Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is one of the coolest bits of tech I've seen in years, and it's finally coming in a speaker you can buy
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
The first speaker that works with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, the TCL Z100, has finally been unveiled – though as with most announcements in these days of regularly changing tariffs, there's no exact price or release date yet.
Announced back in 2023, the idea with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is that you don't need to think about where you're placing the speakers to get home theater sound – you don't even need to have pairs of them placed symmetrically.
Put one next to the TV, one on the shelf to your right, one directly behind you – whatever's convenient for your space is fine. The system will then map the placement acoustically and will adjust the speaker output to give the best version of Dolby Atmos-powered surround sound that it can from those positions.
You can have up to four of the TCL Z100 speakers in one configuration, and each speaker is a 1.1.1 audio configuration on its own (a forward-facing driver, a bass driver, and an upfiring driver) – though when combined, they can produce something akin to virtual 7.1.2 audio, according to TCL. That includes a compatible TV providing two channels, including the center channel.
Speaking of which, the speakers must be connected to a suitable Dolby Atmos FlexConnect hub, which can handle the mapping and processing. Right now, that means getting one of TCL's 2025 mini-LED TVs.
TCL is the only company offering products for the launch of FlexConnect, though other companies have pledged support in the future – and it should also be possible for one of the best soundbars to be the FlexConnect hub in the future.
They also support playing music over Bluetooth – two can work in a stereo pair to play music from your phone.
As you might expect for a Dolby-specific product, there's no built-in DTS support. However, the TCL TVs that are necessary to make the system work all support DTS:X, and the idea is that they'll decode the DTS sound (including DTS:X), process it in 7.1.2 channels, and then convert it for the virtual surround system for your configuration, so you should get something close to full-fat DTS.
Although there's no price, we've been told by TCL's European arm to expect a price approaching €300 – and usually Euro and US Dollar prices convert very closely, though the final amount will depend on the latest tariffs. UK prices will be close to the Euro price.
I've seen this technology in action a few times since its announcement in 2023, and it's very impressive – though the speakers I saw it demoed with were more elaborate than the TCL Z100 have turned out to be.
Those had side-firing drivers as well as forward and up-firing drivers, potentially giving them more control over the steering of virtual sound. It was amazing in my demos how two speakers – one at the front to the right of the TV, and one behind and to the left of me – could create a broadly immersive sound with steering of sounds in basically all directions.
Whether the Z100 can do this as well remains to be seen, and either way, the system isn't going to match just having speakers in all the right places – but that's just not possible for everyone.
I think there's real value in having speakers that can be placed not just imperfectly, but in totally odd places, and still get something more immersive than TV sound alone from them.
The one other thing missing from this announcement, though, is bass. I've been told that the FlexConnect system can support a subwoofer, but there's no sign of one here – hopefully that will come before too long.
Update: Dolby and TCL have informed me that a subwoofer that's compatible with the system is coming in summer 2025, which also gives us an indication of when to expect these speakers to launch.
Loewe unveils a wireless Dolby Atmos TV speaker system that's half the price of Sony's Bravia Quad, and I'm tempted
Dali's mega-powerful 16-inch ported subwoofer wants to shake your home theater to bits, in a good way
I've been watching the latest 4K Blu-rays with a flagship OLED TV and soundbar setup for six months – here are my 7 favorites so far
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Satellites are polluting Earth's atmosphere with heavy metals. Could refueling them in orbit help?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The world at large is working to stop the fast-progressing degradation of Earth's environment. In the space sector, however, one-use-only products still reign supreme. The advent of megaconstellations has, in fact, accelerated the rate at which the space industry burns through resources, shifting from big satellites with decades-long lifespans to cheaper birds designed to expire within a few short years. The disposable approach worries some researchers, as too much aluminum is burning up in the atmosphere these days, threatening to cause a new kind of environmental disaster in the decades to come. But what can we do? Should we roll back the space revolution and put a cap on what we can do in space? Or could a circular economy, life extension, recycling and reuse be the solution to the space industry's dirty side effects? Proponents of in-orbit servicing and refueling laud the technology's potential. But most analysts remain cautious: Without strict environmental regulations, the expected cost of in-orbit servicing may not entice satellite operators to switch to reusable technology en masse. Dave Barnhart, chief executive officer of the California-based aerospace company Arkisys, first began developing concepts of recyclable satellite technology some 15 years ago as part of a project he oversaw at DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). He and his colleagues investigated how to set up a satellite recycling facility in geostationary orbit — the region about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth's surface where satellites appear fixed above one spot above the equator. "We wanted to know whether we can use parts from old geo satellites to recreate new ones, because the mass is already there," Barnhart told The geostationary ring is home to some of the largest and most expensive satellites. On top of that, the long distance between Earth and this orbit makes geo missions inherently costly, as they require the most powerful rockets with a lot of fuel to reach their destination. Yet, Arkisys, the company Barnhart cofounded in 2015, is focusing on low Earth orbit (LEO) — the buzzing region closest to Earth up to altitudes of about 1,200 miles (2,000 km). Arkisyshopes to set up an in-orbit servicing and refueling depot called the Port in LEO. The main goal is to spearhead a green revolution in this region, which gives rise to thousands of tons of dangerous space debris every year. "To date, everything we have ever designed to go into space has been one mission, one life," Barnhart told "It's sort of crazy. Every other domain on Earth, we maintain, we sustain, we grow. Not in space." In 2023, Arkisys secured a $1.6 million deal from the U.S. Space Force to test satellite assembly in orbit using the Port demo module — a basic building block of a scalable orbiting garage and gas station. The