Smart Home Initiate Might Find Perfection in Homey Pro Mini
Smart Home Initiate Might Find Perfection in Homey Pro Mini
Athom has presented the Homey Pro Mini, a scaled-down and wallet-friendly substitute for its premium Homey Pro hub.
Selling at $199, the Pro Mini includes integrated support for Ethernet, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, all powered by the same Homey OS as the Pro full-size model.
Homey's smart home platform enables users to connect a myriad of smart home devices and create automations, often referred to as "Flows."
It also includes energy monitoring capabilities thanks to Homey's Energy Management System, which recently launched.
Despite its petite build, the Mini can accommodate up to 20 Homey Applications, enough for most households, considering the typical user installs fewer than this (14, as we're informed.).
The Mini saves cost by omitting native radios for Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE, and Infrared. However, these protocols can be incorporated into a Mini-led system by pairing it with the Homey Bridge accessory, priced at $69. This accessory also boosts Zigbee range.
This announcement arrives on the heels of LG's acquisition of Athom in July, securing an 80% stake in the Dutch smart home brand, with plans for acquiring the remaining 20% over the next three years.
Initial concerns about the acquisition's influence on existing Homey users have been put to rest, as it appears the Homey brand and platform will maintain independence, akin to Samsung's approach with SmartThings. However, plans exist to integrate Homey with LG's ThinQ smart home platform.
The Pro Mini's focus on local operation makes it an appealing choice for users prioritizing data privacy and reliability, an alternative to platforms like Google Home or Amazon Alexa.
Equipped with a quad-core ARMv8 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage, the Pro Mini delivers strong performance for smaller or medium-sized smart home setups.
Users with more intricate requirements might want to consider the original Homey Pro, boasting additional processing power and a wider array of built-in features.
When we reviewed the Pro on my smart home site, The Ambient, we stated that no other system provides the power that Homey Pro does.
The Mini offers most of those features, at under half the cost.
Pre-orders are now available in the U.S. and Canada, with shipping scheduled for April 2025. A European launch is planned for the latter part of the year.
The Pro Mini's wallet-friendly price point makes it an attractive option for tech-savvy consumers seeking smart home innovation without breaking the bank. With the Homey platform, consumers can connect a variety of devices and create personalized automations, benefiting from features like energy monitoring and data privacy.