Samsung’s HW-Q990H has long been the system to beat in the premium wireless-surround category, and Hisense has decided to challenge it head-on. At IFA 2026 in Berlin the company previewed the UX1, its first soundbar for 2027 — a four-piece Dolby Atmos package built around a main soundbar, a wireless subwoofer and two wireless satellite speakers. Hisense claims the whole system can output 1840W.
The numbers behind that figure are just as bold. The UX1 is an 11.2.6-channel system with 26 individual drive units spread across the soundbar, subwoofer and surrounds — 14 of them, according to What Hi-Fi?’s count at the Hisense stand, in the main soundbar alone. Both the bar and the satellite speakers carry side-firing and up-firing drivers, the hardware that matters most for convincing Dolby Atmos height effects and the enveloping “bubble of sound” that defines the best premium packages.
The subwoofer takes a page from Samsung’s own playbook: it uses dual opposing 8-inch woofers, a layout Hisense says helps reduce unwanted bass distortion — essentially the same recipe found in the HW-Q990H’s sub. The design philosophy diverges from there, though. Where Samsung’s subwoofer is compact and discreet, the Hisense unit is a far more imposing box, combining sharp lines with smoothed edges.
The name is no accident. Hisense already sells a UX range of flagship TVs — including made-to-order Micro LED sets and 116-inch RGB Mini LED models — and the UX1 was conceived as the dedicated audio companion to that premium line-up. The company’s IFA stand devoted a whole section to soundbars, party boomboxes and portable wireless speakers, signalling a serious push into audio for 2026 and 2027.
There is also encouraging precedent. Hisense’s budget AX5125H Dolby Atmos soundbar system won a What Hi-Fi? Award, and the UX1 is effectively a flagship-grade take on the same wireless-surround concept. Scaling a winning budget formula upmarket doesn’t always work, but it gives the UX1 a stronger starting point than most newcomers in this class.
The open question is price. As a 2027 product, the UX1 has no announced pricing as of September 2026, and value for money is precisely where the fight with Samsung will be decided. What Hi-Fi?’s reporter, who saw the system running looping demo content in Berlin, came away suggesting Samsung should be nervous — and that the next iteration of the HW-Q990H may need to be more than an incremental update to stay ahead.
