{"id":113727,"date":"2026-02-07T14:45:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/02\/07\/the-new-home-assistant-a-plex-app-replacement-google-homes-automation-upgrade-and-more-news-roundup\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T14:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:47:23","slug":"the-new-home-assistant-a-plex-app-replacement-google-homes-automation-upgrade-and-more-news-roundup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/02\/07\/the-new-home-assistant-a-plex-app-replacement-google-homes-automation-upgrade-and-more-news-roundup\/","title":{"rendered":"The new Home Assistant, a Plex app replacement, Google Home’s automation upgrade, and more: News roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This was one other busy week in tech, with main updates to Residence Assistant, Visible Studio Code, LibreOffice, and Google Residence. There was additionally huge information for Raspberry Pi boards, the rumored folding iPhone, and rather more\u2014listed below are the largest tales you might need missed.<\/p>\n

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\n The Massive Information
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\n Home Assistant 2026.2 arrives with new default dashboard, simplified apps, and more<\/a>
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At the moment’s the massive day: Residence Assistant 2026.2 is now rolling out. It features a new default Residence Dashboard, a redesigned fast search, opt-in knowledge assortment for the brand new system database, and rather more. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The new Google Home update makes automation significantly more powerful<\/a>
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Google Residence will get a whole lot of flak for not being a terrific good dwelling platform, however the firm is seemingly all the time including new options to alter that. The most recent replace brings some welcomed new automation triggers, extra particular automation actions, and extra. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"google\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Joe Fedewa \/ How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n This third-party Plex client with a sleek design just got an upgrade<\/a>
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Plezy is a third-party Plex consumer for Home windows, Mac, Linux, and cell platforms with a smooth design and some distinctive options. Should you’re aggravated with the official Plex apps, it’s best to give Plezy a spin\u2014particularly after the newest replace. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The Raspberry Pi 4 is getting a new design, thanks to RAM prices<\/a>
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Should you’re getting a brand new Raspberry Pi 4, it’d look a bit totally different than you had been anticipating. Raspberry Pi has began manufacturing a tweaked mannequin that makes use of twin DRAM modules, because of ongoing provide chain issues. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Raspberry\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0<\/small><\/p>\n

Andrew Heinzman \/ How-To Geek<\/p>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Ubuntu on RISC-V might actually be good thanks to this chip<\/a>
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Canonical introduced at present it is collaborating with SpacemiT (Hangzhou) Know-how Co., Ltd. in an effort to make Ubuntu run on SpacemiT’s RISC-V systems-on-chip (SoCs) that use the RVA23 profile. The SoCs embrace its upcoming K3 collection, and there is now assist for its present K1 SoC as nicely. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The Galaxy S26 will not fix one of the Galaxy S25\u2019s biggest problems<\/a>
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Final 12 months, wi-fi charging for Android units acquired a lift because of Qi2. The Galaxy S25 was one of many first to assist this new commonplace, however Samsung infamously disregarded considered one of its largest options: magnetic wi-fi charging\u2014a.okay.a. \u201cMagSafe.\u201d The Galaxy S26 collection is making the identical mistake. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Person\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Justin Duino \/ How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Visual Studio Code has new experimental themes and more AI coding features<\/a>
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Visible Studio Code releases main updates as soon as a month, and proper on schedule, model 1.109 is now rolling out to desktop platforms. It is the continuation of Microsoft’s push for making VS Code “the house for multi-agent improvement,” however there are some non-AI enhancements as nicely. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Visual\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Corbin Davenport \/ How-To Geek \/ Microsoft<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Discord is getting a speed boost on Windows, Mac, and Linux<\/a>
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The Discord messaging utility is getting a much-needed pace enhance on desktop platforms. There are additionally new enhancements to screenshots and recreation streams, a brand new approach to share occasions, and rather more. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Google officially reveals the Pixel 10a with dual cameras and a familiar design<\/a>
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It\u2019s that point of 12 months when Google releases a funds model of its most up-to-date \u201cflagship\u201d cellphone. The Pixel 10 collection launched final Fall, and now we\u2019re getting our first official take a look at the Pixel 10a. Google is teasing us with some close-up pictures, however not a lot else. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Google\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Google<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, and other IDEs are getting a Wayland upgrade on Linux<\/a>
