The Death of Europe's Last Electronics Giant
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN points to it when asked why many Philips-branded products aren't made by Philips, and for the company's decline.
What it is
TechAltar's history of Philips, once Europe's largest tech company and a world leader in lighting, radio and physical media. It traces how the company sold off or spun out its businesses, until little remains but the licensed name.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2023 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Recommends ss48 · 2023-07 · on “Ask HN: "Philips" products not really made by Philips?”
[this video] Techalter did a good job describing the fate of a lot of Philips different businesses and product lines.
Cites this_steve_j · 2024-02 · on “FDA says 561 deaths tied to recalled Philips sleep apnea machines”
TechAltar on youtube posted a video last year about the decline of Philips. They apparently just excel at toothbrushes, smart bulbs, and shavers nowadays, and cash in on the name through licensing. [1] It is an unfortunate tragedy that so many people died because a corporation did the wrong things. The US FDA has many flaws to be sure, and they are not known for making fast decisions. It sounds like more lives could have been saved. A member of my family fortunately stopped using their device when it was recalled and has struggled to find a replacement. [1] [this video]
Cites ycombinete · 2025-10 · on “We saved $500k per year by rolling our own "S3"”
Beware of Philips in general: [this video] They've mostly sold off bits of themselves, and/or licensed their name to other producers. It's highly unlikely that Philips actually made that camera.