Homey Portal puts a physical dial on your smart home, and it looks pretty good

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One of the first and most interesting smart home announcements coming out of IFA this year isn’t another smart speaker, sensor, or connected appliance. It is something quite cool and easy to use.

Anthom, the company behind Homey , has announced a new device called the Homey Portal. It’s a €249 smart home controller with a small screen and a large dial that lets you control your smart home devices without reaching for your phone.

The physical controller is designed to sit on a desk or hang on a wall. It features a 2.8-inch round touchscreen with a stainless-steel rotary ring that lets you control various smart home features.

The problem Homey has always tried to solve is the fragmentation of the smart home . When you have devices from different brands, controlling them can mean juggling multiple apps and platforms. Homey Portal brings those controls into the physical world, so you can simply tap the screen or turn the dial instead of pulling out your phone, opening an app, and hunting down the right device.

Each Portal is assigned to a particular zone in your home, such as the living room or kitchen. Anyone in that room can then tap the display or twist the physical ring to control the connected devices in that zone. It can also trigger existing Homey Flows, so you don’t have to rebuild your smart home setup around the new controller.

Lights can be turned on or off with a tap. Users can also select different lighting moods or control an individual light. The rotary ring can then be used to adjust brightness, while dragging on the touchscreen changes the light’s color or temperature. Homey says it works with lights connected through its platform, including Philips Hue and IKEA.

The Homey Portal can also control music in the same way and shows the album art and currently playing track from compatible audio systems such as Sonos and Denon Heos. You can tap to skip tracks and twist the ring to change the volume.