The newest surround sound formats in home audio are Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. By adding overhead sound, these formats project sound into the space around you, into more physical locations within the room, to give a more enveloping experience. Neither is necessarily better, but Dolby Atmos seems more ubiquitous.
The biggest improvement that Dolby Atmos and DTS:X made over previous systems is the speaker placement. To get the most out of these systems, you should install overhead speakers. Audio engineers working with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X already added this overhead layer of auditory directionality to their production, so by adding the aerial or raised speakers to your hardware, you’ll benefit from the sound as it was intended to be reproduced.
When you’re watching a movie where a plane flies overhead, you’ll hear it coming out of the speakers above you instead of the speakers around you. Of course, not everyone’s setup is going to include additional speakers built into the ceiling, which is why some soundbars (like the LG SKY10) use upward-firing drivers to bounce sound off of the ceiling in order to replicate this. When done correctly, this emulates a 3D representation of space, making for more engaging media playback.