Home Assistant newest release is big and awesome

Home Assistant is an open-source smart system you self-host on a small computer, like a Raspberry Pi. It has a great community, tons of integrations, and is in some ways more powerful than the “brand name” options. Now it’s even better with the recent release of version 2202.4, which is packed with new features.

Once I read about this new Home Assistant release, I dusted off my old Raspberry Pi. I went through the installation process from scratch, discovered my home’s devices, and tested the software. It’s come a long way since I last did this a year ago. Kudos to the team because the platform is so much easier to set up, configure and use now. I’d say the platform is definitely more approachable to the mainstream consumer since my last check of it.

The Home Assistant installation and setup are super simple now

That was evident from the installation process, which has been streamlined at some point and much easier to install than I recall. I didn’t have to manually download the Home Assistant software this time around.

I used Balena Etcher, the recommended application to flash the software to a microSD card. All I had to do was provide the GitHub link to Balena Etcher, click a button and in two minutes, my microSD card had Home Assistant on it. This saved me from having to manually download the software, removing one usability barrier that might stop people from trying the platform.

I didn’t have to connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to my Raspberry Pi either. Now you just put the microSD card in the Pi and connect both power and an ethernet cable to it. So there’s no more looking at a bunch of Linux gobbledygook and wondering what’s going on.

The entire setup process is automated and within a few minutes, I was able to see Home Assistant in a web browser. I configured my local account and Home Assistant discovered all of the devices it supports in my home. Aside from the account configuration, I really didn’t have to do anything.

So what’s new in Home Assistant?

The full release notes for this version are here, and there are at least 20 noteworthy changes in the list.

Read more: https://staceyoniot.com/home-assistants-newest-release-is-big-and-awesome/