Secretlab Atlas review: The one you’ve been waiting for

Secretlab has become a household name in gaming chairs in recent years, thanks to the success of its popular Omega and Titan Evo chairs. It's also found success with a premium range of gaming desks and a great ecosystem of accessories. Now, in 2026, the company is back with a brand new chair, and it might just be the one you’ve been waiting for.

The SecretLab Atlas is the company’s first foray into a “task-focused” ergonomic chair. While it's not quite what you might describe as an “office" chair, it is a decidedly less imposing and more streamlined chair for the discerning gamer — with a stronger focus on sitting upright at your desk and getting things done, rather than kicking back at 165 degrees and spilling Doritos all over yourself.

The philosophy is simple: the chair is designed to promote both focus and relaxation by letting you move seamlessly between a state of upright productivity or a more relaxed posture for rest. While previous Secretlab offerings have offered only “fixed” postures controlled by an elaborate array of controls, the Atlas is a more trimmed-down and focused chair that rocks back and forth as you shift your weight. While it still has many of the same hallmark features that make Secretlab’s chairs stand out — magnetic pillow, striking design, adjustability, and customization — it’s a chair that will look far less out of place in the office or the boardroom. In other words, the Atlas should prove the ideal companion to someone who likes to sit up and get stuff done.

Assembly

The Secretlab Atlas is the third Secretlab chair I’ve had the pleasure of assembling over the last few years. It comes in the same hefty box you’d get a Titan Evo in, and the parts are arrayed with the same care I’ve come to expect from Secretlab. Everything is packed extremely well, with sturdy cardboard inserts to stop everything from moving around. The chair arrived free of blemishes and marks, and there are a couple of trademark Secretlab goodies to get you started.

Notably, you get Secretlab’s trusty screwdriver (a personal favorite of mine), and instructions clearly laid out on a giant piece of glossy card, rather than a crummy white booklet.

Assembly can be done solo, but Secretlab recommends that you do the task with someone else. From unboxing to completion, it took me and my wife less than 15 minutes to assemble, and there weren’t really any aspects of the assembly process that absolutely required two people. You simply pop the wheels into the wheel base, insert the hydraulic piston into the wheel base, screw the Unified Motion System (the bottom) to the seat base, and then stick those two bits together.

The armrests don’t come attached, which is new for Secretlab as far as I remember, but they simply slide into the seat base and are fastened in with two screws on either side. Finally, you screw the backrest to the wheelbase (with four screws), and voila!

Everything slotted into place with relative ease, with no misaligned screw holes or anything requiring force, jiggling, or cajoling. If you’re stuck, an included QR code guides you to a helpful assembly video. The 12 screws required are all identical, so there’s no faffing around trying to work out which is which, and there’s an included allen key for tightening up each one if you want a little extra torque over the screwdriver. It's not as seamless as task chairs that come fully assembled, such as the Steelcase Karman, but it's pretty quick as far as chair assemblies go.

Specs

Design and Construction

Our review unit was the Large variant of the Atlas — specifically, the ‘Plus’ model with NanoFoam Composite (more on that later). Total height measures 50.6 inches (128.5cm), and despite a seemingly more generous sitting space, this chair is decidedly less imposing than my outgoing Secretlab Titan Evo. The slender backrest looks much more subtle and elegant.

The wheels are PU-coated casters, and the wheelbase is made from reinforced nylon rather than the Titan Evo’s aluminum. As such, the finish there is a little less premium, but this saves a ton of weight, which helps with assembly and moving the chair around your space. The heaviest model is just 55 pounds (25kg), which is roughly one-third lighter than the 80-pound Titan Evo. The large chair is rated for users up to 265 pounds (120kg) and between 5' 10" - 6' 5" (178 - 195cm). Below that, the regular size Atlas will work for any height below 5' 10" (178cm) and a weight of less than 220 pounds (100kg).

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Overall, the chair feels extremely sturdy, although there’s a touch more play in the armrests than I’d like. Secretlab’s chairs have always felt absolutely bombproof to sit in, and the Atlas is no different.

The sweeping leather back looks really excellent, and is one of the best new design elements of this chair. The overall look and feel of the Softweave fabric is brilliant, although you can opt for the pricier leather if you so wish. As mentioned, the chair is noticeably lighter than Secretlab’s Titan Evo, so moving the chair around the office is much easier with this new model. It’s also got a much slimmer profile, so it certainly feels like it takes up a lot less space.

