Home Assistant has just launched Vision Preview Edition (VPE), a new voice assistant dedicated to home automation that prioritizes privacy and local control. This small box at 60 euros, available today, is an important step in the evolution of domestic voice assistants.
Thinner than an Apple TV, but just as discreet, the VPE stands out for its minimalist approach and its focus on the essential: connected home control. The device offers three activation words to choose from: “Okay Nabu” (the most optimized), “Hey Jarvis” or “Hey Mycroft”. Once activated, it allows you to control connected devices with simple commands as ” Turn on the living room lights » or « Set the thermostat to 20 degrees ».
The device stands out above all for its sleek design and practical features. A multi-color LED ring indicates when the assistant is listening, a rotary dial provides pleasant physical control, and A microphone mute button ensures privacy. Connectivity includes a USB-C port for power, a 3.5mm audio output for connecting external speakers, and even a Grove port for DIYers looking to add sensors.
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The Vision Preview Edition wants to stand out from the competition
Unlike its competitors from the tech giants, The VPE focuses only on home automation control. No questions about the weather, no math calculations, no jokes: the assistant does what it was designed to do, no more, no less. This voluntary simplicity can be seen as an advantage for those who are tired of voice assistants that are too talkative or concerned about their privacy.
Order processing can be done either locally on a sufficiently powerful Home Assistant server or via the privacy-friendly Nabu Casa cloud. In both cases, no data is stored or used for training. For those who want additional functionality, it is possible to connect the VPE to AI models like ChatGPT or Gemini.
The first tests reveal some limitations, particularly in voice recognition which sometimes requires speaking clearly, especially in the presence of background noise. This is also why Home Assistant presents this version as a “Preview Edition”. However, the performance is clearly superior to the alternative solutions tinkered with so far by the community. The VPE integrates seamlessly into the existing Home Assistant ecosystem and can even serve as a bridge to other home automation systems like Google Home, Alexa or Apple Home.
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