Homey Pro mini – the new smart home hub with Matter

The Homey Pro Mini is a more affordable option from the LG-owned smart home company. They said smart home hubs were dead, but 2024 has seen a resurgence of these multi-protocol machines that work with every smart home radio. Case in point: this week, Homey announced the launch of the Homey Pro Mini.

The Mini is a cheaper and pint-sized version of the $400 Homey Pro smart home hub, offering built-in support for Ethernet, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter. It runs the same Homey OS software as the Pro but ditches a few radios and cuts the processing power to reduce the price. It's available for pre-order today for $199 in the US and Canada, with Europe following later in 2025 and shipping slated for April 2025.

A smart home hub is the brains of your smart home, and third-party options from companies like Homey, Home Assistant, Hubitat, and others let you set up and manage your connected devices locally in your home without relying on proprietary platforms, such as Apple Home, google Home, or Amazon Alexa. Athom, the company behind Homey, was recently bought by LG. The Korean electronics giant plans to use Homey software to run its ThinQ smart home platform on its own recently announced smart home hub. However, LG has said Homey will continue to operate independently.

The Pro Mini runs on Homey OS, a smart home platform for controlling your connected devices, such as bright lights, locks, robot vacuums, and thermostats. Like Apple Home or Amazon Alexa, you use an app on your phone to set up automations and routines (called Flows in Homey) that connect your gadgets. Homey claims over 1,000 integrations with devices and services, including Ikea, Sonos, Lutron, Roomba, Nest, Philips Hue, Aqara, and Yale. However, just under 300 are "official" integrations; the rest are community-generated.

Adding a Homey hub like the Pro Mini to Homey lets you run smart home automation locally without relying on cloud connections. It also lets you bring devices that use specific radios, including Thread and Zigbee, into the platform. Unlike the Pro, the Mini doesn't include Z-Wave, BLE, or IR support, but you can link it to a Homey Bridge ($69) to add those.

The Pro Mini is also less powerful than the Pro, and Homey recommends it for running up to 20 integrations, which Homey calls Homey Apps. The company says the typical user runs 14 integrations, so 20 should be sufficient for most people. If you have a more complicated smart home setup, though, Homey recommends upgrading to the Pro.

I've tested Homey using the Homey Pro and found it intuitive for beginner smart home users while offering plenty of features for power users. However, some integrations are limited, and many community-created smart apps may not do precisely what you want.
Athom, founded in the Netherlands in 2014, recently released new Homey OS Dashboards designed to make controlling your smart home devices easier. It also released a new Home Energy Management System to help you track energy use. With these additions—plus the power of LG behind it—Homey is shaping up to be a significant player in the smart home.

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Homey Pro mini Key Features

1.    Support for Multiple Protocols: 

•    The Homey Pro Mini supports Ethernet, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Thread, and Matter.

2.    Matter Integration:

• Matter is a universal standard that promotes interoperability among smart home devices.
• With Matter, the Homey Pro Mini allows users to control compatible devices seamlessly from any Matter-enabled ecosystem (e.g., Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa).

3.    Compact and Portable Design: 

• Unlike its larger sibling, the Homey Pro.
• The Mini version is compact and easy to set up.
• Making it ideal for apartments or smaller setups.

4.    Custom Automation: 

• Users can create highly customizable automations using.

5.    Local Processing: 

• The hub processes automation locally instead of relying heavily on cloud servers.
• This ensures faster response times and enhanced privacy.

6.    Energy Insights: 

• Offers insights into energy consumption for connected devices, helping homeowners monitor and optimize power usage.

7.    App Ecosystem: 

• Access to over 50,000 supported devices through the Homey app store.
• Includes compatibility with popular smart home brands like Philips Hue, Sonos, Nest, and more.

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8.    Ethernet and Thread Support: 

• Built-in Ethernet port ensures a stable wired connection, while Thread enhances connectivity for low-power IoT devices.

Advantages of Homey Pro Mini

1. Affordability: It is expected to be more budget-friendly than the full Homey Pro.
2. Interoperability: Unified control of devices across ecosystems, thanks to Matter.
3. Ease of Use: A simple setup and intuitive app interface make it accessible to beginners.
4. Privacy-Focused: Minimal reliance on the cloud ensures user data remains secure.