This episode of HomeKit Insider features the founder of Philips Hue and its head of technology, George Yianni, as he walks us through the creation of the brand, a launch with Apple, and its new lineup of products.

George Yianni originally worked at Philips, where he, along with others, formed an "internal startup" to create smart bulbs. In the podcast, he walks us through the process of getting the brand started and how he pitched the idea to Apple, securing an exclusive launch partner.

Philips Hue, now operating under its parent company Signify, has grown far beyond its first smart bulb. The company now offers more than a hundred products, including a range of security devices.

In the interview, Yianni explains how the company is approaching the move to Matter. He also outlines its plans to bring HomeKit support to its cameras.

Before the interview, your host goes through the news for the week, including the launch of several new smart home devices. We also recount other events that happened, such as the Cloudflare outage that took down many Alexa-based smart home devices.

Meross has launched its first Thread-enabled device with its new MS605 presence sensor. It has a three-year battery life and has various mounting options.

Shelly introduced its latest flood sensor. The new fourth-generation device supports Matter and has Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and BLE for connectivity.

Aqara showed off both its radiator valve W600 and its M200 hub. The hub is a close successor to the M2 hub with Matter, Thread, Zigbee, and more built in.

Finally, Avia gave an early look at its upcoming smart lock. This new lock will support Aliro for contact-free unlocking as you approach.

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