Key Takeaways
1. The Home Dashboard is now the default view for all new installations, known as ‘Overview’, with an option to switch back to ‘Overview (legacy)’.
2. A new card in the For You section displays new devices found by Home Assistant.
3. Users can now organize devices by room using the ‘Assign area’ feature in the Devices section.
4. The term ‘Add-ons’ has been changed to ‘Apps’ to clarify the distinction from other integrations.
5. New integrations include Cloudflare R2, Prana heat recovery systems, and HDFury HDMI devices, along with a new distribution card for tracking power usage.
Home Assistant version 2026.2 has been released. This new version of the open-source smart home automation tool comes about a month after the 2026.1 update, which introduced more specific triggers and a revamped Settings page.
New Features and Changes
In Home Assistant 2026.2, the Home Dashboard is now the default view for all new installations, referred to as ‘Overview’. For those who liked the old layout, they can switch back to ‘Overview (legacy)’ by selecting it in Settings > Dashboards. A fresh card has been added to the For You section, which shows any new devices found by Home Assistant. Additionally, in the recently added Devices section, users can now quickly organize devices by room with the ‘Assign area’ feature.
Updates to App Terminology
Another significant update in Home Assistant 2026.2 is the change of ‘Add-ons’ to ‘Apps’. The company explains this is to clearly separate these standalone applications from other integrations. There’s also a new Quick search option, which can be activated with Ctrl + K on Windows and Linux, or ⌘ + K on macOS. Moreover, the new distribution card allows users to track how power is distributed across different devices and appliances directly from their dashboard. New integrations in this release include Cloudflare R2, Prana heat recovery ventilation systems, and HDFury HDMI video processing devices like the VRROOM (currently priced at $599 on Amazon).
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