LG is teaming up with Dolby for a new collection of speakers that the companies are unveiling ahead of CES 2026. The LG Sound Suite features a modular lineup the H7 soundbar, M7 and M5 wireless surround speakers and the W7 subwoofer. The speakers can be combined in more than two dozen different configurations, from a pair to a full 13.1.7 channel surround sound home theater setup.
The main pitch of the LG Sound Suite is its application of Dolby Atmos FlexConnect. This is the audio brand’s tech for optimizing sound from wherever wireless speakers are placed. It’s meant to deliver optimal sound even from unusual locations, even when you’re limited by outlet locations, furniture placement or other quirks of a room’s layout. The collaboration with LG brings FlexConnect to a soundbar for the first time. When the H7 soundbar is used as the lead device, the suite will bring Dolby Atmos FlexConnect audio to any television. In a future software update, LG will also bring support for Dolby Atmos FlexConnect directly to some of its premium TVs, including select 2025 models.
Sony has been on a roll lately with lots of gaming peripherals (including the Inzone H9 II gaming headset that may actually justify its big price tag), and it’s apparently not ready to stop just yet. PlayStation just announced its Pulse Elevate wireless speakers, which support PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, and the PlayStation Portal, and they may potentially be useful for anyone who doesn’t love constantly wearing a headset.
Inside the Pulse Elevate, Sony says it’s including “studio-inspired planar magnetic drivers” that are designed to give you “lifelike sound across the entire audible spectrum.” I can’t say for sure what that sounds like yet, but if it’s anything close to the audio quality of the H9 II, it’ll be a hit for me. There are built-in woofers, too, so you’ll still get some low end. On top of that, there are also built-in mics with “AI-enhanced noise rejection,” which is just a fancy way of saying the speakers will cancel environmental noise while you’re talking. If this feature actually works as advertised, it should be good news for anyone who plans to substitute a gaming headset with these speakers, either fully or partially.
Another nice addition is PlayStation Link compatibility, which means you’ll be able to get low-latency sound on PS5, PC, Mac, and PlayStation Portal. As always, you’ll need to use the provided dongle for Link, which transmits audio faster and at higher fidelity than a standard Bluetooth connection. One last twist here is that Sony is building in some portability to the Pulse Elevate. The wireless speakers have rechargeable batteries, so you can take them elsewhere to use with your Portal (again, if you have one of those) and then charge them in a provided dock when you’re done. If you want to connect a phone or another device with a standard Bluetooth connection, you can do that, too.
One thing we don’t know is how much the Pule Elevate speakers will cost, but Sony says they’ll be available in Midnight Black and White when they’re released sometime next year. PlayStation gaming peripherals have been pricey as of late, so I would expect a decent-sized price tag. That being said, if they sound as good as the H9 II, they might be worth every penny.
Sony’s lineup of gaming-focused audio devices is growing with the addition of the PlayStation Pulse Elevate wireless speakers. They work with PC, Mac, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation Portal, and they support Bluetooth and Sony’s proprietary PlayStation Link Wireless connection scheme. The Pulse Elevate speakers come in white or black, and they’re due to hit the market in 2026. There’s no word on price just yet.
The Pulse Elevate speakers can be set on charging stands when playing at your desk, or they can be disconnected and used in portable mode. When not docked, they have (an unspecified number of) “hours of battery life,” according to Sony’s hype trailer. The speakers support 3D audio, they can be tilted back, and they have planar magnetic drivers, built-in woofers and an integrated mic with noise reduction.
The PlayStation Pulse Elevate speakers join Sony’s Pulse Elite gaming headset and Pulse Explore earbuds. The earbuds retail for $200 and the headset goes for $150, so feel free to use these price points as the foundation of indiscriminate speculation about how much the Elevate speakers will cost when they land next year.
Twice the battery life of other pill speakers in this range
Cons
Low-end could have been punchier
Not the most rugged and robust for being taken on the go
Beats finally realized it used to make speakers, too. The Apple-owned audio brand released its last speaker, Pill+, around a decade ago, and recently came out with its successor, Pill, in June.
The Pill is priced at $150 and I couldn’t help but compare it to the recently-released $130 Sony Ult Field 1 throughout my testing. It has the same pill shape design, a mono output system, and a mid-range price that targets non-audiophiles who want decent, room-filling sound for picnics, hiking, or solo listening.
