Philips Hue Bulbs Now Work With Both Old and New Smart Home Systems at the Same Time

Signify, the company behind Philips Hue smart bulbs, has partnered with Silicon Labs to give select bulbs a new ability: they can now connect to both the older Philips Hue system and the newer Matter standard simultaneously, according to The Verge and a Signify press release.

Until now, Philips Hue bulbs had to choose one or the other. The new Philips Hue A19 bulb breaks that pattern. It can stay connected to an existing Hue Bridge using the old Zigbee system while also joining the newer Matter network — the smart home standard that works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Assistant, and other devices. For anyone with a mix of old and new smart home equipment, this removes a real headache.

How the Old and New Systems Actually Work

The Hue Bridge has run its own private wireless network, called Zigbee, since Signify introduced it years ago. Think of Zigbee as a dedicated highway that only Hue devices use — it gives Signify tight control over how bulbs talk to the bridge, how updates roll out, and whether things stay reliable.

Matter works differently. It uses a newer type of mesh network called Thread, which is based on standard internet technology (IPv6). Thread doesn't require a special Hue device in the middle — instead, devices like HomePod minis, Apple TV boxes, and some Amazon Echo speakers act as routers that let Thread devices join the broader smart home network. Any controller that speaks Matter can then see and control those devices.

The breakthrough here is technical: a single chip inside the A19 can now run both Zigbee and Thread at the same time. Before, manufacturers had to pick one or the other.

What This Means If You Own Smart Lights

If you already have a Hue Bridge and Hue lights, nothing needs to change. Your bridge keeps working exactly as it does now. But the new A19 bulb can also join your Matter network at the same time, so Alexa, Apple Home, or Google Assistant can control it directly — without needing Signify's app or bridge in the middle.

For people who don't have a Hue Bridge, the A19 offers a second way to connect besides Bluetooth. Thread gives you better range and the ability for bulbs to relay signals to each other, which Bluetooth doesn't do as well.

The bigger picture is worth understanding. Smart home makers have struggled for years to get different systems to work together smoothly. Matter was supposed to solve this, but many early devices only worked over Wi-Fi, which drains batteries in small devices and creates congestion in busy homes. Thread works better for that — it uses less power and spreads the load across multiple devices. Philips Hue is so widely installed that adding Thread to millions of these bulbs actually strengthens Thread networks everywhere, because bulbs can now act as relay points for sensors, locks, and other battery-powered gadgets that depend on them.

In my view, the real value of this move isn't just that Hue supports Matter now — it's that you don't have to choose. People own working Hue systems. They don't want to throw them out to buy new smart home platforms. A bulb that speaks the old language and the new one at the same time lets people upgrade gradually, on their own schedule, without abandonment. That's the practical problem this solves.

The one open question is whether this will work smoothly in the real world, especially in homes with lots of Wi-Fi routers, microwaves, and other devices all competing for the same 2.4 GHz radio frequency. Silicon Labs is experienced with this kind of chip design, so there's no obvious reason it shouldn't. But the proof will come once the A19 ships in volume and people start using it at home.