Aesthetically, the Atlas is much more muted than Secretlab’s prior offerings, especially in the Dune+ color on display here. As such, it’s going to look much less out of place on the floor of an office should you wish to take one to work. Otherwise, the less outlandish design will make it much more suited to a more neutral office space. The five regular colors, Dune, Moon, Cookies and Cream, Black, and Classic Black, continue this theme, as do the three other colors for the plus range, Black, Pure White, and Pure Black. No special edition Warhammer colorways or limited edition carbon fibre Lamborghini to speak of here (yet).

While the back of the chair is leather, the main material is Secretlab’s SoftWeave Plus fabric, which is designed to keep you cool during those long gaming sessions. Testing during a heatwave, I can confirm that the chair remains comfortable to sit in, even in warmer temperatures. Some users might prefer the feel and the wipe-down convenience of the Leatherette models; however, the SoftWeave is not desperately hard to keep clean.

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The chair is controlled by two distinct arms that sit underneath the chair. The left side controls the lock/unlock mechanism for the chair’s reclining position, as well as the position of the seat base. The right side lets you adjust the height of the chair as well as the tilt force required to make the chair recline. The controls feel a little stiff and take some getting used to, especially the tilt force, but they’re nifty once you get the hang of them. Even users with long arms will need to lean to reach the adjustments, but the visual indicators on both arms are a welcome inclusion and an enormous quality of life upgrade.

Comfort and Adjustments

At first sit, the Atlas feels extremely comfortable. We’re testing Secretlab’s special NanoFoam composite — cold-cure foam layered with microfoam for extra softness and support. The chair is extremely forgiving, but also provides great weight distribution and support right across the seat base. Similarly, the backrest has a nice curve to it that makes sitting back very pleasant. The magnetic headrest is a new design for this chair and certainly does the job. The magnets also feel considerably stronger than previous offerings, so there shouldn’t be any worries about the pillow falling off.

I had the privilege of visiting Secretlab’s headquarters in Singapore ahead of launch, where they revealed, amongst other things, that most users tend to set the lumbar support on their chairs to the same setting. As such, lumbar adjustment is out with the Atlas. That might sound daunting, but it feels like they’ve got the default setting spot on with this one. Naturally, because it can’t be adjusted, it won’t work for everyone, but my considerably shorter wife found it to be just as supportive as I did.

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Armrest height is controlled with levers that lock the armrests into place at your chosen height. The swivel doesn’t lock, but is adjusted through a series of set positions by simply twisting it. This requires a decent amount of force, so there’s no danger of moving them accidentally. The armrests also move forward and backward. This is a much easier adjustment; as such, you might find yourself pushing them out of position if you bump up against your desk. I position them all the way back, so this isn’t an issue for me.

The default upright position of the chair is a 100-degree vertical tilt, which does take some getting used to. Crucially, the backrest doesn’t move independently and can’t be adjusted with the lever you normally find on Secretlab chairs. However, this unlocks the Atlas’ party piece. Take the chair from locked to unlocked, and the chair can be tilted at will using just your bodyweight. The back rest and the seat base move asynchronously, so as you go back, the tilt increases at a faster rate compared to the base, opening up the chair and inviting you to rest more easily.

The unlocked mode is what the Atlas is all about, and it is super-refreshing to have a gaming/task chair that can be reclined or rocked in at will. I use the tilt force at its highest setting, level four, which means the chair rocks partway back, but not all the way, under my own weight. Level 3 is great for even more recline, for instance, if you want to kick back and play some Xbox with a controller. If you want to sit upright for max focus, you’re best locking the chair in its most upright position, as even at the strongest level of tilt force, I found the chair couldn’t hold me upright when I leaned against the backrest.

The armrests are very spacious and comfortable, although I do miss the fourth dimension of adjustment that lets you move them closer together or further apart. Overall, the chair is really comfortable for sitting, even for long periods of time. A large part of that is Secretlab’s NanoFoam, which distributes weight well, but does cost a little more than the standard foam finish, so bear that in mind.

Ultimately, this is a chair for sitting upright in, so there’s not much leeway if you like to sit off to one side or at a funny angle. That being said, the seat base is definitely the most spacious of Secretlab’s offerings to date, so if you want a bit more flexibility in how you’re sitting, this is the Secretlab chair for you.

Bottom Line

Overall, the Atlas is a really well-built and sturdy chair that is extremely comfortable to sit in. It lacks some of the premium finish of Secretlab’s other offerings, and isn’t quite as adjustable as the more imposing Titan Evo. However, it is definitely Secretlab’s most comfortable chair to date, and the rocking mechanism makes it the most enjoyable to sit in over long periods of time.