The Homey Bridge is the latest smart hub in the Homey family. It features Zigbee, Z-Wave Plus, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 433MHz, and infrared, and utilizes the popular Homey app for control and automation.

Although it sounds similar to the well-known Homey Pro, there are some key differences. The design is completely different; it is now glossy black combined with aluminum. The characteristic RGB LED ring is still present, but it has a more subtle design.

Main differences between Homey Bridge and Homey Pro:

• The Homey app store for the Homey Bridge is more tightly controlled, meaning that the Homey apps for the Homey Bridge are of higher quality. However, this does not apply to professional and niche devices and their use cases. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of products are still supported.
• The logic and intelligence of the Homey Bridge operate via the cloud. The main reason the Homey Bridge is so much cheaper is that the computing power has been shifted to the cloud. This means that the Homey Bridge relies on a functioning internet connection for operation, similar to smart thermostats, voice assistants, and Chromecasts. Note: This does not mean there are any compromises on privacy. Users' personal data remains off-limits, and Homey does not use personal data for resale, profiling, or other questionable purposes.
• The Homey Bridge includes three months of Homey Premium. An active Homey Premium subscription for €2.99/month is required to connect more than five devices to Homey. Users can utilize up to five devices for free, without a subscription, and including an unlimited number of Homey flows.

The user-friendliness of the Homey Bridge and Homey Pro is largely identical. Most devices are supported by...