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Will Dolby Atmos finally have some real competition? Samsung Electronics America has announced that its 2025 TV and soundbar lineup will include Eclipsa Audio, a 3D audio format developed in partnership with Google.

The company claims Eclipsa Audio allows content creators to direct sounds with more precise location and intensity, aiming to offer viewers a more enveloping audio experience. With DTS:X and Auro-3D taking a back seat to Atmos, perhaps there's an opening for a format that's a more open platform for creators.

Taeyong Son, Executive Vice President and Head of the R&D Team, Visual Display Business at Samsung, describes the integration as part of the company’s effort to “shape the future of home entertainment.” Samsung, which identifies itself as the world’s top-selling TV brand for 18 consecutive years, says it will build Eclipsa Audio into products ranging from its Crystal UHD series to flagship Neo QLED 8K models.

Beginning in 2025, Samsung says creators will be able to upload videos with Eclipsa Audio tracks to YouTube. Devices that incorporate this audio format will be certified in partnership with the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), a move Samsung and Google say is intended to ensure consistent quality.

Google’s Vice President of Engineering, Jim Bankoski, believes Eclipsa Audio “has the potential to change the way we experience sound” and says the company is eager to see how content creators push this technology further. While we’ll have to wait for final products and real-world tests, Samsung’s partnership with Google is an early signal that 3D audio could be a growing focus of home entertainment in the coming year.

Immersive audio formats aren’t new to the market: Dolby Atmos first emerged in theaters around 2012, followed by a home release the next year. DTS:X arrived in 2015, embracing a similar object-based approach that lets sounds move fluidly around a listener. Auro-3D traces its origins back to 2006, focusing on height layers to add a true sense of vertical dimension. All three have carved out places in home theaters, offering variations on the same promise: a more realistic listening experience that expands beyond traditional channel-based setups.

Samsung’s Eclipsa is positioned by the company as another step forward in immersive audio, with an emphasis on dynamic spatial reflections and advanced creator controls. Where other formats distribute sound objects within specific grids or layers, Samsung and Google claim Eclipsa can manage audio data even more precisely—though real-world performance remains to be heard. If Eclipsa delivers on its goal of seamless integration with popular platforms and devices, it could capture some of the spotlight currently shared by the more established 3D audio solutions.