Home Assistant has released Voice Chapter 7, which includes several new features and improvements. Among the new additions is the highly requested timer feature. This feature allows users to set multiple timers, each with a specific duration and optionally a name. Users can utilize voice commands to create, cancel, pause, resume, and modify these timers. Examples of voice commands include “Create a timer for 5 minutes” and “Cancel my pizza timer.” Named timers help distinguish between multiple running timers.
I don’t know about you, but these days setting timers is about all I use my Amazon Echo’s for. So this handy feature lets me remove all of those from my normal smart home setup and use a purely local solution.
Timers are now available on ESPHome and Wyoming voice satellites connected to the latest version of Home Assistant. Users of the Atom Echo Dev Kit or ESP32-S3 Box 3 need to update their firmware to the latest version to access timer support.
Additionally, the new release allows users to execute any voice command with a timed delay. For example, users can say “turn off the lights in 10 minutes,” and the command will be processed after the specified time. Unlike regular timers, these delayed commands cannot be canceled or modified.
Other updates include improvements in the microWakeWord project’s performance, AI and LLM interactions and control with smart home devices, and enhanced Media Control.
For more information, visit Home Assistant’s website here.
