Philips Hue gets the Version History treatment
The Verge’s smart-home season turns to Philips Hue, arguing the lighting system came closer than most to making connected homes work.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
The Verge published a new episode of its Version History podcast focused on Philips Hue, the connected lighting system it presents as one of the more successful smart-home products. The episode matters because The Verge frames Hue as a rare device family that approached the smart-home ideal: control from many places, useful automation and technology that recedes into the background.
David Pierce wrote that the episode features him, The Verge smart-home reporter Jennifer Pattison Tuohy and smart-home journalist Richard Gunther. According to The Verge, their discussion covers Hue’s beginnings, the role of the smartphone boom in its development and the company’s decision to support a broad range of smart-home platforms early on.
The Verge says the conversation also addresses Hue’s high price and the challenge of building connected products that feel dependable in everyday use. Pierce described the broader smart-home problem as easy to imagine but difficult to execute: devices should be controllable from anywhere, adapt to people’s activities and moods, and avoid requiring major home renovation.
A smart-home season
The Philips Hue episode is the fifth installment of Version History’s fourth season, according to The Verge. Pierce said the season is focused on smart-home products and is the next-to-last episode of the run.
The Verge said earlier episodes in the season covered the Harmony remote, the Roomba vacuum, the Nest thermostat and the Keurig coffee maker. The Hue episode extends that theme by looking at a product category that put app-controlled home devices into a familiar household object: the lightbulb.
The Verge pointed readers to its earlier coverage of Philips Hue, including a 2012 report that described customizable LED bulbs with 16 million colors and a $199 starter kit. The site also listed related pieces on smart bulbs, Philips Hue’s MotionAware feature and Philips’ own background material on Hue history.
Where to listen
The Verge said Version History is available through its podcast feed and on YouTube. The show also maintains TikTok and Instagram accounts, according to The Verge.
Subscribers to The Verge can access Version History and the site’s other podcasts without ads, Pierce wrote. The Verge said subscribers can enable that access through their account settings.
The episode was published July 12, 2026, under Pierce’s byline. The Verge identifies Pierce as an editor-at-large and co-host of The Vergecast who has covered consumer technology for more than a decade.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.