LG transparent OLED screens have been around for a while, but only in the form of business signage. That will change soon, as LG has announced a new set of see-through displays, including one you can actually have at home.
The ‘Smart Bed’ includes a frame from which, at the push of a button, LG’s latest 55-inch transparent OLED screen will rise, so you can peer at the futuristic TV from under the covers. The Smart Bed will be shown in more detail during the all-digital CES 2021 in January.
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LG boasts that its transparent OLED tech manages 40% transparency, compared to existing transparent LCD screens that only realize 10% transparency. That means that areas not displaying anything will have a clearer, more glass-like quality.
The Smart Bed is part of a wider attempt to move transparent OLEDs into spaces where they can be more readily interacted with than simple signage. LG’s CES plans also include a ‘Restaurant Zone’ where sushi bar customers can use the screens to entertain themselves while being able to see a chef prepare their food behind the display. Presumably this will be shown in a prerecorded video or livestream show, as the next CES won’t have any in-person attendees.
LG will also demonstrate how the transparent OLED screen can replace the windows in a train carriage, which would combine information delivery for passengers with the viewing capabilities of…well, a window.
Since LG hasn’t hinted at any kind of pricing or availability for the Smart Bed, the first incarnation of its transparent OLED tech for home use, it’s likely that consumer-grade models are closer to the prototyping stage than the final product. See-through screens look cool but in terms of next-gen panel technology you can buy in the imminent future, you might want to keep an eye on LG’s other big display reveal at CES 2021: its first QNED Mini LED TV.