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IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, PhpStorm, and different JetBrains IDEs are lastly adopting Wayland. Which means sharper textual content and higher efficiency on most Linux programs, however there are nonetheless some bugs to be labored out. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Someone made a giant replica of iconic ’90s PC speakers (and they actually work)<\/a>
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Should you grew up within the 90s with a beige Home windows PC, there\u2019s a very good probability you spent hours gazing a really particular pair of audio system. The Harman\/Kardon HK195 audio system had been ubiquitous within the early web period, and artist @gwakproductions has introduced them again in a large means\u2014actually. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"giant\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Joe Fedewa \/ How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n The Alexa+ upgrade is now available to everyone in the United States<\/a>
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Amazon is now rolling out its upgraded Alexa digital assistant to everybody in the US. A free chat interface is offered, however for full performance, you want an Amazon Prime membership or Alexa+ subscription. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s time to replace your Galaxy S21 or Galaxy S21 Ultra<\/a>
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Are you continue to hanging on to an previous Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, or the massive Galaxy S21 Extremely? If that’s the case, it is lastly time to let go, transfer on, and change it with one thing newer. In a transfer that should not come as a shock, Samsung has formally discontinued software program assist for these telephones, they usually will not obtain new updates or safety patches transferring ahead. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"The\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Cory Gunther \/ How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n LibreOffice’s first big update for 2026 has arrived<\/a>
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LibreOffice is likely one of the greatest options to Microsoft Workplace and Google Docs, and now it is rolling out a significant replace. LibreOffice 26.2 has arrived with some new options, compatibility enhancements with Microsoft Workplace, and quicker efficiency. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"LibreOffice\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Corbin Davenport \/ The Doc Basis<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n This new mini PC looks like a Nintendo Entertainment System<\/a>
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There are various choices for a mini PC, however not all of them have a Nintendo Leisure System-inspired design. Acemagic desires to repair that with its new Retro X3 mini PC. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Firefox is finally getting the AI kill switch<\/a>
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Should you’re aggravated by generative AI options creeping into Firefox, there’s some excellent news. Mozilla is now publicly testing an ‘AI controls’ web page for Firefox, with the flexibility to show off particular person options or every thing. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Firefox\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia\/How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Visual Studio Code is eating up hundreds of gigabytes on Linux<\/a>
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Should you’re working out of house in your Linux desktop or laptop computer, Visible Studio Code may be the offender. There is a bug that causes some VS Code installations to by no means delete recordsdata after you trash them, doubtlessly consuming up a whole bunch of gigabytes of storage. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Raspberry Pi boards are getting another price hike, thanks to RAM costs<\/a>
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Raspberry Pi is elevating costs but once more on most of its single-board computer systems and Compute Module units. That is the second worth hike in two months attributed to rising RAM costs. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Closeup\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Corbin Davenport \/ How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Home Assistant wants to build the ultimate smart home device database<\/a>
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Discovering solutions to easy good dwelling questions like “does this gentle bulb require a cloud service” or “is that this good swap dependable with Residence Assistant” will be surprisingly troublesome, even after trudging by way of discussion board posts and Reddit threads. The Open Residence Basis Gadget Database goals to repair these issues, utilizing knowledge collected and anonymized from Residence Assistant installations. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Nvidia has no plans to stop Shield TV updates, hasn\u2019t ruled out a Shield 2<\/a>
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The Nvidia Protect TV is an iconic system, proper up there with the Nexus One and Moto DROID. Many individuals think about it to be the very best streaming system although the most recent mannequin is over 5 years previous. That\u2019s as a result of Nvidia continues to be supporting even the oldest fashions, and apparently, it doesn\u2019t plan on stopping. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Three\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia\/How-To Geek<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n The iPhone Fold is starting to feel real\u2014here’s what we know<\/a>
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Rumors and leaks often result in actual merchandise, however that\u2019s not all the time the case with Apple. Keep in mind the Apple Automobile? So, when rumors of an iPhone Fold began popping up, individuals had been understandably skeptical. The proof is getting exhausting to disregard, although. Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n