diff --git a/source/_posts/2023-03-31-android-20233.markdown b/source/_posts/2023-03-31-android-20233.markdown new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..d50213464f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/source/_posts/2023-03-31-android-20233.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,127 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "Android 2023.3: Multiple servers & Windows 11 app" +description: "It's finally here: add multiple servers to the Home Assistant Android app, install the app on Windows 11 devices and more!" +date: 2023-03-30 00:00:00 +date_formatted: "March 30, 2023" +author: Joris Pelgröm +comments: true +categories: + - Release-Notes +og_image: /images/blog/2023-03-30-android/social.png +--- + +![Home Assistant logo with 'Android Companion 2023.3' text](/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/social.png) + +It's finally here, one of the most common feature requests for the Home Assistant +Android Companion app: you can now configure multiple Home Assistant servers. The +app can send sensor updates to all servers and easily mix and match widgets, tiles, +and controls for different servers 🎉 + +Plus, a preview of the Home Assistant app is now available via the Amazon Appstore +on Windows 11, which allows you to quickly connect your computer to Home Assistant. + +There are also other changes that add some polish to the app and improve support +for features in the latest Home Assistant releases, so let's dig into the update! + +## Configure multiple Home Assistant servers + +Sometimes, one Home Assistant instance is not enough. You like Home Assistant so +much that you decide to help someone else get started, there's a second home in +your life, or you regularly visit someplace else where they're using Home Assistant. + +Before this update, if you wanted to access more than one server it was a bit of a +hassle. Switching apps, creating bookmarks, and using different profiles. Let alone +connecting your Android device to multiple servers for features like sensors +and notifications. + +This issue now belongs to the past, as there's a new option in **{% my config title="Settings" %}** > +**Companion app** to configure a second server, and another one after that, and another... +They will all show up in the app, and you can use all features you've come to +expect, like lots of sensors for your device and support for push notifications. +Each one gets individual settings, so if you don't want to share your step count +and enable location tracking everywhere, that's OK. + +![Screenshots of a phone showing different dashboards in the app, one of them showing a pop-up titled 'Choose server'](/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/multiserver.png) + +That's not all - you can also use all servers _outside_ the app, mixing and +matching servers when using shortcuts, notifications, widgets, tiles and controls. +Toggling lights from three different homes side-by-side? No problem! + +Note: the Wear OS app does not yet support multiple servers. + +## Now available on Windows 11 (preview) + +The Home Assistant Android Companion app is now available [via the Amazon Appstore] +on [supported Windows 11 devices]. While there are already great options to integrate your +computer from the community out there, the Companion app makes it easy to start +and benefits from all the work on the Android app, frequently adding new features. + +![Screenshot of the Home Assistant Android app on a Windows 11 device](/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/windows.png) + +Windows does not always provide correct information to the app and may shut down +background work, including sensors, after several minutes, which is why we are +releasing Windows 11 support for the app as a preview. Android support in Windows +11 continues to get better and we intend to make adjustments to improve the +experience in the future. + +[via the Amazon Appstore]: amzn://apps/android?asin=B09RP3DM5T +[supported Windows 11 devices]: https://support.microsoft.com/windows/f8d0abb5-44ad-47d8-b9fb-ad6b1459ff6c + +## Refining Wear OS + +The Home Assistant app has been available for over a year now on Wear OS watches +and continues to improve. Earlier this year, initial support for Assist was added, +and in this update [@dshokouhi] made it easier to access using a watchface +complication. Now Assist is only a tap away! + +Got a lot of entities and want to hide the clutter on your watch? You could already +add favorites which would be displayed at the top of the app, but it would still load +all entities below them. Now, there is an option to only show favorites to reduce +what gets loaded and prevent accidental changes. Try it out and let us know if you +prefer this more focused experience! + +![Screenshots of a Wear OS device, showing an Assist complication a watchface, updated launch screen, and favorites only home screen](/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/wear.png) + +[@SkechyWolf] and [@dshokouhi] also worked on the look and feel of the app to make it +fit in better with other modern Wear apps. + +[@SkechyWolf]: https://github.com/SkechyWolf +[@dshokouhi]: https://github.com/dshokouhi + + + +## Other noteworthy changes + +There's more in this update, here are some highlights: + +- Any sensor with a location attached will now show up for navigation when using Android + Auto. Nice one, [@dshokouhi]! +- [@jpelgrom] added initial support for the new Thread integration in 2023.3. Thank you! +- [@Adi146] and [@dshokouhi] worked to make the Beacon Monitor more reliable when in the + background and when toggling it on and off, nice to see improvements! +- Put a lot of work in a custom dashboard, only to have it break on your phone because of + text that is ever so slightly too small or unwanted auto-rotation? No more, as [@dmiales] + tweaked settings to prevent this from happening! +- Got a notification that should only show up on your watch? In the previous update, support + was added for notifications to the Wear OS app, and in this update work continues by + [@dshokouhi], with the app now supporting TTS notifications. + +Even more people worked on fixing bugs in this update, like [@Suxsem] and [@JBassett]. Thanks +to all of those who contributed. If you have a good idea to improve the app or found a bug to +fix, feel free to [join us on the forums] or [contribute on GitHub]. + +[join us on the forums]: https://community.home-assistant.io/c/mobile-apps/android-companion/42 +[contribute on GitHub]: https://github.com/home-assistant/android +[@Adi146]: https://github.com/Adi146 +[@dmiales]: https://github.com/dmiales +[@JBassett]: https://github.com/JBassett +[@jpelgrom]: https://github.com/jpelgrom +[@Suxsem]: https://github.com/Suxsem + +## All changes + +You can find a complete list of all changes made for this update here: +[Full changelog for Home Assistant Android 2023.3.0]. + +[Full changelog for Home Assistant Android 2023.3.0]: https://github.com/home-assistant/android/releases/tag/2023.3.0 diff --git a/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/multiserver.png b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/multiserver.png new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..140c51afec9 Binary files /dev/null and b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/multiserver.png differ diff --git a/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/social.png b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/social.png new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..e194effa85e Binary files /dev/null and b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/social.png differ diff --git a/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/wear.png b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/wear.png new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..6ee536bcb79 Binary files /dev/null and b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/wear.png differ diff --git a/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/windows.png b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/windows.png new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..c433c8409e6 Binary files /dev/null and b/source/images/blog/2023-03-30-android/windows.png differ