Home Assistant OS 16.0: New features for your smart home!

Home Assistant OS 16.0: New features for your smart home!

There is news from the world of smart home technology: On July 9, 2025, the new version 16.0 of the Home Assistant OS published. This operating system is a real hit for anyone who wants to make their home simpler and smarter. It provides a complete environment to use Home Assistant - a popular open source platform for smart home automation - without additional software.

The Update brings numerous innovations and improvements with yourself. One of the key changes is the update to Buildroot 2025.02, which enables additional optimizations. In addition, the Docker integration has been updated to version 28.3.0, making working with containers even smoother. There are exciting developments, especially for Raspberry Pi users: The kernel has been updated to version 6.12.25, while WLAN stability has been improved with new driver options and updated firmware.

Optimal conditions for use

For those who want to really make the most of Home Assistant, the right conditions are crucial. As the Home Assistant website explains, you need at least a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with 2 GB of RAM and a suitable power supply. A Micro SD card of at least 32GB and Application Class 2 (A2 label) are also required to ensure a smooth installation.

What else is important? We recommend using an Ethernet cable for installation, as this is more reliable than WLAN, which can, however, be used after installation. The right power supply is also a must - mobile chargers are often not sufficient.

Simply install and get started

Installing the Home Assistant Operating System is very easy. First, the Raspberry Pi Imager should be downloaded to write the image to the SD card. Alternatively, Balena Etcher can also be used as an imaging tool. The required links for the images for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 are also provided on the website.

After installation, everything is ready: Home Assistant can now be used and the onboarding process can begin. So nothing stands in the way of the perfect smart home experience. With the new functions of version 16.0 and the right requirements, the smart home becomes a real experience - there's something there!

Thanks to continuous progress and optimizations, Home Assistant remains one of the best solutions for anyone who wants to make their home smarter. So it's worth trying out the new version and exploiting its full potential!