Video summary

Everything New In Home Assistant 2026.6!

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Summary of “Everything New In Home Assistant 2026.6” (June release)

Major UI/UX change: device-based card selection

  • The dashboard card picker is being overhauled to be device-type/entity-based.
  • When selecting a dashboard card, Home Assistant will suggest appropriate card types and layout-related features depending on the entity/device you pick (e.g., different suggestions for motion entities vs LEDs).
  • Users can still switch to the old full card list via a Cards tab or Browse all cards button if they prefer manual selection.

New dashboard tile/card features

  • Media player cards:
    • Add a mute button via volume controls for quicker muting.
    • Support additional/removable buttons through a playback feature set.
  • Weather/forecast cards:
    • New precipitation forecast view (expected rainfall).
    • New temperature forecast visualization (temperature bar chart over upcoming time).
    • Both are available for dashboard use.

Infrared expansion: receive IR commands

  • Building on April’s infrared support (transmit only), 2026.6 adds infrared receiving.
  • Enables workflows like:
    • Learning commands from a regular remote to emulate them.
    • Potentially detecting when a device is controlled via the physical remote (useful because IR is usually one-way, making state detection difficult).
  • Note: integrations still need to add support; this is described as an initial building block for future expansion.

Automation editor improvements (“new W i i features”)

  • Step notes: users can add notes to individual automation steps (useful for complex steps such as choose blocks).
  • Better targeting visibility:
    • For trigger/condition/action steps that target devices/entities, the UI now shows which entities/areas/labels are being targeted—reducing the need to drill into details for quick understanding.

Apps/Add-ons page overhaul

  • The former add-ons page is reorganized into an Apps overview.
  • Shows:
    • Running vs stopped status.
    • Whether an update is available directly on each tile.
  • The app detail layout was also adjusted, with status/update indicators at the top.

Smart lock management expands to Z-Wave

  • Matter smart lock user/PIN management introduced in April now comes to Z-Wave smart locks too.
  • Supports managing:
    • Users
    • PIN codes/passwords
    • Temporary passcodes
    • (and related access controls)

Energy dashboard enhancement

  • Ability to show battery storage charge status directly on the energy dashboard.
  • Steps mentioned:
    • Go to Settings
    • Add battery storage or edit an existing one
    • Add a battery state entity to represent the battery percentage/status on the dashboard.

Smaller “quality of life” improvements

  • YAML editor hints in the UI for indentation/formatting issues.
  • More quick links across the UI.
  • Create an automation from an entity you’re viewing, adding it immediately to trigger/condition/action.
  • History/statistics cards can select custom colors per entity for dashboard display.
  • Matter onboarding can use Bluetooth proxies to make adding Matter devices easier.
  • Matter sirens are now supported as a Matter device type (e.g., smoke alarms/sirens).

Integrations and compatibility notes

  • 16 new integrations in this release, including:
    • Several infrared-related ones
    • A new audio player integration
    • Some heat pumps / AC units
    • Tank measurement integrations
  • 3 integrations moved from YAML into the UI.
  • Breaking changes: small/minor changes only (including a tweak to purpose-specific triggers); viewers are advised to read notes before updating.

Main speaker(s) / source(s)

  • The narrator/host of the video (no specific individual name given in the subtitles).

Original video