Home Assistant launches $69 Connect AUX-2 smart-home multi-tool
Home Assistant’s new $69 Connect AUX-2 adds audio, serial control, Bluetooth, Z-Wave support and Power over Ethernet to one compact box.
Home Assistant has launched the Connect AUX-2, a $69 / €59 box designed to give older household equipment a route into a modern smart-home setup. Nabu Casa, the company behind Home Assistant hardware, says the device is available worldwide from today.1
A small box with a lot of jobs
The Connect AUX-2 can stream audio, control RS-232 serial devices, connect a Z-Wave adapter and act as a Bluetooth hub. It supports Power over Ethernet as well as USB power and Wi-Fi, giving users several ways to place it around the home.1
That combination is aimed at equipment people may not want to replace. Home Assistant’s launch examples include older hi-fi systems, solar or climate equipment and televisions whose cloud features users would rather disable. The company says the AUX-2 can let owners keep useful hardware while moving control back into their own Home Assistant setup.1
The device includes a digital/analogue audio jack, two serial ports, a Grove connector, USB-A and USB-C. Home Assistant also says the hardware is designed to be opened with four Phillips screws, and that it plans to release PCB and 3D-print files for the modding community.1
What UK buyers should know
The announced euro price is €59, but the launch post does not confirm UK stock, delivery timing or a sterling price. It also describes compatibility and power use from the manufacturer’s perspective; long-term reliability and the experience of connecting specific third-party equipment still need independent testing.
Our opinion
The AUX-2 is more interesting as a repair-and-control tool than as another smart speaker accessory. Its appeal is the promise of keeping amplifiers, serial equipment and sensors useful without handing every function to a proprietary cloud. Whether that promise holds for a particular home will depend on its integrations, but the hardware’s unusually broad set of ports gives Home Assistant users a practical new bridge between old equipment and newer automation.