LG Makes Wallpaper Screens Real with Superthin OLED

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The only company making OLED televisions has shrunk its 55-inch screen down to 0.97mm in a prototype it just unveiled.

The future is here. Tech and sci-fi lovers have been fantasizing for decades about screens so thin they can be used as wallpaper. But all we've seen are small, plastic-backed OLED panels that look like tiny science experiments. Now LG, the only company making OLED TVs, has debuted a 55-inch screen that measures under a millimeter thick (0.97mm, or 0.038 inches, to be precise).

LG showed off the screen to the Korean press yesterday (May 19), reports Yonhap News Agency.

Weighing 4.2 pounds, the screen is a lot heavier than real wallpaper, but light enough that it can stick to the wall with a "magnetic mat," Yonhap reports. LG didn't give any word on when, if ever, this ultra-thin OLED would become a product, or what it might cost, but it certainly won't be cheap.

LG's lowest-priced 55-inch OLED TV (see our review) is an HD model selling for about $3,000. That TV is about 100 times thicker, though that's still a svelte 3.1 inches.

As little as two years ago, OLED looked like the future of TV, with both LG and Samsung bringing models to market, and other companies like Sony showing off prototype TVs. (Sony was actually the first to sell an OLED TV, in 2008, though it was a mere 11-inch screen for $2,500.) Samsung hasn't officially dropped out of the OLED business, but it hasn't made any models since a 55-inch introduced in 2013.

LG has pushed on, however, with a current lineup of six OLED TVs going up to a 77-inch 4K/UHD model for $25,000. The Yonhap didn't specify the resolution of the new wallpaper screen.

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Sean Captain

Sean Captain is a freelance technology and science writer, editor and photographer. At Tom's Guide, he has reviewed cameras, including most of Sony's Alpha A6000-series mirrorless cameras, as well as other photography-related content. He has also written for Fast Company, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired. 

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dotaloc
    100 times thicker, maybe? Perhaps my math is off.
    Reply
  • whiteodian
    I'm not sure why LG is the only company making OLED. It does seem like the future to me. I really hoped that we would see more of it by now. Maybe we can look forward to some head mounted displays utilizing OLED.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    This is pretty amazing tech.
    Reply
  • cenpjas
    Samsung and LG really like to fight it out. I suspect Samsung with the 2015 range of curved AMOLED screens and the higher colour definition have decided to concentrate on that until OLED becomes a more affordable technology. If I remember correctly did Samsung not display an OLED flexable display 9 months ago of around 144" that you could change from flat to curved via the TV remote?

    I don't think Samsung or Sony have left the market, its just the tech is not ready (affordable) for the masses.

    BTW: I presume a magnetic mat would not affect the screen?
    Reply
  • cenpjas
    "Samsung merged its LCD and OLED businesses in 2012, but it has now decided to separate them into two companies once again. The split will allow Samsung to make decisions for OLED separately of its much larger LCD business, and the move is seen as a new chance for the OLED business. Samsung is also believed to consider further investments in OLED in addition to the new £3.6 billion plant that will produce OLED displays, including flexible displays.

    The announcement comes shortly after rumors have emerged that Samsung is planning to return to OLED TVs. The company put its OLED TV plans on hold in early 2014.

    Samsung’s display division had a tough 2014 as profitability in LCDs fell. OLED panels - used mostly in its own Galaxy phones - remain very profitable for Samsung Display.

    The names of the new divisions have not been announced." - from a quick google, source 'Business Korea'.
    Reply
  • lorfa
    How does this work though? Like how do you plug in power/hdmi/etc. The connectors are deeper than the display.
    Reply
  • Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163
    How thick is the whole thing? Very cool. I agree, OLED will be the future, likely see it in PC monitors as current TVs are currently dropping. I do miss Plasma though, I feel like LCD was the wrong decision...
    Reply
  • cats_Paw
    I'm not sure why LG is the only company making OLED. It does seem like the future to me. I really hoped that we would see more of it by now. Maybe we can look forward to some head mounted displays utilizing OLED.

    LG is the only one because they are less worried about Unit failure.
    You probably dont know about this but OLED TVs are very, very easy to burn in or have Image Retention (more so than the last batches of plasmas that were selling), very low Real Refresh rate so Motion Blur is something that can be an issue in action movies and most importantly OLED pixes seem to have a tendency to die out faster than other types of TVs.
    Add to that that OLED Pixels have different life times depending on the color they show, and you are in for a nasty surprise.
    Also Ghosting seems to exist in OLED models, but this is hard to know, as very few units are in users hands.

    You wont see this mentioned much, and that is due to the fact that very few people have bought an OLED TV.
    Reply
  • Luminarc
    The power cord is thicker than the TV!
    Reply
  • jdlobb
    I'm not sure why LG is the only company making OLED. It does seem like the future to me. I really hoped that we would see more of it by now. Maybe we can look forward to some head mounted displays utilizing OLED.

    because LG was the only company with the vision to keep pursuing it even when they were hemorrhaging money to the technology.
    Reply