{
  "id": 19558639,
  "title": "Hands on with Home Assistant’s new ‘smart home multi-tool’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/hands-on-with-home-assistants-new-smart-home-multi-tool",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-11T22:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Verge",
    "slug": "the-verge",
    "url": "https://www.theverge.com/tech/1031601/home-assistant-connect-aux-2-hands-on"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Home Assistant Connect Aux-2, a multi-function box designed to help users integrate more devices into their smart homes, has just been launched by Nabu Casa, the commercial arm of the Open Home Foundation. The $69 device, roughly the size of a deck of cards, boasts a range of connectivity options including 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, USB-A, USB-C, a digital/analog audio jack, a Grove port, and a pair of RS-232 serial ports.\n\nThe Aux-2 can connect Bluetooth devices to Home Assistant, utilize USB ports for devices like Z-Wave or Zigbee antennas, control devices via a serial connector, and connect an amplifier or powered speakers through its audio jack for streaming music to older audio equipment. Its capabilities are underpinned by Home Assistant’s open-source platform, and it utilizes existing Home Assistant/ESPHome integrations for its features.\n\nThe device is based on ESPHome, an open platform for creating DIY smart home devices from cost-effective and versatile ESP boards. The serial integration, developed earlier this year, and Music Assistant and SendSpin, which power the audio-out feature, are currently in active development. The author of the report, who already uses Home Assistant, found the Aux-2 to be easily set up and surprisingly useful. They were able to connect a garage fridge to the smart home system, monitor temperature with Bluetooth hygrometers, and stream music to in-wall speakers. The setup process involved downloading and installing the latest firmware, connecting to Wi-Fi, and then following a setup wizard within the Home Assistant interface that guided them through the necessary steps.",
  "summary": "Nabu Casa - the commercial side of the Open Home Foundation, which runs Home Assistant - just launched the Home Assistant Connect Aux-2, a multi-function box designed to help you bring more devices into your smart home. It's part of Home Assistant's ongoing efforts to become more user-friendly. And it's working. I've been testing the […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "XDA Developers",
        "title": "3 Home Assistant automations I'd set up on day one if I started my smart home over",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/3-home-assistant-automations-id-set-up-on-day-one-if-i-started-my",
        "published": "2026-11-11T19:30:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Android Authority",
        "title": "Home Assistant Connect AUX-2 gives your old speakers and TVs a second life for $69",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/home-assistant-connect-aux-2-gives-your-old-speakers-and-tvs-a-second",
        "published": "2026-11-11T20:37:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}