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    Gaming hardware in 2026: a crash course

    Three hardware stories stand out in 2026. Monitors reached 720Hz, including LG Display's first panel to do so at native 1080p,[1] though studies have found no significant gain beyond 144Hz in the range they tested.[2] Soundbars now pass console features such as VRR through.[3] And carmakers such as Volkswagen are adding games to car screens, mostly for parked cars.[4]

    Editor reviewedUpdated Gaming

    This crash course covers three gaming-hardware topics in October 2026: very high refresh-rate monitors, soundbars for gaming, and games in cars. ContentLora does not test products. Buying advice comes from published specifications, dated prices and independent reviewers’ measurements, all cited. Choose a reading level in each section.

    Monitors: the race to 720Hz

    Gaming monitors now refresh up to 720 times a second. Most 720Hz models are 27-inch screens that reach that speed only at a lower resolution.[5] In September 2026 LG Display began making a 24.5-inch panel that does it at full 1080p, first used in an ASUS monitor reported at $1,099.[6][7] Studies show clear benefits up to about 144-240Hz.[8] One 2026 study found no significant difference between 144Hz and 360Hz.[2]

    The 27-inch 1440p RGB Tandem OLEDs run 540Hz natively and 720Hz at 720p.[5] LG Display’s 24.5-inch panel reaches 720Hz at native 1920x1080, with a quoted 0.02 ms response time.[1] The frame interval falls from 2.78 ms at 360Hz to 1.39 ms at 720Hz,[9] but controlled studies stop at 360Hz. The largest recent one (N = 101) found no significant performance difference between 144Hz and 360Hz.[2][10] Start with Do 480Hz and 720Hz monitors matter?.

    Soundbars: latency and HDMI features

    For games, sound must stay in sync with the picture, so low delay matters.[11] If you plug a console into a soundbar, the bar must pass on gaming features such as VRR. Some, like Samsung’s HW-Q800H, do; others, like the Hisense AX5140Q, lack 4K 120Hz passthrough.[3][12]

    RTINGS targets near-0 ms ARC/eARC latency and HDMI-in latency matched to the display.[11][13] eARC carries lossless and object-based formats, with mandatory lip-sync correction.[14][15] Passthrough support varies widely between models.[16][17][18]

    Cars: games on the dashboard

    Tesla Arcade brought games to car screens in 2019, playable in Park.[19] AirConsole now offers phone-controlled party games at BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and others.[20] US safety regulators pushed Tesla to switch off games that could be played while moving.[21]

    NHTSA’s Passenger Play investigation found in-motion use with no front passenger detected in about a third of trips with Passenger Play use, and concluded that technological lockouts are needed.[22][23] Google classes car games as parked apps,[24] and Volkswagen’s 2026 US AirConsole launch is parked-only.[4] Audi permits front-passenger play in motion behind an active privacy mode.[25]

    How to use this course

    Read the refresh-rate explainer first, then the monitor tracker and buyer’s guide. Next come the soundbar explainer and roundup, then the in-car gaming explainer, the two platform pages and the tracker. The trackers are updated as new products and announcements arrive.

    Questions readers ask

    Are 720Hz monitors worth it?

    The evidence is thin. A 2026 study found no significant performance difference between 144Hz and 360Hz, and no study cited here tested 720Hz. The monitors are aimed at esports players.[2][10][26]

    What should a gaming soundbar have?

    Low latency over ARC/eARC, eARC support, and, if the console plugs into the bar, passthrough that keeps VRR and ALLM.[11][14][3]

    Can you play video games in a car?

    Yes, on many new cars, but mostly while parked. Volkswagen, BMW and Tesla limit play to parked cars, while Audi allows front-passenger play in motion behind a privacy screen.[4][27][19][25]

    Did ContentLora test these products?

    No. The product pages are sourced roundups of manufacturer specifications, reported prices and independent reviewers' findings, mainly from RTINGS.[28][16]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      LG Display says its 24.5-inch panel runs at 720Hz at its native Full HD (1920x1080) resolution, using a proprietary driving algorithm, with a quoted 0.02 ms response time. confirmedas of 2026-09-21

    2. [2]

      In the same 2026 study, target-acquisition performance did not differ significantly between 144Hz and 360Hz, and the authors suggest 144Hz as a possible threshold beyond which gains are marginal. confirmedas of 2026-06-01

    3. [3]

      RTINGS describes the Samsung HW-Q800H as a 2026 5.1.2-channel bar-plus-subwoofer whose video passthrough supports VRR, HDR and ALLM, with a virtual surround mode but no DTS format support. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    4. [4]

      Volkswagen says AirConsole lets occupants play multiplayer games on the infotainment screen while parked, joining by scanning a QR code so their smartphones act as controllers, with 20 games at launch. confirmedas of 2026-09-23

