I'm an AV nerd, and here's the TV and audio tech I'm most looking forward to seeing at CES 2026
SOURCE:TechRadar|BY: Matt Bolton
Next-gen TVs, super-powered soundbars, and smart hi-fi to watch for during CES
(Image credit: Future / Samsung)
CES 2026 is about to start, and I'm going to be on the ground and in the fortunate position to go and see all the tech coming this year that I'm most excited about. I lead TechRadar's AV coverage, and I have no shame in admitting to being a total nerd about the latest OLED panel construction, speaker design innovations, and home theater upgrades.
A huge part of the fun of CES is finding things you had no idea existed, but obviously, I also see things I either expect to see or know I'll see. As I'm about to head into the show in the next few days, here's what's top of my list of things I'm looking forward to, and that I recommend you keep an eye out for more information about if you're an enthusiast like me.
TV tech
1. LG's next-gen OLED TV panel
LG hasn't announced its next-gen OLED TV yet, but we already have a good idea on what to expect from its flagship TV. For a start, a next-gen Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 WOLED panel has been announced by LG Display (the part of the company that makes OLED panels), which is the successor to the tech in the magnificent LG G5 flagship.
Compared to existing mini-LED TVs, the new tech promises even brighter TVs (or the same brightness with less energy use), more vivid colors, and potentially better contrast. With Samsung, LG, Hisense, TCL all either confirmed or very likely to show these TVs off during CES, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do.
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Top of my list to see from this leak is the Samsung S99H model. Previously, Samsung's flagship OLEDs have been 'S95', and based on Samsung's usual naming schemes, 'S99' would be even higher-end than that. What kind of tech would make something even more elite than the Samsung S95F, which we crowned as our TV of the Year 2025?
Last year, Dolby Vision 2 was unveiled, promising to improve HDR further for budget TVs, making pictures even more accurate for high-end bright TVs, and fixing motion smoothing for good measure.
I got to see Dolby Vision 2 in action, and it looks genuinely impressive, but we had very little info about when and where we'd see it in our homes. I'm hoping we'll get more confirmation at CES about streaming platforms and TVs that will support it – we know Hisense will, and TCL very heavily implied that it will, so we may hear more about that. LG was much more cagey, but perhaps that'll be confirmed, too. Samsung is unlikely to change its stance on not supporting Dolby Vision.
Home theater sound
6. Samsung's Sonos Arc Ultra competitor
Ahead of CES, Samsung has announced its next two flagship soundbars. One is an all-in-one bar that's a square shot across the bow of the Sonos Arc Ultra, as an all-in-one that doesn't come with or need a separate subwoofer to deliver impactful sound.
It promises 7.1.2 channels of sound with Dolby Atmos support, meaning seven forward and angle 'surround' channels, two upfiring height channels, and bass provided by four dedicated woofers.
It can lie flat on a TV surface, or can be mounted to the wall in an upright configuration, and adjusts its sound automatically whichever way you have it. It's Samsung's first go at a high-end single-unit soundbar that I can recall, so I'm eager to hear what its audio engineers can do. We consistently rate its other soundbars among the best soundbars on the planet, after all.
7. LG's Dolby Atmos FlexConnect soundbar
(Image credit: LG)
Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is one of the most interesting bits of home theater tech of the last few years, but it's had a very gentle start to life. The idea is that it enables you to be way more flexible with where you position speakers for your sound system – you pick the location, and the system will detect where they are, and recalibrate how sound is output to match them, creating immersive sound even if you don't have room for speaker position in the usual front left, front right, center, rear left and rear right positions.
We know very little about this yet, but as a home theater fan with a small house, I'm very intrigued by it. Ultimea is best known for cheap soundbars, and it makes some impressive ones – but it's launching a new, very powerful and intriguing model at CES.
Ultimea has teased a 9.2.6-channel surround system that looks like a super-immersive beast. A soundbar combines with four satellite speakers – side and rear – and dual subwoofers for a system that's really elaborate, yet appears to be very compact and simple.
I'm really looking forward to trying this – if it's affordable (and history says it will be, compared to anything remotely close to its configuration). It could be the dream option for home theater enthusiasts with very limited space.
The Music Studio 5 has basically the same speaker setup as the Sonos Era 100, and is a similar size; the Music Studio 7 has basically the same spatial audio-friendly speaker setup as the Sonos Era 300.
Will they sound as good as these speakers and be priced competitively? I'm really looking forward to finding out.
10. New bargain, repairable buds from JLab
We don't have any leaks about this, but JLab is always high on my list of companies to visit. The company makes some of the best cheap earbuds out there, and regularly surprises me at events with some new set of buds that feature impressive tech for half the price you'd guess, even knowing the company is a budget specialist.
One thing we do know is that JLab is hot on the future of earbuds being repairable – I suspect that CES 2026 will bring models with replaceable batteries at the very least.
I don't know what to expect from CES 2025, but I know there's going to be something I've never seen before.
12. Japanese hi-fi greats Onkyo and Technics
The hi-fi world has a variable relationship with CES – there are plenty of dedicated audio shows for companies to launch at, so these companies don't always go hard at CES.
I don't know what the companies have planned this time, and there haven't been any big early leaks, but I always recommend keeping an eye out for their announcements.
TechRadar will be extensively covering this year'sCES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to ourCES 2026 newspage for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.
Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
