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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
I meant with commercial stuff like Google’s. The easy stuff is all walled gardens, don’t want that. So hoping stuff like Home Assistant gets easier to use.