In recent weeks, a steady stream of leaks has emerged regarding Philips Hue’s forthcoming lineup of smart lighting products, which are widely anticipated to be officially unveiled just ahead of this year’s IFA technology exhibition. While much of the speculation has revolved around design tweaks and incremental upgrades, one particularly intriguing possibility had previously escaped mention: the potential integration of direct support for the Matter-over-Thread protocol. Although no official confirmation has been issued by Philips, the mounting body of circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that such a development could indeed be imminent.
The first compelling indication came from Amazon, where packaging images for two unannounced Hue lightbulbs briefly appeared. These images prominently displayed the Matter logo on the product’s box. Historically, Hue devices have interacted with Matter-compatible ecosystems only indirectly, relying on the Philips Hue Bridge as a translator between Zigbee—Hue’s long-standing networking standard—and Matter. This has meant that while Hue products were technically compatible with Matter devices, they could never communicate with them in a truly native, direct fashion. The reason behind this limitation has been largely technological: Matter has thus far supported communication exclusively through Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Thread, whereas the Hue ecosystem has long depended instead on Zigbee and, more recently, offered Bluetooth as a simplified point-of-entry for users.
Further evidence surfaced when the blog HueBlog unearthed, and later reported on, an FCC filing that was quickly removed from public view. A leaked screenshot of the document appeared to show regulatory labeling for a not-yet-released Hue White bulb. Most revealing of all was the inclusion of a Matter setup code printed alongside the more familiar Zigbee and Bluetooth logos. Such a detail strongly implies that this forthcoming bulb is designed to connect directly via Matter, bypassing the need for the Hue Bridge entirely in at least some scenarios. Among the possible radio interfaces that could make this feasible, Thread stands out as the most practical. While an Ethernet connection would be impractical for a lightbulb and Wi-Fi remains a potential, Thread is particularly well suited for such devices. Not only is it low-power and efficient, but its ability to form robust, self-healing mesh networks makes it highly attractive for connected lighting, where reliability and responsiveness are essential.
Nevertheless, a note of ambiguity remains. The FCC filing itself did not explicitly reference Thread or Wi-Fi connectivity anywhere within its technical disclosures, listing only Bluetooth and Zigbee radios. However, according to HueBlog, an excerpt from the filing—before its disappearance—contained a telling statement: “This product only supports BLE 125k/500k/1M/2Mbps:2402-2480MHz, Zigbee:2405-2480MHz. The other functions, bands and modes was [sic] disabled to use by manufacturer [sic] in the software.” This cryptic description raises questions: what exactly are the “other functions, bands, and modes” that were deactivated at the firmware level? While the document does not specify, it is reasonable to hypothesize that Thread support might be lurking in that category, since Thread, like Zigbee, operates within the 2.4GHz spectrum.
Importantly, Philips is unlikely to abandon Zigbee altogether in the immediate future; the technology still underpins the entire Hue ecosystem and supports advanced lighting functionalities. However, introducing direct Matter-over-Thread support would represent a significant strategic step forward. It would allow consumers to connect Hue bulbs directly to any Matter-enabled controller without necessarily deploying the Hue Bridge, though the Bridge would likely remain necessary for complex features such as dynamic lighting effects, sophisticated scene orchestration, and proprietary automation. The broader industry context makes this possibility even more noteworthy: enthusiasm for Matter-over-Thread has been steadily gaining traction, with companies such as Ikea already announcing a substantial lineup—more than twenty devices—that rely on the standard. In this light, Hue’s potential adoption appears less like a speculative leap and more like an inevitable progression toward a universal smart home ecosystem.
In short, while the rumors have not yet crystallized into formal confirmation, the convergence of leaked packaging, quickly removed regulatory filings, and industry momentum strongly point to Philips Hue preparing to take an important evolutionary step. Should this come to fruition, it would mark a milestone not only for Hue customers but also for the broader smart home landscape, bringing the vision of seamless interoperability and user-friendly connectivity closer to everyday reality.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/news/768232/leak-philips-hue-lights-matter-over-thread
