Signify and Silicon Labs Build on a History of Collaboration for Next-Generation Philips Hue Smart Bulbs
For more than a century, Signify has built a global reputation as a leading innovator in lighting experiences. In the decade since the company spun off from Royal Philips, it has continued to drive advancements in connected products, systems, and services. Its Philips Hue brand is one of the most recognized names in connected lighting, supported by a broader Philips lighting heritage dating back to 1891.
Signify has also been a Silicon Labs customer since 2016. When the company was evaluating connectivity platforms to help it take a leadership role in connected lighting, Silicon Labs and its Zigbee expertise stood out. This was happening at a time when new features for existing protocols as well as entirely new protocols were emerging to provide improved performance and broader ecosystem support. Silicon Labs’ leadership in developing and supporting these new features and protocols, coupled with the multiprotocol capabilities of its platform, paved the way for a productive development partnership.
The Challenge
Signify needed to add Matter support without disrupting its established ecosystem or increasing design complexity.
The Solution
Silicon Labs’ MG26 and SiMG301 wireless SoCs provided concurrent multiprotocol connectivity (CMP) supporting both Zigbee and Matter over Thread on a single device.
The Result
Signify launched next-generation connected lighting products that bridge Zigbee and Matter while preserving flexibility for future innovation.
Smart Home Unification and the Need for Concurrent Multiprotocol
Matter has come a long way in delivering on its promise to unify the smart home. It provides a common connectivity standard that simplifies development, improves interoperability, and reduces ecosystem-specific integration. As much as it improves interoperability, there are still use cases where existing protocols that have been evolving for years, like Zigbee, can provide a richer user experience. As a result, Signify required a platform that could support multiple protocols concurrently so devices can onboard easily, communicate across ecosystems, and maintain compatibility with both new Matter networks and established technologies, including Zigbee.
For Signify, concurrent multiprotocol (CMP) helps preserve existing product investments while enabling a smoother transition to Matter-based connected home experiences. Before Matter, supporting platforms such as Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google required separate proprietary integrations across technologies like Zigbee, Thread, and Bluetooth; Matter creates a more common path for partner integration, while CMP ensures Signify can still connect to its own ecosystem and explore future use cases that extend its connected lighting platform.
Signify and Silicon Labs Build on its History of Co-Development
When it came time for Signify to once again evaluate hardware platforms for its next-generation IoT projects, the history with Silicon Labs was a unique differentiator. One of the first projects the two companies worked closely together on was development of the Silicon Labs MG21 Series 2 SoC, which today is one of the most popular devices in our portfolio.
In order to bring Matter into this next iteration of Philips Hue smart bulbs, the memory requirements of the devices were much more demanding. The MG26 Series 2 SoC met this requirement, along with the ability for the radio to rapidly switch between 802.15.4 channels without losing packets, a key feature requirement for CMP.
The first Matter-supported Philips products were launched last year featuring the MG26, and customer response has been enthusiastic. This Summer, the first products featuring the SiMG301 Series 3 SoC launched, with plans to introduce CMP later in the year.
Collaboration Turns Challenges into Smarter Solutions
Signify engineers benefited from the collaboration between the two companies, including regular engineering and project management meetings, dedicated program management support, strong technical engagement, and executive-level alignment. Silicon Labs also benefited from Signify's strong technical protocol, peripheral, and security knowledge as well as lighting applciation knowledge.
That support structure was reinforced by deep technical expertise on both sides, allowing teams to address first-of-a-kind issues quickly and turn customer challenges into improvements that can benefit the broader Silicon Labs product portfolio. For Signify, the combination of engineering capability, customer-specific support, and trusted relationships across engineering, program management, and executive levels is a major reason the partnership continues to create value.
Silicon Labs' concurrent multiprotocol technology enables Zigbee and Matter over Thread to run simultaneously on a single wireless device. Instead of requiring manufacturers or consumers to choose one protocol over another, CMP allows devices to participate in multiple smart home ecosystems at the same time.
This seamless interoperability helps connect today's installed Zigbee-based infrastructure with the emerging Matter ecosystem, simplifying the transition to a more unified smart home.