Neil Hughes
Philips on Monday announced that its Hue intelligent lighting ecosystem will be compatible with Apple's HomeKit smart home platform starting this fall.
According to Philips, all existing Hue light sources will be made compatible with HomeKit. The company plans to provide more detailed information on the upgrade in September.
Philips also said that the company will help existing users to upgrade their system. It was not indicated whether a software or firmware update would add HomeKit compatibility, or if a new hub to control the Hue lights will be required.
Currently, Philips Hue bulbs are connected to a wireless hub, which itself connects to a router via Ethernet. From there, connected apps from Philips and third-party developers can control the bulbs, while users can also access controls from the Philips website.
The first wave of official HomeKit-sanctioned devices were announced last week. The smart home controls are available in any Apple device running iOS 8.1 or later.
HomeKit aims to simplify control of smart home accessories, using Siri's voice control technology to give users the ability to do things like turn off lights, lock a door, or close a garage.
Such controls can even be accomplished when a user is away from home, thanks to the use of the Apple TV as a bridge between mobile devices and an iPhone or iPad away from home.
Much more on HomeKit is expected to be announced later today at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. AppleInsider will be there live with full coverage, starting at 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern.
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6 Comments
cool news. we use Hue all over the house (9 lights) and have several scheduled scenes in use, but we still need to adjust scenes manually for things like relaxing or watching movies; will be nice to be able to use siri, especially from the watch which is now on me more than my phone.
I have Hue and I love it! I use it for my bedroom where I set the lights to red which is known to be the least disruptive for your natural production of melatonin. An increase of melatonin is essential for helping you fall asleep.
I have Hue and I love it! I use it for my bedroom where I set the lights to red which is known to be the least disruptive for your natural production of melatonin. An increase of melatonin is essential for helping you fall asleep.
Melatonin eh? Never heard of red lights being used for that.
I think Philips took a lot of flak (vs LIFX) for having a separate hub, but I've always seen it as an advantage. If they can't work out HomeKit support with their current hub, I'd gladly pay $20 or so for a new hub to preserve my investment in Philips hue lights. I wonder if the same could be said with my LIFX investment. Any Lightbow (http://ow.ly/E2qmc) users out there interested in beta testing the next version with HomeKit support? It'll be an interesting transition to this new protocol, but hopefully one that will help both users and developers.
This is very good news ... I was a bit worried Philips would take the more arrogant "we were here first, so use our interface" stance. I also love my Hue, and this means I extend the use of Hue bulbs through my entire house.