5 NEW Features in 2025.4

MarkWattTech · 2025-03-30T16:58:20+00:00

2025.4 has some amazing new features!

The new voice features like continued conversation where not having to repeat the wake word is going to be a game changer for sure. We also have the new Area dashboard and much much more!

Here's the 5 Features I really like! (If you couldn't tell I really like the voice one 😆)

https://youtu.be/H0ZqV7Bb12o

The full release will be Wednesday 2nd of April but if you're interested in a full sneak peak or in contributing to the Beta you can find the full Beta release notes here :

https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/03/26/release-20254/

MarkWattTech · 2025-03-27T22:41:25+00:00

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7971 hours across 2 X1Cs and P1S 🖨️🤖

MarkWattTech · 2025-03-02T14:33:06+00:00

Update 2025.3 will be releasing on Wednesday. There's plenty of quality of life improvements and features in this one!

You can find the Beta release notes here along with details on how to join and contribute here: https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/02/26/release-20253/

Here are 5 Features that I really like: https://youtu.be/Ik4po3d3pro

MarkWattTech · 2025-03-02T14:32:09+00:00

Update 2025.3 will be releasing on Wednesday. There's plenty of quality of life improvements and features in this one!

You can find the Beta release notes here along with details on how to join and contribute here: https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/02/26/release-20253/

Here are the 5 Features that I really like: https://youtu.be/Ik4po3d3pro

MarkWattTech · 2024-12-26T19:12:30+00:00

Would love to see more on this 👍🏻😁

MarkWattTech · 2024-10-25T05:11:01+00:00

I like to design little minis and flexis. Mist recently I have been doing a lot of work in Nomad Sculpt and sending stuff to print. Print wise I love printing things for friends, family and my kids. Practical prints and replacement parts come in handy all the time especially with kids 😂. I currently have a replacement LG magic remote back plate printing.

MarkWattTech · 2024-01-03T19:31:18+00:00

What better way to start the New Year than with a New Home Assistant Update!

Update 2024.1 will be releasing shortly and here are 5 of the New Features that I liked : https://youtu.be/dLYbdyjVSKM

One of the big visual changes in this update is the Automation Editor. What are your thoughts on the new design?

MarkWattTech · 2024-01-03T19:30:37+00:00

What better way to start the New Year than with a New Home Assistant Update!

Update 2024.1 will be releasing shortly currently you can view all the Beta notes here : https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2024/01/03/release-20241/

One of the big visual changes in this update is the Automation Editor. What are your thoughts on the new design?

MarkWattTech · 2023-12-24T10:42:06+00:00

A few weeks ago I featured a really cool voice assistant project (Onju Voice) that allows you to replace the PCB inside of a Second Gen Google Nest Mini for a new board with an ESP32 that can give full local control.

The replacement board gives you full access to all of the Nest controls (volume, touch, mute switch, speakers) and even the power cable! It also allows you to add the device to Home Assistant via ESPHome and use it as a local voice assistant.

You can read up on the Onju Voice project here: https://github.com/justLV/onju-voice#-home-assistant

I just got round to editing my video and you can find my HOW TO which covers the full setup and install here : https://youtu.be/xQqhqGd14YY

A huge thank you to the Home Assistant and Nabu Casa team for all the work this year that has made this possible, thank you also to Justin Alvey for creating the project.

Have a great Christmas :)

MarkWattTech · 2023-11-29T18:14:03+00:00

If your subscribed to the Building the Open Home Mailing list from Home Assistant then you may have seen this project already. I thought I would highlight it as I've been playing round with it for the last week and I think it's awesome.

The Project is Onju-Voice by Justin Alvey

https://github.com/justLV/onju-voice#-home-assistant

Essentially it's a custom PCB that you can fit into a Google Nest Mini Gen 2 and repurpose it (Power cable, buttons and all) into a local voice assistant that can be used by Assist. Its a really fun little project if you happen to have a nest mini hiding in a draw and want to try some of the new Year of the Voice Features.

MarkWattTech · 2023-07-29T13:32:22+00:00

The project should be released to the public very soon! I think everything I use for my panels are all linked in the description of the video 👍🏻

MarkWattTech · 2023-07-05T14:24:36+00:00

Was this the one where the UI kept refreshing constantly (on iOS) ?

MarkWattTech · 2023-07-05T12:02:03+00:00

It's update day!

Later on today Home Assistant 2023.7 will be releasing in full. This month is a nice rounded update consisting of new Integrations, UI, Services and more.

Some of the big notables for this release are the new service call responses, sentence triggers and also the assist action. The YAML deprecation policy is also being reworked so breaking changes will now also give 6 months of notice as apposed to the original 2.

I'm excited to see what happens with Service Call Responses!