Beats Pill Review: Design
Wouldn’t be my top choice for a hiking trip.
Design-wise, you can tell Beats attempted to maximize portability on the Pill. It features a generous amount of shock-resistant rubber along with silicon, and a long lanyard that can loop onto your backpack for a hiking trip. The Pill is also rated IP67, which is the highest level of dust resistance you can get and almost the highest water resistance (IP68 is the highest). It checks all the boxes and would even be sufficient for the average consumer who wants to carry some big audio with them in a small package to places like the beach or park.
But if you’re someone who likes to always take your speaker everywhere you go (me), you’d probably be more comfortable taking the Ult Field 1 on an adventure. It’s also rated IP67 but sports a considerably more rugged look and an overall sturdier-looking body. I like that its Type-C charging port is covered with a rubberized flap to prevent water from getting inside. The exposed USB-C port on the Beats Pill, in contrast, would slightly concern me if I’m at the beach or around the pool.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Both speakers feature the lanyard, but Sony does it much better. The lanyard on the Ult Field 1 is much thicker, looks more durable and robust, and also offers an additional loop along the body of the speaker that doubles as a handle when you’re taking it on the go. The Ult Field 1 is also noticeably lighter at 650g versus the Pill, which weighs 680g.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Beats Pill Review: Battery Life
Twice of what you’d get on a speaker this size.
Though design might be the only area where the Pill outshines the Ult Field 1. In terms of battery life, the Pill lasts a whopping 24 hours, while the Field 1 gives up after 12 hours. My usage of the Pill has been sporadic over a couple of weeks, and I still haven’t had to charge it yet. It also features a few bells and whistles that other speakers in this range—the Ult Field 1, and Sonos Roam 2— don’t offer. You get lossless audio over a USB-C connection so you can enjoy hi-res audio while the speaker is connected to your laptop or other compatible devices. I felt a slight upgrade in audio, but not enough for me to be tethered to a wire when I can go wireless.
I’m also happy about Beats finally targeting Android users and introducing the same native features for it as it does for iOS. The Pill offers the same one-touch connectivity with both systems as well as a Find My (for iOS) for Find My Device (for Android) option. Following the EU mandate, Beats has also moved from a lightning port on the Pill’s predecessor to a USB-C port on the Pill, which further eases compatibility with non-Apple devices.
Beats Pill Review: Sound
Better for high-end than bass.
Beats promises a new, revamped racetrack woofer that apparently pushes 90% more air for more powerful bass. After listening to some Fred Again on both speakers, I would still recommend the Ult Field 1 if you’re into the kind of overpowering bass that sometimes takes over other elements of your orchestra. Even with its bass boost button off, the Pill delivers rich and powerful low-end sound. Some bass-heavy tracks might come off a little thick or overbearing, but you can simply choose to turn it down in such cases.
The Pill performs better in the mids (or vocals) and treble. The vocals track that is layered onto “Marea” sounded much clearer on the Pill. The orchestra didn’t sound clustered and featured sufficient space for each of its elements to shine on its own. Beats claim its tweeter has been upgraded to offer crisp highs and rich mids and this is a claim I could attest to after jamming to a few treble-heavy songs.
Another fancy feature that the Pill is surprisingly generous enough to provide in its modest price tag is Amplify and Stereo Modes. You can pair two Pills for upgraded sound in Amplify Mode where it does exactly what the name of the mode suggests: provide louder sound. Or you can put them in Stereo Mode where the speakers act as left and right outputs. I tried the modes on the pair of Pills Beats sent to us, and they were extremely easy to set up. You bring the two speakers close to each other and long-press the multi-function button on the speaker to enable or cycle between them. I can imagine Amplify Mode coming in handy during a house party where you can place two speakers in two different rooms.
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Beats Pill Review: Verdict
I believe the Pill is a modestly-priced speaker that offers so much more than you would expect from it. It also has seemingly no premium for being made by Apple, commonly referred to as the Apple Tax, which is surprising. At just $150, it features impressive high-end and mids, a bunch of portability-focused features, and some frills such as the Amplify and Stereo Modes or the lossless audio over USB-C. There are punchier low-end alternatives out there for the same price so I wouldn’t recommend the Pill for just the bass. The 24-hour battery life is more than double what you get on similar speakers in this range (10-15 hours) and the new Android compatibility features extend the target audience who want to carry around a small speaker that can produce some big audio.
