Building an open future, for everyone
Welcome to the April edition of the Open Home Foundation newsletter, the place to learn about the latest and greatest things for your smart home that improve its privacy, choice, and sustainability.
The Open Home newsletter is written by Paulus Schoutsen – President of the Open Home Foundation, and founder of Home Assistant. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here!
In the March issue I explained why we’re investing in people, and after State of the Open Home 2026 last week, I’m more convinced than ever that it’s the best bet...
Building an open future, for everyone
I’m writing this a few days after State of the Open Home, and I’m still buzzing. As you can see in the video above, the atmosphere in Utrecht was electric… but not because of shiny “Apple-style” secrets. The opposite in fact.
The most exciting moments weren’t reveals, they were invitations. We’re not here to show you a finished product and tell you to like it. We’re here to ask you to help build it, from the beginning. That’s what “Building in the open” means, and it’s already changing how we work.
You can find out how by watching the full recording and subscribing to our YouTube channel while you’re there to keep ahead of the curve!
Real people, real passion
A week later, what sticks with me is the vibe. The passion and depth of knowledge of our amazing speakers shines through in everything they say and do – and that includes the community members we talked to as part of our pre-show interviews (all in the recording if you missed them!). They aren’t corporate suits, they’re the real people who live and breathe these projects every day.
Whether it was Melissa sharing her vision for the Community department, or members of the Product team walking us through our shared roadmap, you can feel a genuine, positive energy. It’s a powerful reminder that while we build technology, it’s the human dedication – the people – behind it that makes the Open Home Foundation so special.
A place where you belong
What this means in practice is, as Franck says, “lowering the floor without lowering the ceiling”. We want to make it easier for newcomers to get started and enjoy privacy, choice, and sustainability, without stripping away the power and customizability our established users rely on. Our goal is to make the Open Home a place where everyone feels they belong.
Another thing that shines through is approachability. We’re working hard to make our projects more approachable so everyone can benefit from them – not just the tech-savvy among us.
What happens next?
Although we’ve spent the best part of a year preparing for it, this event wasn’t a finish line, it was a launchpad 🚀 From our roadmap on GitHub to new ways for you to test and influence ideas through Home Assistant Labs, we’re making our processes transparent and open so you can help steer us through challenges, and successes.
Want to dive deeper? There’s a full breakdown on our Open Home Foundation blog – a new space for exploring our vision and values, and where we stand on the issues that matter in smart homes… and to the people who live in them. If you want to understand the “why” behind what we’re building, it’s the place to be (you’ll also find a button to subscribe to our RSS feed there).
Sharing the love
Finally, to everyone who made this happen: the crowd in Utrecht, the thousands watching online asking great questions, the speakers who brought their passion to that stage, and the crew behind the scenes who made it all work. Thank you. This is what building together looks like, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here!
My favorite part of the day
Yes, it’s exciting to stand on that stage, but I have to say the best bit is meeting all of you. Seeing the foyer at our amazing TivoliVredenburg venue come alive with everyone chatting over food and drinks was easily my highlight. Check out the pics: turns out building in the open is a lot more fun when you’re doing it together!
Walk the walk by toting a tote
If you were in Utrecht last week, you may have spotted a few (almost 300 to be precise) of these tote bags. That’s because they were part of the awesome welcome pack State of the Open Home attendees received! If you like the look of them, you can buy a similar style from the Open Home Foundation store (along with lots of other top quality, ethically made items to show your dedication to the cause!). And if you live in Australia or New Zealand you don’t need to miss out – we now ship there too! 🇦🇺🇳🇿
Skip to Content
Help us build the Open Home
If you’re feeling fired-up by State of the Open Home and want to help us realize our vision – you can! Here are some ways to join our fight for privacy, choice, and sustainability in smart homes.
Shop our store: show your love for our principles and projects with our range of high quality, ethically made apparel and accessories.
Support our work: subscribe to Home Assistant Cloud, or buy official Home Assistant or ESPHome products from our commercial partners.
Share your skills: contribute code, translations, documentation, or designs to any of our projects – or sponsor a maintainer on GitHub or Ko-fi.
Backstage and on stage at FOSS!
