Philips Hue Smart Bulb

Philips Hue is a market-leading line of color-changing LED lamps and white bulbs which can be controlled wirelessly. The brand was originally developed by Royal Philips (Koninklijke Philips N.V.) in the Netherlands and was launched in October 2012 as one of the first consumer-market smart lighting systems controlled via smartphone.

Over the years, the manufacturing for these high-tech components has shifted primarily to China and other Southeast Asian facilities to scale production for global demand. While the bulbs still carry the iconic Philips branding, they are actually managed by a specialized lighting entity.

In 2016, Philips spun off its lighting division into a separate company called Philips Lighting, which was renamed Signify N.V. in 2018. Signify maintains a licensing agreement to continue using the Philips brand name for its lighting products. Today, Signify is a global leader in connected LED lighting systems and remains headquartered in the Netherlands, though it operates as an entirely independent corporate entity from Royal Philips.