Audio is quietly becoming the most transformative innovation at CES 2026 — not flashy screens, but interactive, everywhere sound — especially inside cars.
SiriusXM's Lizzie Collins revealed behind-closed-doors "secret" demos with automakers, showing how audio is evolving from passive background filler to an interactive, bi-directional experience drivers (and soon passengers) can actively engage with.
Here are some glimpses of modern connected car audio interfaces and advanced in-car sound systems being showcased around CES:
This shift is huge: Audio now follows you everywhere — cooking, working out, driving — and makes up 32% of entertainment time because it's effortless. SiriusXM reaches ~170 million monthly listeners across satellite, streaming, and podcasts.
Yet marketers massively undervalue it: Only 4% of ad dollars flow to audio, largely due to outdated measurement habits that lump everything into one bucket and expect display-like clicks.
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| Lizzie Collins |
The car is the next big frontier. Modern vehicles are already data-rich "big phones" with constant connectivity. As autonomy approaches, media consumption in cars could explode.
SiriusXM is quietly exploring live, participatory audio: real-time call-ins, polls, voice-activated queries straight to studios — turning passive listening into conversation, especially for Gen Z who demand interaction.
Collins sums up the bigger picture: CES has moved from living-room TVs to intimate, body-integrated tech. Audio accelerated fastest — from location-bound to omnipresent and responsive.
This year in Las Vegas, the real story wasn't what you saw — it was what you heard, and what you'll soon interact with on every drive.