HomeKit Insider In Depth Talk with Philips Hue Founder & Head of Technology George Yianni
Nov 24, 2025
Join George Yianni, founder and CTO of Signify (Philips Hue), as he shares the journey of transforming smart lighting. He recounts the exclusive launch with Apple and the growth from a single bulb to a vast range of products. Discover the innovative MotionAware technology, enabling bulbs to act as motion sensors, and the newly launched Hue Bridge Pro's capabilities. George also dives into the fascinating world of outdoor lighting, security cameras, and the seamless integration of Matter with Apple Home, revealing a brighter, smarter future with Philips Hue.
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Smartphone As The Lighting Breakthrough
- Philips Hue began as an internal Philips startup to make advanced lighting accessible to everyday consumers.
- George Yianni framed smartphone control as the key UI that made smart lighting mainstream.
Exclusive Launch With Apple
- Philips Hue launched exclusively with Apple and sold only in Apple stores for the first year.
- That partnership gave Hue early visibility and helped change how people thought about home lighting.
Bridge-Centric Upgrade Enabled HomeKit
- HomeKit required a more powerful gateway, so Hue developed the Bridge V2 to meet Apple's security and processing needs.
- Because intelligence lived in the bridge, existing bulbs could gain HomeKit support via the new hub.