Samsung HW-Q700C

The Samsung HW-Q700C is a mid-range soundbar with a wireless subwoofer and no rear speakers, using up-firing drivers for Dolby Atmos height effects.

It sits in the sensible middle of Samsung’s range: substantially better than a basic bar because of the separate subwoofer, and substantially cheaper than the flagship packages because there are no rears.

What Apple Home actually does with it

This is an AirPlay 2 device rather than a HomeKit accessory.

• It appears in the Home app as a speaker you can play to, and as an AirPlay target in Control Centre.
• You can put it in a room and group it with HomePods for synchronised multi-room audio.
• Siri can send music to it by room name.
• It can be the audio output in a scene or an automation.

Television sound does not go through Apple Home at all. That arrives over HDMI ARC or optical from the television, and the soundbar’s own remote and app control the modes and the volume.

Before you buy

The subwoofer is the reason this beats a single-bar system. It is wireless in the sense that no audio cable runs to it, but it still needs a mains socket, so plan where it will stand.

If you want real surround sound, Samsung sells rear speaker kits that pair to this bar, or the HW-Q990C includes them.

Q-Symphony only works with a Samsung television.

Specifications