Josh.ai held its 2026 keynote on March 19, where it emphasized the company’s stance as a software-first company, enabling systems to continuously improve through over-the-air updates.
Josh.ai’s keynote event showcased a stunning 12,000 square-foot coastal residence in Newport Beach, California, offering a real-world demonstration of Josh.ai control in action. The installation was led by integrator Jason Bernhardt of Custom Connections, while the keynote also featured integrator Kyle Steele of Global Wave, who shares insights on Josh Edge and how dealers are deploying it in the field. The system unifies Lutron lighting and shades, distributed audio and video, voice control with Josh Nano, Josh Touchscreens, and Josh Edge for universal control.
The keynote was used to introduce AI X OS, the redesigned Josh App, the evolving capabilities of Josh Edge, and native pool and spa control.
AI X OS Powers Redesigned Josh App Experience
With AI X OS, Josh.ai has expanded AI across its control ecosystem, deeply embedding intelligence throughout the whole-home to deliver more intuitive user experiences. Rolling out this Spring, every product in the Josh.ai ecosystem is connected via AI X OS, enabling household members with powerful personalization and simplicity.
The redesigned Josh App introduces intuitive updates and greater customization capabilities. Key enhancements include:
- Favorites-First Home Screen: Users can pin their most important devices front and center, with each household member able to customize their own layout.
- Bottom Navigation Bar: A redesigned navigation bar makes it more efficient than ever to control and customize a Josh.ai smart home.
- Active Media Hub: Users have instant access to currently playing music and video control from anywhere within the app.
- Reimagined Voice Experience: A refreshed microphone interface brings faster, more contextual AI interactions for near-field commands.
- Device Categorization: Devices are automatically organized by category within each area to clean up room-level views while simplifying navigation.
- AI-Guided Scene Creation: Josh.ai actively recommends and generates scenes based on a home’s layout, connected devices, and a user’s living patterns.
Josh Edge
The growing capabilities of the Josh Edge remote shared the keynote spotlight. Designed for shared living spaces, Josh Edge combines tactile interaction, near-field voice control, and AI-powered automation in a well-crafted aluminum form factor. One of the most compelling features demonstrated during the event is the ability to configure control buttons using natural language.
Instead of requiring installers to manually program remote functions in advance, users can simply ask Josh.ai to assign a button to perform a task to instantly update Josh Edge’s configuration. Josh Edge also dynamically adapts to the activity happening in its assigned area. If music has recently launched, the remote becomes a convenient audio controller. If the television is active, then Josh Edge seamlessly shifts into video control mode.
This adaptive intelligence allows Josh Edge to remain simple while still offering intuitive control over any nearby devices and access to custom scenes.
AI Scenes
Automation has always been a valuable feature of the smart home to set the perfect mood, but scenes can often be tedious to configure. Josh.ai is simplifying the process with its AI Scenes feature that naturally intuits a user’s intent. Rather than manually programming device actions, homeowners can simply describe the mood they want. For example, a homeowner can ask, “Hey Josh, create a relaxing atmosphere in the great room for entertaining guests visiting from New Orleans.” Josh.ai analyzes the area’s available devices to generate a scene with appropriate lighting, entertainment, and more to match the request. This enables homeowners to create rich environments without needing advanced programming knowledge.
Native Pool and Spa Control
Coming this Spring with the rollout of AI X OS, pool and spa support expands Josh.ai’s home intelligence to exterior living spaces. A new device category in the Josh App, Josh Touchscreen, and accessible with conversational voice commands, clients will enjoy seamless access to their Jandy and Pentair systems.
Clients will also enjoy the ability to incorporate their pools and spas into custom automations. For example, they can adjust the jacuzzi’s temperature and jets by asking, “Hey Josh, set the spa to 102 degrees and turn on the jets at sunset.”
Here is the entire keynote:
Josh.ai Expands Partner Ecosystem and Nimble DevSuite Integrations
Josh.ai has also announced the following new partnership updates and integrations. All of which are either available now or coming soon via an over-the-air software update to all systems:
- Aprilaire: S86 Thermostat
- Blaze by Sonance: Amplifiers
- Deako: Lighting
- DMX & DALI: Lighting
- IC Realtime: PoE Doorstation (Available in the Josh Store*)
- Jandy: Pool & Spa
- Konnected: Garage Doors
- Level: Locks
- Origin Acoustics: Amplifiers
- Shelly: Bluetooth Sensors
- Somfy: PoE Shading
- Theory: Amplifiers
- Pentair: Pool & Spa
The launch of Somfy PoE motor integration also marks a milestone for Chowmainsoft as the latest independent developer to build a certified device driver leveraging Josh.ai’s Nimble DevSuite. As an early adopter of the Nimble platform, Chowmainsoft worked closely with Josh.ai’s engineering team to develop a robust and reliable integration that meets the high-performance standards of the channel’s discerning clientele.
For more information, visit www.josh.ai.
See also: Adoption Of Smart Home Access Solutions Grows Across US
