Home Assistant Adds Native Infrared Device Support
Home Assistant's 2026.4 Beta introduces native infrared support, enabling direct control of TVs, air conditioners, soundbars and other IR appliances. The update integrates with ESPHome and supports devices like the Seeed Studio XIAO IR Mate (pre-flashed ESPHome, $9.99), offering a local IR proxy and learning capabilities. Users can now add IR devices to automations and dashboards without extra gateways or hardware replacements.
Key Points
- 1Adds native infrared support in 2026.4 Beta, enabling direct control of TVs, ACs, and soundbars.
- 2Integrates with ESPHome and Seeed XIAO IR Mate providing local, firmware-based IR proxy and learning.
- 3Enables affordable ($9.99), no-gateway automations and custom controllers for legacy infrared appliances.
Scoring Rationale
Official Home Assistant beta plus affordable hardware enables practical automations; scope limited to home-automation users, not core AI/ML.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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