- Samsung Unveils Two New Elite Dolby Atmos Soundbars Ahead of CES 2026
- The Samsung HW-Q990H replaces the current Samsung HW-Q990F.
- The Samsung HW-QS90H is a 7.1.2 channel all-in-one soundbar.
Samsung clearly couldn't wait CES 2026 to introduce its new soundbars coming next year: the company just announced two new models, but sorry if you want to see what they look like because the company didn't bother to offer images of them.
We have more details though, and I'll be at CES where I'm sure I'll hear and see them in action, so keep an eye on that.
In the meantime, here's what you need to know: There are two new high-quality soundbars coming: the Samsung HW-Q990H and the Samsung HW-QS90H.
The first is not surprising; it is the successor to the five star hotel Samsung HW-Q990Fwhich we evaluate as best soundbar for complete Dolby Atmos immersion.
The new model is very similar to the previous one, which is not surprising since these models do not change much from year to year. It is a soundbar system that consists of four units: a main soundbar, two wireless rear speakers, and a wireless subwoofer.
The entire system is an 11.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos setup with a front-facing soundbar providing seven channels as well as two uplinks. The rear speakers feature two angled surround speakers as well as an upward-firing speaker.
The subwoofer will again be compact, like the current one, with two eight-inch speakers.
Samsung hasn't revealed much about the specifications, but it did say that this model introduces two new audio technologies: Sound Elevation and Auto Volume. The former “raises dialogue toward the center of the screen for more natural-sounding audio,” Samsung says, something soundbars typically try to do anyway (and LG even includes a fifth boost channel in soundbars such as LG S95AR to help with that), but I'm all for Samsung doing it better than ever.
But the feature that I Really According to Samsung, audio like Auto Volume “maintains a constant volume across all channels and content for a smoother, more balanced listening experience.” No more super loud commercials or weirdly quiet old streaming movies? One sequential level without my volume button control? Love it.
No price or release date is given, but Samsung usually releases them in the spring, and the previous model retailed for $1,999 / £1,699 / AU$2,099, although the price has started to drop quickly.
The second soundbar is also a flagship, but of a different type. The Samsung HW-QS90F is an all-in-one soundbar, meaning it's not designed to be used with rear speakers or a subwoofer (though, knowing Samsung, it'll probably be possible to add those as well—though the company hasn't announced that as an option at this time).
It's a 7.12-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar with 13 speakers, including four bass drivers (which Samsung calls a Quad Bass Woofer system) that lets you create compelling low frequencies without a dedicated subwoofer.
An interesting point is that it can be used in two configurations: lay flat on a surface like most soundbars, or rotated vertically for wall mounting. This is not new for Samsung – this concept has been used in Samsung HW-QS700F in 2025, and in our testing we found it to be very effective.
In fact, it is a direct competitor Sonos Arc Ultra as a universal soundbar with deep built-in bass, although the speaker configuration is closer to the original Sonos In a sense, the Arc, which also used four bass drivers to create low frequencies, while the Arc Ultra uses New Sound Motion Driver from Sonos to deliver powerful bass in a smaller space, giving more speaker space to positional Dolby Atmos audio.
It'll be interesting to see how they compare—especially since Samsung will likely avoid some of the issues I encountered with the Arc Ultra when I reviewed it, including the lack of HDMI pass-through and DTS support… although, again, Samsung hasn't actually announced these for the new soundbar. morebecause the information is still easy.
It's unclear whether this model will support Sound Elevation or Auto Volume – Samsung only mentioned them for the Q990H – but it looks like they'll be equally useful here.
The best soundbars for every budget
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