The new update Home Assistant 2025.7 has just landed, and despite the upcoming holidays, the developers have not been idle! This July update brings us once again a host of new features and very nice improvements, a truly interesting evolution of Assist.
Assist speaks up!
Forget the assistant that patiently waits for a question. Now, Assist can take the initiative and ask you what you want to do. Imagine: you come home from work, and your assistant cheerfully prompts you (well, in a manner of speaking): “Do you want to listen to jazz or rock tonight?” We are no longer in the realm of science fiction; this is reality, and it's amazing!
The magic happens thanks to the new action “Ask a question” in the automation engine. You can create personalized conversations, manage expected responses, and even train the voice engine locally to understand all the nuances of your replies. Gone are the days when assistants settle for a “yes” or “no”! We can go much further, like asking the user if they want to activate automatic watering because it’s hot, or if they prefer to close the shutters to keep the house cool. And all this, without relying on the cloud or sacrificing privacy. It opens up new ideas for automation!
The area card gets a makeover: design and control at your fingertips
The Room card (or Area Card for purists) gets a facelift that will make others jealous. Gone is the slightly outdated look and shaky compatibility with dashboard sections. Enter a super-flexible card, inspired by the famous Tile and Mushroom cards, which integrates perfectly into the new dynamic dashboards.
You can choose a compact version, just for a quick glance at the state of the room, or a detailed view with the camera feed, buttons to control lights, shutters, fans… It’s the kind of detail that changes life when you have a house filled with sensors and automations. Imagine controlling the living room lighting, checking the garden camera, and closing the shutters, all from a single card, without having to navigate through ten different menus. Handy, right?
A zone dashboard that becomes the ultimate command center
The zone dashboard, still in experimental phase, continues to improve with each version. This time, it offers an overview that utilizes the new Room card, to visualize and control the main devices in each room at a glance. It’s also a real navigation hub: one click, and you dive into the details of the room that interests you. You’ll find yourself rediscovering your connected home, room by room.
Integrations gain power and clarity
Managing integrations is often a headache for advanced users. Good news: the integrations page has been completely redesigned. You can now add sub-entries to an existing integration, and quickly visualize which devices and services depend on each sub-entry. No more struggles to find out which sensor is connected to which service; everything is clear and accessible.
For example, if you use MQTT to control your shutters, temperature sensors, and other gadgets, it is now possible to create sub-entries for each type of device, all while keeping centralized management of identifiers and access.
The same goes for integrations with AI services like OpenAI or Google Generative AI: a single identifier, multiple uses, and simplified configuration.
Numerous new features for integrations and everyday life
It’s impossible to ignore the new integrations rolling out this month: Altruist air quality sensors, PlayStation Network game tracking, Tilt Pi hydrometer for amateur brewers, and garden management with VegeHub. There’s something for everyone.
The existing integrations are not left out either: ESPHome now manages sub-devices (perfect for RF bridges or Modbus gateways), Music Assistant allows you to add a track to your favorites with a single click, and Reolink cameras gain new control options. Enthusiasts of advanced home automation will also appreciate the improvements in HomeWizard battery management, support for Matter dishwasher alarms, and the ability to control solar production Enphase panel by panel.
Little extras that make a difference
Coding enthusiasts will love the new full-screen code editor. No more juggling with tiny windows to write your YAML scripts or templates! You click on the enlargement button, and voilà, the whole screen is ours. Perfect when you need to dive into more complex automations, even on a tablet or smartphone.
Creating new dashboards has also been simplified, with a clearer and more modern interface.
Beware of changes that break the routine
Some changes may break your old automations, particularly with Google Calendar, Meater, Miele, or Plex Media Server integrations. You may need to adapt your scripts to continue enjoying a home that obeys at your command. As always, be sure to make a backup before any update.
Conclusion
Month after month, the developers continue to enhance Home Assistant, carefully listening to the needs of users. What results today is a truly efficient and effective system. The July update further confirms this, and we want more!
Please remain courteous: a hello and a thank you cost nothing! We're here to exchange ideas in a constructive way. Trolls will be deleted.