State of the Open Home wasn’t the only place we’ve been showing up to talk about building in the open! Our Product Designer Eriol Fox was at FOSS Backstage in Berlin last month, as part of a panel discussing how designers navigate engineering-focused environments (spoiler: it’s not always easy), and connecting with Home Assistant users at the Women of Open Source meetup. Because, as I never tire of saying, open source needs more than developers and code to thrive: the voices of everyone involved, and the wider community, matter too!
Music Assistant 2.8: Let’s get this party started!
Music Assistant hit all the right notes this month, with the all-singing, all-dancing version 2.8! 🎉 From Sendspin Bridges to Party Mode, this update is jam-packed with features that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our community 💪 Dive into the notes, or relive the release party! 👇
Home Assistant 2026.4: Infrared never left the chat
Get ready to trawl through some drawers, because this update introduces native infrared support: enabling you to use a huge range of previously incompatible devices in your smart home ♻️ And there’s much more going on besides… all detailed in the release notes and video below 👀
A warm welcome to Heatit
I’m delighted to say our latest Works with Home Assistant partner is Heatit! 🔥 Specializing in smart climate and heating control, Norway-based Heatit bring a range of energy-efficient Z-wave devices (all designed to handle harsh conditions: think -20°C winters 🥶), to the program. Their lineup also includes the first Z-Wave smoke detector we’ve ever certified! Discover the full list of devices below.
Miranda Bishop
“It looks like you might be trying to automate your home”
We announced a “modern and timeless” UI refresh for Home Assistant on April Fools Day, complete with Windows 95 aesthetics and a Clippy-style character offering suggestions. While this was just for fun (and you can still play), we really do want your feedback on our design and UX, as highlighted at State of the Open Home! Check out our roadmap and let us know what you want to see: no Clippy required 📎.
This month in the news
Europe seeks digital sovereignty...
A recent YouGov poll found more than 60% of Europeans want to replace US tech services with local alternatives. However, only 40% think it’s realistic. We know the desire for digital sovereignty is growing, but whether it’s avoiding dependence on foreign Big Tech companies or domestic ones, the issue is control, not geography – which is why open source alternatives like ours matter.
...and the US bans foreign routers
As Europe ponders its path to digital sovereignty, the US is taking a more direct road. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just banned all new foreign-made routers. This affects everyone since most routers (even those sold by US companies) are made in countries like Taiwan or Vietnam – although vendors can get exemptions if they commit to US manufacturing.
Meanwhile China mandates interoperability
It seems China is also going the enforcement route, by drafting mandatory standards forcing smart home devices to work across brands, after voluntary standards failed to change anything. Having recently visited the Home Assistant community in China, I can tell you this is a big deal. Three approaches to the same question: who controls critical infrastructure?
Twin problems for Gemini and Google
Good news! Gemini can now automate tasks like ordering food on Android phones, and early adopters say it’s an impressive glimpse into the future. The bad news? It can take nine minutes because apparently it navigates visual interfaces like a human (TBH it usually takes me less than nine mins to order food).
Problem two: Google Home still keeps breaking. As u/GotPiff puts it on Reddit: “The only update in history that made things continue to get worse by the day!”. Perhaps Google could focus on sorting that first?
TV enshittification: we’re still watching 👀
After covering forced advertising last month, here’s another example of TV enshittification. Walmart-owned Vizio now requires smart TV owners to have an account with the retail giant to use certain features, connecting their viewing habits “directly with retail interaction”. Vizio’s ad business profits circa $115 million quarterly. Seems like the TV isn’t the product: you are.
Free to use doesn’t mean free to make…
When LibreOffice 26.8 (a free, open-source alternative to Microsoft Office) recently requested monthly donations, some users claimed it smacked of “aggressive fundraising”. But take it from someone who runs an open source foundation: funding is, well, fundamental. LibreOffice serves 100-plus million users. Asking for voluntary support isn’t aggression, it’s survival. And it’s how open source stays free without paywalls.
Community highlights
Something tells us @Mellow_labs SmartFlow concept isn’t quite serious: AI bladder management via surgically implanted ESP32, for perfectly timed bathroom notifications… it must be April!
Knowing which trash to put out, when, can be complex (in the UK at least), so @handsonkatie laser-etched a fairy into an ESP-powered, Home Assistant-controlled crystal ball that glows (and sings!) when it’s time to act.
u/BraveStone199 built a live train map using ESPHome and the Chicago Transit API, with LEDs showing trains moving between stations in real time.
Connect with us
Hit reply to say hi, or find us on your favorite platform...
|
