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Google just made it a lot easier for people to begin automating their smart home (www.engadget.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/android@lemmy.world
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Google has really tried to go all in on automation since the rollout of its redesigned Home app in May. There's been the introduction of a new script editor, Nest Cam Indoor integration and, now, a whole slew of new routines to use. The company has announced 18 new routines — half starters and half actions — immediately available for Google Home users.

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[–] 36 points 2 years ago (5 children)

Oh boy, I'm looking forward to going all in on Google Home only for it to be deprecated in three years!

(Hey folks, Home Assistant is pretty cool and you can run it locally on an old laptop.)

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    Home Assistant is great, but it has a steep learning curve imo and it takes time to set up. I would only recommend it to tech savvy people.

    That being said, if you are tech savvy (familiar with Linux, docker, self hosting, etc) then it is extremely powerful and it works with pretty much everything.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    This is very true. It does look like they've made it much easier lately with pre-purchasable hardware though. I know that it's a steep price compared to Google Home, but the advantage is that you're not tied to a Google ecosystem which can just unexpectedly shut down at a moment's notice. (Listen y'all I'm still mad about Google Inbox.)

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I assume it'll get a little easier in the future?

    There are some neat things I'd like to do, but I don't want to be in a walled garden.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It's not a walled garden, it's kind of the opposite. You can connect devices regardless of brand and it's a server you can run locally. In theory you wouldn't need to update it or ever connect it to the internet again, as long as your devices can run locally.

    If you have an old laptop or a raspberry pi 4, you can always give it a try before scrapping what you're currently using.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Is home assistant a piece of software? Do you have a link, it's not a very searchable name

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Here you go: https://www.home-assistant.io/

    You would need to do some pre-planning before going ahead with this and it's not as simple as Google Home for sure. For example, my household went all in on Zigbee lights and switches so we had to get a Zigbee antenna to connect to our old laptop running Home Assistant and make sure all our cool LED smart lights and other cool gadgets were compatible, etc. I'm also tagging @ISometimesAdmin who did a lot of the networking stuff in case he wants to add anything.

    I'm attaching an image of my dashboard setup for my room, just as an example of what can be accomplished. (This may not federate to Lemmy so I will self-reply with a link if necessary) This shows my and my household's location, the downstairs Sensi thermometer climate (which can be controlled), the light controls, temperature/pressure/humidity which is a little Aqara sensor from Amazon, and the Air Quality comes from my Winix air filter which can also be integrated to Home Assistant. You can really do a lot.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago*

    To add onto this:

    Home Assistant isn't "yet another" service. It's not trying to do vendor lock in: you can think of Home Assistant kinda like a "glue" framework.

    It's meant to let you systemically attach devices/software across any number of mediums, and pre-existing services, and let them play nice.

    So if you've already gone and set up your Google Home, or Alexa, or Apple Homekit, you don't have to abandon them to use Home Assistant.

    Sometimes you can't even get away from it: the thermostat that came with our rental basically only has a useful Samsung Smartthings integration, but we can still use it with Home Assistant.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Seriously though.

    Just got word that Pixel Pass, introduced less than 2 years ago that had an every-2-years upgrade program, has been cancelled.

    They didn't even have it long enough to give people the main benefit. So don't rely on Google to keep anything new going these days.

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    • [–] 12 points 2 years ago

    Are they finally starting to add features now, after they spent the last 2 years removing all of them?

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    [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Can I just send them pictures of my asshole and be done with it?

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    • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    The updated UI is a vast downgrade.

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    • [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    It's 2023.

    People are installing survellience devices in their homes because they now trust the most invasive advertising company connected to NSA with complete insight into their lives.

    Some people would argue that most people no longer cares if they are being watched by governments and corporations, even at home.

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    • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I regard "smart" as an epithet I want to avoid in appliances. Light switches, thermostats, refrigerators, and all the rest seem to work great without adding internet connectivity, security breaches, corporate surveillance, and vendors removing functionality, or ending support to turn the appliance into e-waste.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It helps to separate the technology from the companies. We don't need Google, Amazon, or any other company to make use of network connected technology. It doesn't have to be internet-connected, either. You can have a completely automated home with no more risk of intrusion than a standard locked door already has from a well-placed boot.

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    • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Home assistant is still better for automation. I only really use the Google Home app because it has a nicer UI for controlling stuff.

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    • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    I'm surprised Google is still going forward even though Amazon basically abandoned home automation entirely.

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