    5. [5]

      A 27-inch 2560x1440 RGB Tandem OLED panel used by Acer, ASUS, LG and ViewSonic monitors runs at 540Hz at native resolution and switches to 720Hz at 1280x720 in a dual mode. confirmedas of 2025-12-12

    6. [6]

      On 21 September 2026 LG Display announced the launch and start of mass production of a 24.5-inch 720Hz gaming OLED panel, which it describes as the first OLED panel tailored specifically for esports. confirmedas of 2026-09-21

    7. [7]

      Hardware Busters reported that the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG259QWS Ace is due early in the fourth quarter of 2026 at $1,099 (EUR 1,149). reportedas of 2026-09-21

    8. [8]

      A 2019 NVIDIA study published in the Journal of Vision found that performance in a moving-target aiming task improved steadily from 60Hz to 120Hz to 240Hz on an LCD monitor. confirmedas of 2019-09-06

    9. [9]

      At 720Hz a new frame is shown every 1.39 ms, compared with 2.78 ms at 360Hz. confirmedas of 2026-09-21

    10. [10]

      None of the peer-reviewed refresh-rate studies cited here tested displays above 360Hz; the highest rates tested were 240Hz (NVIDIA 2019, Qin 2024) and 360Hz (Toth et al. 2026). confirmedas of 2026-10-10· interpretation

    11. [11]

      RTINGS advises that because most TVs synchronise ARC/eARC audio and video, a soundbar's audio latency over that connection should be as close to 0 ms as possible. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    12. [12]

      RTINGS describes the Hisense AX5140Q as a 5.1.4-channel system with dedicated satellites and no 4K 120Hz video passthrough. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    13. [13]

      For a soundbar's own HDMI input, RTINGS advises that audio latency should match the display's video latency as closely as possible. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    14. [14]

      HDMI eARC carries audio from a TV to a soundbar or AV receiver over a single HDMI cable and supports uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1 audio, up to 32 channels, and formats including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    15. [15]

      RTINGS notes that Lip Sync Correction is mandatory on eARC but only optional on ARC. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    16. [16]

      RTINGS describes the Samsung HW-Q990H as the 11.1.4-channel successor to the HW-Q990F, with 4K 120Hz HDMI passthrough and some bass compression near maximum volume. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    17. [17]

      RTINGS found that the JBL Bar 1000MK2's detachable wireless satellites show latency relative to the bar and subwoofer with Dolby Atmos, and that it does not meet HDMI 2.1 video-passthrough requirements. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    18. [18]

      RTINGS notes that the Sonos Arc Ultra, an all-in-one bar Sonos says reproduces a 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos experience, has no full HDMI input. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    19. [19]

      According to NHTSA, Tesla Arcade was introduced in June 2019 and let occupants play games on the centre screen with the car in Park, ending gameplay if the car was shifted out of Park. confirmedas of 2023-05-26

    20. [20]

      AirConsole is made by N-Dream, a Zurich-based subsidiary of KPIT Technologies, whose automaker partners include BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Tata. confirmedas of 2026-09-23

    21. [21]

      Tesla disabled Passenger Play in moving vehicles with firmware release 2021.44.25.1 in response to NHTSA's request, and reported a 97% over-the-air completion rate a month later. confirmedas of 2023-05-26

    22. [22]

      Tesla's data showed that in about a third of the trips with Passenger Play use, the game was used in motion with no front passenger detected. confirmedas of 2023-05-26

    23. [23]

      NHTSA concluded that many drivers disregard on-screen notifications and that technological lockouts are needed to prevent non-driving tasks while a vehicle is moving. confirmedas of 2023-05-26

    24. [24]

      Google's Android for Cars documentation treats games as "parked apps" meant for use while the car is parked, and Android Auto supports parked-app categories such as games on phones running Android 15 or later. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    25. [25]

      In July 2025 AirConsole and Audi enabled front-passenger gaming while driving on Audi models with a passenger display, using an active privacy mode that blocks the screen from the driver's view; gaming had previously been limited to when the car was parked. confirmedas of 2025-07-01

    26. [26]

      LG Display says esports monitors are mainly in the 24-inch class because players can see the whole screen at a glance. confirmedas of 2026-09-21

    27. [27]

      In October 2022 BMW announced it would bring AirConsole games to new vehicles starting with the BMW 7 Series in 2023, playable only while parked, using smartphones as controllers. confirmedas of 2022-10-11

    28. [28]

      RTINGS found that the LG 27GX790B-B has very sharp motion at any refresh rate and low input lag in certain gaming picture modes, but distracting VRR flicker when the frame rate changes quickly. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Gaming hardware in 2026: a crash course." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/explain/gaming-hardware-2026

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