Homey Portal: The Smart Home Controller I Hoped Apple Would Build

Homey, the Dutch smart home platform owned by LG, this week launched the Portal: a 2.8-inch round touchscreen device with a stainless steel dial intended to restore physical, intuitive control to the modern smart home. Preorders are open at an introductory price of $249/€249, with units scheduled to ship in December.

The Portal can sit on a desk or mount to a wall and draws power through USB-C. Users tap icons to control devices such as lights, speakers, thermostats, and window shades; the dial adjusts brightness, volume, and temperature. The interface adapts its display to each action — tapping the lights icon, for instance, brings up colour and on/off options, with brightness controlled via the dial. The screen is customisable, supports Homey's Flow automation engine for scenes and automations, and can display a doorbell camera livestream with a prompt to unlock a smart lock when the bell rings. There is no built-in microphone; voice control is handled through integrations with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Siri Shortcuts.

Broad compatibility, with caveats

Homey claims support for over 70,000 devices from more than 2,000 brands, alongside the Matter, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Thread protocols. The Portal is not itself a hub, however, and requires a connection to one of Homey's platform options: the Homey Cloud at $3.99 a month (free for up to five devices), the Homey Pro Mini hub at $249, a 2023-or-later Homey Pro hub at $449, or a self-hosted server on the user's own hardware. Homey says the hub-based options provide local communication, allowing devices to continue operating and to be controlled by the Portal without an internet connection.

The company also announced a new over-the-air update feature that delivers firmware updates for Matter, Z-Wave, and Zigbee devices directly through Homey, removing the need for a manufacturer's separate hub or application.

Cost and competition

At the standard post-introductory price of $299/€299 per unit, equipping three rooms would cost close to $900 before the addition of any hub. Several other companies have pursued a similar physical-control concept — among them Aqara, Shelly, and Brilliant — though most of their devices require hardwiring and, according to the source, offer fewer integrations than Homey. The company argues its ease of installation and breadth of device support are its principal advantages.

"We've always wanted a smart home to feel as simple as flipping a light switch," said Stefan Witkamp, chief executive of Athom, Homey's parent company, describing the device's intent as giving users a direct, physical means of control "instead of doing everything through an app."

Homey, which was founded in 2014, is often compared to Home Assistant. The two platforms differ substantially in structure, however: Homey is closed-source and now under LG's ownership, whereas Home Assistant remains an open-source project managed by the non-profit Open Home Foundation. Homey operates as an independent smart home platform whilst also integrating with LG's AI Home platform, with a stated focus on home energy management per room.

The Portal is being exhibited at the IFA technology show in Berlin this week.