company wants to launch the first component of this orbital depot next year — a last-mile transportation device called the Cutter, which is designed to help satellites to dock with the garage. In 2027, the main Port module, a hexagonal structure about 9 feet (3 meters) wide, will join the Cutter in orbit to test how the mechanical interfaces of the two work together in space. The Port, in addition to serving as a fuel depot, will arrive with a supply of components and payloads that could be attached to worn-out satellites to give them a new lease on life. "Today, everything on a satellite is done on the ground, and the satellite is launched with an end date," Barnhart said. "We want to shift that to allow extensions of both — life and business — post-launch. We want to be able to add new revenue streams post-launch. You can do that if you can add something, change something in orbit, or even sell that satellite to somebody else who could make it part of a larger platform." Cameras or antennas could be replaced with more powerful ones once those get developed, worn-out batteries could be swapped for brand-new ones, and fuel tanks would get refilled. It all makes sense on paper, but Dafni Christodoulopoulou, space industry analyst at the consultancy company Analysis Mason, warns that whether satellite operators would be inclined to ditch their disposable ways will come down to the cost of the in-orbit maintenance services. LEO is currently dominated by small, relatively cheap satellites, she says, which can be replaced more cheaply than they can be serviced and maintained. "Right now, we expect in-orbit services to come at a cost that might be quite high for operators of small satellites," Christodoulopoulou told "The operators might not be interested in those services, because the price of building a new satellite might not be higher than that of a servicing mission." Barnhart agrees that the fledgling in-orbit servicing industry is likely to face resistance not just from operators but also from satellite manufacturers, who might feel threatened by the idea of reusability and life extension. "Every time you want to make a big shift like this, it's going to be a threat," Barnhart said. "Satellite manufacturers make money by building more satellites to throw away. It might take some time for them to see that by fitting satellites with interfaces that allow them to be serviced, they could actually add some cool functionality to them after launch." Related stories: — Kessler Syndrome and the space debris problem — Pollution from rocket launches and burning satellites could cause the next environmental emergency — 2 private satellites undock after pioneering life-extension mission Still, Christodoulopoulou thinks that in-orbit servicing will eventually make a difference to how things are done in space, and also to the state of the orbital environment. "The number of satellite launches is not expected to go down, so there will be a high need for constellation management, flexibility, disposal and life extension," she said. "I think in-orbit services can definitely help prevent the buildup of space debris and maintain long-term sustainability in orbit." The U.S. government certainly appears to think that life extension is the way forward. In addition to funding the Arkisys experiment, the Space Force also funds the Tetra-5 and Tetra-6 missions to test in-orbit refueling technologies in space. The two missions, designed to test hardware developed by Orbit Fab, Astroscale and Northrop Grumman, are set to launch in 2026 and 2027, respectively. In addition, intensifying geopolitical tensions are increasing the need for quick deployment of new systems in space, which, Barnhart says, could be more speedily addressed with servicing systems such as the Port, than by building new spacecraft from scratch on Earth. "If there is a new threat that has been identified, you might need a new type of sensor or a new payload to observe it," Barnhart said. "If we can augment the satellites that the government has already put up and provide them with a new capability, a new sensor, we can address those threats much faster." Christodoulopoulou thinks that new regulations designed to protect the environment and curb the air pollution related to satellite reentries could further help move the needle toward a less throwaway culture in space utilization. "There need to be a few changes," Christodoulopoulou said. "There needs to be more awareness among satellite operators to understand that in-orbit servicing offers a value in the long term. But also on the government side, there need to be more regulations to support the in-orbit servicing providers."
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Body Language Expert Says Prince William "Sad and Subdued," as Royal Aides Claim Kate Middleton Missing Royal Ascot Is "No Cause for Alarm"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Royal fans were shocked when Kate Middleton canceled her appearance at Royal Ascot on June 18 at the very last minute. Former royal butler Grant Harrold suggested Prince William would "definitely feel the void" of Kate's absence, via Spin Genie. Now, palace insiders are setting the record straight about Princess Kate's decision to skip Royal Ascot, while a body language expert has weighed in on the Prince of Wales's solo appearance. At the time, royal sources said the Princess of Wales was extremely "disappointed" to miss the prestigious event, but she needed "to find the right balance as she continues her recovery from cancer and a phased return to full duties," via The Sunday Times's royal editor, Roya Nikkhah, on X. However, GB News has since reported that "palace insiders moved quickly to quell any speculation, insisting the situation stemmed from administrative confusion rather than health concerns." As reported by GB News, "Royal sources stressed there was 'no cause for alarm' and that Kate was adhering to the guidance previously given about finding the right equilibrium in her duties." As for how an alleged mistake about Princess Kate's attendance could have occurred, GB News stated, "The administrative mix-up unfolded when Ascot executives released the day's procession list at midday, listing both the Prince and Princess of Wales in the second carriage behind The King and Queen." It would seem that, according to palace insiders, the Princess of Wales had chosen to skip Royal Ascot long before the public became aware of her decision. Body language expert Judi James analyzed Prince William's appearance at Royal Ascot on June 18, telling the Express, "While his father, The King, chatted happily to their guest in the carriage, using some animated, good-humored body language displays, William seemed to sit back quietly with a slightly slumped posture, looking subdued and rather reflective without Kate at his side." James told the outlet that the Prince of Wales appeared to be "sad and subdued" at the regal event.
Wall Street Journal
11 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
What's Ahead for Travel
The Future of Everything looks at the innovation and technology transforming the way we live, work and play, covering health, artificial intelligence and more. Here, we look at what's ahead for travel. Companies explore new ways to navigate and pass the time in self-driving cars