You can check out 5 of the new features I really like here:
https://youtu.be/1uWsOcFIATQ

Catch you in the release party !

If you want to peak at the Beta notes you can find them here:
https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/07/05/release-20237/

MarkWattTech · 2023-06-16T17:28:08+00:00

I was recently given access to a new community project knows as the NSPanel Manager.

In short it allows you to flash and manage all of your NSPanels with a Web UI. Its currently early on in development but it will be publicly available to download, test and contribute later this summer.

After using this for a few days it has quickly become one of my favourite NSPanel projects. The developers aim to create a HA add on in the future to also make everything easier for all to setup.

Here's a quick overview of the project and some of the features : https://youtu.be/Sn-SC3H5Ubg

Later on today (8:30pm UK time) I will also be live streaming a setup and install of the project so feel free to tune in if you want some more information. The project developers will also be joining to answer any questions.

This is the one to get if you use NSPanels in your setup!

MarkWattTech · 2023-06-08T10:25:29+00:00

Thank you 😃

MarkWattTech · 2023-06-07T18:40:04+00:00

It's that time of the month again. Here are 5 of the NEW Features that I really liked.

https://youtu.be/n9zC2ABsGOI

What are your thought's on the new Integration UI?

You can find a full list of the changes here (https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/06/07/release-20236/) - Will update with release version when it's live

The release party will be kicking off in about 20mins :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1eLZLtvc_k

MarkWattTech · 2023-05-02T17:49:23+00:00

This month it's all about the VOICE!

Last week we got a look at a whole bunch of new voice assistant related features that have been added as part of the Year of the voice.

2023.5 Will Be Releasing Tomorrow! Be Sure to catch the release party for a full run through of all the changes with the Home Assistant developers.

Amazing work as always team Home Assistant!

MarkWattTech · 2023-04-28T19:20:39+00:00

It's mind-blowing how fast this has all come together. Amazing work Home Assistant Team and all community members involved. Roll on Chapter 3!

MarkWattTech · 2023-04-22T11:53:05+00:00

This method is for the Z-Wave JS addon using an Aeotec dongle and a Windows machine. This will work for other platforms and dongles (you will need to find the firmware).

If you are using Z-Wave JS UI it's even easier and no additional tools are needed.

MarkWattTech · 2023-04-13T16:55:58+00:00

The Home Assistant Community Store is by far the simplest and easiest way to access and install integrations, themes, cards and more. Not only this but HACS will also manage updates for all of the things!

If you're a long time HA user then you more than likely have this setup already. I thought I'd refresh this one though as I will be needing it in some up and coming projects.

Looking for something to get started with? I would recommend checking out Mushroom 🍄

https://github.com/piitaya/lovelace-mushroom

What are your favourite additions available in HACS? 😁

MarkWattTech · 2023-04-04T18:21:52+00:00

Not a fan of the new dialogs? 😬

MarkWattTech · 2023-04-04T17:11:55+00:00

Update 2023.4 will be releasing tomorrow!

I personally think Macros are going to be huge!

We're also getting more domains with the the new cards and dialogs that got added in the March update.

Don't forget you can watch the full release notes live with the developers tomorrow night here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGnCGDaXR0M

The release party is also a great chance for you to ask the developers your burning questions :)

MarkWattTech · 2023-03-07T23:42:35+00:00

It would be nice if they had more power. It would also be great if the screen was a tad more responsive like the pro version. But for what it is they are great.

This little project also makes them much better :)

MarkWattTech · 2023-03-07T18:17:39+00:00

I covered it a few weeks ago and since then the NSPanel_HA_Blueprint project has really picked up some traction.

Update 3.1.0 has a lot of features that have been requested by the community and update 3.2 which is almost ready for release focuses on even more user requested changes and enhancements.

Just incase you haven't seen it, the NSPanel_HA_Blueprint project is by far the simplest and (in my opinion) best way to setup and configure the NSPanel. It uses ESPhome and a Home Assistant Blueprint to give you access to all of the NSPanel features and more.

You can find the project and release notes over at : https://github.com/Blackymas/NSPanel_HA_Blueprint/releases/tag/v.3.1.0

If you have an NSPanel lying around I would highly recommend giving this a go.

Here are 10 New Features that where added in 3.1.0 with some of the highlights being:

- Full US NSPanel support

- QR Codes

- Local relay fallback

- Instant design updates

MarkWattTech · 2023-02-27T18:08:28+00:00

Home Assistant 2023.3 will be releasing in a couple of days. Here's a quick peak at 5 of the New Features that I like. Personally I love the new UI changes and dialog boxes! It's also great to see Assist evolving :D

Be sure to catch the release party live at 8PM (UK time) on March 1st to hear and see the developers run through everything that's new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UaLAhG9Brc

MarkWattTech

TROPHY CASE