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Best Dolby Atmos speakers in 2024
Finding the best Dolby Atmos speakers is challenging, but we've picked out the best options
Dolby Atmos has been dominating the world of surround sound systems for several years now, and the sensation of sitting down and watching an Atmos-encoded movie simply can’t be beaten. A fully three-dimensional audio experience that blasts sound at you from every conceivable angle, once you enjoy your first Atmos flick, you’ll have a hard time going back to regular ole’ stereo sound.
Sonos hopes some extra speakers will make the new Beam 2 a worthy upgrade
Dolby Atmos Music comes to Beam (Gen 2), other speakers will get Amazon Music Ultra HD
Sonos is bringing more firepower to its Beam soundbar with a second-gen model coming out next month. It'll feature beefier hardware, support for superior-quality standards, including Dolby Atmos, and streaming services. The bar will also come with a slightly higher price tag than its 3-year-old predecessor.
Apple Music just changed everyone else's plans for lossless audio
Apple's hi-fi tier arrives next month for all users, along with support for Dolby Atmos
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Lossless audio seems to be the next significant advancement in music streaming. Amazon has been offering a high-quality plan since 2019, and in February, Spotify announced a new HiFi plan to launch later this year. Leave it to Apple to shake up the entire ecosystem with its announcement of lossless audio. Starting next month, all Apple Music subscribers will gain access to improved audio quality along with select Dolby Atmos tracks at no extra cost.We already knew that a lossless tier was on the horizon for Apple Music, thanks to recent leaks from both iOS 14.6 and the latest beta version of the Android app. Launching it at no additional cost to subscribers, however, is an unexpected and game-changing move. More than 75 million songs will be available in lossless audio, which should cover nearly every song on the service. High-fidelity tracks will only be available to subscribers; you're still limited to standard quality when purchasing songs or albums through the iTunes store.
HBO Max adds 4K support right in time for Wonder Woman 1984 (APK Download)
More UHD titles are coming in 2021
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Last month, HBO announced that Wonder Woman 1984 would debut on its HBO Max streaming service on December 25, the same day it will open in US movie theaters. The film will also be the first title to be available in 4K on the platform. Now, right in time for the movie's launch, HBO is rolling out support for 4K UHD and HDR on select Android devices.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab A7 is now available starting at just $230
With rounded corners and symmetrical bezels, It looks a lot like Apple's new iPad Air
Samsung announced a slew of more affordable products last month, including a new fitness tracker, a 5G phone, and the Galaxy Tab A7 tablet. The Tab A7 has Dolby Atmos surround sound, a 10.4" display with rounded corners and thin, symmetrical bezels, and it's available today from major retailers starting at $229.99.
JBL has announced a whole pile of new home audio products at this year's CES. By far, the lion's share of the new gear is bluetooth headphones (both truly wireless and over/on-ear), but the company is also debuting a new high-end soundbar. The JBL Bar 9.1 is the company's first to support Dolby Atmos, and it even has a built-in Chromecast.
Nvidia's Shield TV has been Android nerds' streaming box of choice for going on half a decade, and for good reason: it's got ample power, plenty of features, and software that's always up to date. Now, the company has introduced two new versions with a bit of a twist. The base model, this tube-shaped guy right here, fills a role that's decidedly niche: a premium Android TV box (cylinder?) that does everything you'd want a streamer to do and nothing else, for a price that's high-end but not too high-end. I'm not sure how many people are looking for exactly that, but I'm confident anybody who is will be thrilled with this year's Shield TV.
Netflix produces massive amounts of rich video content laden with special effects, deep color, and vibrant sound. The quality of that output, however, is dependent on your internet connection. Understandably, the company wants to raise the ceiling on its audio game for its TV users — it's now rolling out a new adaptive technology that will boost Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound to its best levels yet.
Beside the new Moto G5 and G5 Plus, Lenovo is introducing a few tablets at MWC this year: the Tab 4 Series. And a "series" this is, because we're talking about 4 different tablets, without factoring in LTE and non-LTE versions, storage options, and colors. There's the regular Tab 4 in both 8" and 10" variants, then there's the Tab 4 Plus also in 8" and 10" variants.
LG has been one of the first companies to adopt Chromecast, then Google Cast, in its speakers and soundbars with the LG Music Flow series, to let users stream music wirelessly and without the need for a separate Chromecast Audio dongle. Support for its line-up has been less than stellar though, with the speakers being seemingly abandoned without firmware updates, no sign of multi-room or grouping to make them compatible with other Chromecast devices and Google Home, and leaving users without any hope for the future (check these threads as two small examples of customer frustration). With that grim asterisk in mind, I can tell you about these new soundbars that LG is showing off at CES.