Homey just made the smart home controller I hoped Apple would build

Smart homes person gotten really bully astatine making things really complicated. Turning connected a ray tin impact aggregate steps, compared to conscionable flipping a switch. Homey, the Dutch-based smart location level owned by LG, thinks it has a solution.

This week it launched the Homey Portal, a touchscreen smart location controller that looks very promising, if very expensive. Preorders unfastened today astatine an introductory value of $249/€249, pinch units shipping successful December.

A 2.8-inch information touchscreen instrumentality pinch a stainless alloy dial, the Homey Portal tin beryllium connected a table aliases equine to the wall and is powered by a USB-C cable. You pat the icons to power devices for illustration lights, speakers, thermostats, and shades, and you tin twist the dial to set brightness, volume, and temperature.

The thought of a dedicated smart location power instrumentality that tin link to everything successful a smart location is compelling. App, voice, and fastener power person their place, but they’re not arsenic easy arsenic stepping up to a move and conscionable knowing what to do. The problem truthful acold has been interoperability; not everything useful pinch everything. Homey, pinch its claimed support for over 70,000 devices from complete 2,000 brands, positive Matter, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Thread, is well-positioned to tackle this.

The Portal invites comparisons to an Echo Show aliases Google Nest Hub, but it feels much focused. “We’ve ever wanted a smart location to consciousness arsenic elemental arsenic flipping a ray switch,” said Stefan Witkamp, CEO astatine Athom, Homey’s genitor company. It’s designed to springiness a direct, beingness measurement to power your home, “instead of doing everything done an app,” he said.

In galore ways, the Portal looks for illustration the smart location controller I’ve ever envisioned Apple building for Apple Home: simple, intuitive, and uncluttered.

In Homey’s demo video, the interface adapts its UI to each action you want to take. For example, tapping the lights icon brings up a surface to move the room’s lights connected aliases disconnected and set the color; past you tin set the brightness by twisting the dial. There’s besides a upwind icon that shows a short forecast on pinch a built-in timer.

The surface is customizable, letting you adhd controls for different elements of your smart home, and it useful pinch Homey’s Flow automation engine, truthful you tin trigger scenes and automations.

Homey demoed mounting up a livestream of your doorbell camera to look connected the Portal erstwhile it rings, on pinch a punctual to unfastened your smart lock. There’s nary microphone, truthful nary sound control;Homey integrates pinch Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Siri Shortcuts for sound control.

The institution says the Portal is designed to beryllium group up for different zones successful a home, specified arsenic the kitchen, surviving room, and bedroom. Along pinch controls for that room, it tin show and negociate power usage successful each. But astatine $299/€299 aft the introductory price, outfitting 3 rooms would costs astir $900 — and that’s earlier adding a Homey hub.

The use of the hubs is section communication. Compatible devices will proceed to tally without an net relationship and tin still beryllium controlled by the Portal, according to Homey. The institution besides conscionable announced a caller device update feature that allows you to update Matter, Z-Wave, and Zigbee devices straight done Homey; nary request to usage the manufacturer’s hub aliases app.

Homey, which was founded successful 2014, draws comparisons to Home Assistant, pinch its trading constituent being a much plug-and-play setup. However, Homey is closed-source and now owned by LG, whereas Home Assistant remains an open-source level managed by the nonprofit Open Home Foundation. Homey runs arsenic an independent smart location level today, but besides integrates pinch LG’s AI Home platform, pinch a attraction connected location power management.

We’ve seen respective companies motorboat smart switches pinch displays that likewise effort to lick the power problem, including Aqara, Shelly, and Brilliant, but astir require hardwiring and don’t person arsenic galore integrations arsenic Homey. Homey’s advantage appears to beryllium easiness of installation and breadth of support.

I’ll beryllium checking retired the Portal successful personification this week astatine the IFA tech show successful Berlin and look guardant to testing it to spot if it tin gain a spot successful my smart home.