The final day of CES 2026 is upon us, and as is the case every year, it brought with it a wealth of hi-fi and home cinema treats.
That ranges from Hisense’s new four-colour Mini LED and RGBY Micro LED TV sets, to Audio-Technica's AT-LP7X turntable.
In the realm of Dolby Atmos soundbars, however, we have been left a little deflated at the lack of products from key brands that in past years have delivered new sonic treats at the show.
That's not to say that there have not been a fair number of Atmos soundbars being teased at the event.
Samsung, for example, announced two new models, the HW-Q990H and QS90H. Our senior staff writer Lewis Empson got the chance to have a sneaky listen to the latter at CES, and was impressed by the powerful sound and booming bass coming from the neat all-in-one package. The Q990H is also a particularly big deal, as it's a direct successor to the Award-Samsung Q990F from last year.
LG also released its Dolby Atmos Flex Connect soundbar system, which includes the H7 soundbar, M5 and M7 wireless surround speakers, and W7 subwoofer. It looks to be quite a promising proposition, with the possibility of building a whopping 13.1.7-channel home theatre system through LG's new Sound Suite feature.
There have also been a smattering of other brands releasing Atmos products (take TCL's A65K Design Series, for instance), but we were hoping to see a few more companies taking on the category.
We've spoken plenty about how we are hoping to see a new Dolby Atmos entry from Sonos as a continuation of the success of its entry-level Sonos Beam Gen 2 and more premium Sonos Arc soundbars.
We gave the Beam Gen 2 a five-star rating for its detailed yet immersive sound performance, but this model hit shelves more than four years ago. Since then, we have been eagerly awaiting its successor. Sonos didn't have the Beam Gen 2 replacement we've been waiting for, but that's not a surprise considering the brand tends not to unveil new hardware at the show. The wait continues...
But we were unhappy at Sennheiser, which didn't even tease a new Dolby Atmos model at the show, as it's been quite a while since its last entry back in 2023, when it showed off the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini. The Atmos model received a three-star review from us, with its uninspired sound and lack of projection failing to impress.
But were still hoping to see a new model as its more expensive entries have blown us away when we had them in our test rooms. The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max donned the crown for years as the best premium model in our Dolby Atmos soundbar guide (that is, until the KEF XIO knocked it off this post last year). And it would make sense for the firm to at least try to take its crown back in 2026.
We're hoping both it and Sonos are just biding their time and will unveil new models at separate events this year.
My fingers are certainly crossed for even more brands to jump on the category and deliver a five-star stunner, as Hisense did with its surprise hit, the AX5125H, last year.
MORE:
Here are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars at the moment
Check out our review of the Sonos Arc
These are the best budget soundbars
