago at last year's WWDC, HomeKit is Apple's home automation platform that aims to give developers and manufacturers a standardized framework to build devices that interact not only with Apple's products but one another as well.

According to Philips, all current Hue owners will be able to upgrade their existing home systems to take advantage of Hue's interaction with HomeKit. Unfortunately, besides confirming the partnership and that current Hue owners will be able to take advantage of it, Philips didn't reveal any other information today, besides that the company plans to give out "more detailed information" this September.


Philips' announcement of HomeKit support comes a few days after the first products compatible with the Apple home automation platform entered the market. Led by companies like Elgato, iHome, and Lutron, the HomeKit-supported devices allow users to measure air quality, control power to various electrical outlets, and even control lighting with a wireless dimmer.

Since the Philips Hue lighting system currently requires a wireless hub directly connected to a router to function, it's unclear whether the HomeKit upgrade will require a simple software update or need some actual new piece of equipment to work properly. The company did note that, "Philips Hue will help existing users to upgrade their system," whenever the update does go live. Philips encourages those interested in the HomeKit-related news, and general announcements from the company regarding Hue, to follow them on Facebook and Twitter for updates throughout the summer, leading up to its September announcement.

Top Rated Comments

ck2875 Avatar
128 months ago

Unfortunately, besides confirming the partnership and that current Hue owners will be able to take advantage of it, Philips didn't reveal any other information today, besides that the company plans to give out "more detailed information" this September.
Rephrased: Phillips, today, issued a statement kindly asking customers not to abandon them in favour of companies that actually spent the past year readying HomeKit support for their products.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RichTF Avatar
128 months ago
Well, they say this over on their U.S. website ('http://www2.meethue.com/en-us/')
. . .
That's pretty encouraging, if they mean it.
Yeah, it's certainly encouraging, although interesting that it only says "existing lights".

Again, it's being a bit cynical, but it's possible we might need a new base station? Hope not, so we'll have to wait and see I guess. :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iConnected Avatar
128 months ago
Fall? Really? They've had more than enough time to be ready.
Come on. Hasn't the lead time on Apple Watch trained you to deal with waiting for good things? ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
crashoverride77 Avatar
128 months ago
Boom Boom Boom. Happy days and it puts a rest to the discussion of wether people have to upgrade their products. Awesome
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arran Avatar
128 months ago
At last Philips! Phew :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jsmith189 Avatar
128 months ago
They probably set this target alongside iOS9's release from the getgo.
I can see that. I think it would have been better to launch now so that people can go and re-purchase everything they need to (since we know a new bridge will be required) in preparation for iOS9, but... oh well lol.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...